Culture
The Center for Kapampangan Studies
A museum, library and Manansala gallery at Holy Angel University that keeps the memory of Kapampangan culture.
Angeles
Stories
Culture in Pampanga
Culture
Saint Rita's relic in Santa Rita
Since 2008 the town named for Saint Rita of Cascia has kept a first-class relic of her, shown to the faithful every August 17.
Santa Rita
Community
Sabuaga: Sto. Tomas showers Easter with flowers
How the dawn Easter meeting of the risen Christ and his mother became Sto. Tomas's festival of falling petals.
Santo Tomas
© Ralff Nestor Nacor on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
A relic of Saint Anne in Santa Ana
Santa Ana's parish keeps a bone relic of its patron with a Roman certificate from 1796. The story of the church that holds it.
Santa Ana
© Ralffralff on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACommunity
Aguman Sanduk: Minalin's New Year in a gown
Since 1934, the men of Minalin have greeted the year in dresses, make-up and their wives' jewellery. The story of Aguman Sanduk.
Minalin
Culture
Pisamban Maragul: the big church of Angeles
Built over two decades with forced labour and used as a US Army hospital: the story behind Angeles's Holy Rosary church.
Angeles
© Ralff Nestor Nacor on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
A cathedral that rose three times
From a thatched chapel in 1754 to the neoclassical cathedral of today, San Fernando's church has been burned and rebuilt more than once.
San Fernando
Culture
The lantern makers of San Fernando
Months of work, whole barangays and a few named masters: the people behind San Fernando's giant parols.
San Fernando
Culture
San Nicolas cookies: Mexico's miraculous shortbread
Arrowroot, egg yolk and coconut milk pressed in carved moulds: the San Nicolas cookie and why Mexico believes in it.
Mexico
© Ramon FVelasquez on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
Candaba church: a school, a refuge and a mission
Candaba's 1575 parish was once a grammar school and, during the British occupation, a refuge for Manila's friar students.
Candaba
Community
Makatapak: Bacolor's barefoot years
After the lahar, Bacolor walked barefoot through the mud. Its Makatapak festival turns that memory into a celebration of resilience.
Bacolor
© Roel Balingit on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
Crissot and the golden age of Kapampangan letters
Juan Crisostomo Soto of Bacolor wrote the zarzuelas that launched a golden age of Kapampangan literature.
Bacolor
Culture
Mexico's old chapels: San Jose Matulid and Sabanilla
Mexico claims one of the oldest chapels in Asia, and keeps a rare Spanish-era chapel in Sabanilla. Their stories.
Mexico
Community
Pastorella: Mabalacat's Latin carols at dawn
While most of Pampanga has moved on, Mabalacat's choir still sings the Pastorella, Latin hymns for the shepherds, at Christmas.
Mabalacat
Community
The white lanterns of Magalang
Every Christmas, Magalang's barangays carry traditional white lanterns in a nine-day novena that won a national tourism award.
Magalang
© Thomas Schoch on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
Camaru: why Magalang celebrates the cricket
Crickets were once a farm snack sold to Angeles buyers. Now they are the emblem of an award-winning Magalang festival.
Magalang
Culture
Pimpin: Santa Ana's old names
Santa Ana was once Pimpin, and its barangays still answer to names like Kanukil, Darabulbul and Balen Bayu.
Santa Ana
Culture
Duman: the green rice of Santa Rita
Harvested young for a few weeks each year, dúman is Santa Rita's Christmas treasure. Why it is rare, and how it is made.
Santa Rita
Culture
Palapat: Masantol's mangrove fruit
The apple mangrove guards Masantol's riverbanks and fills its kitchens with jam, vinegar and sour broth. Now it has a festival.
Masantol
Culture
Sampaguita: the flower farms of Lubao
Lubao supplies much of the country's national flower. How the sampaguita shapes the town's farms, festival and even its kitchens.
Lubao
© Jonathan Blaza on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
Dukit: the woodcarvers of Betis
Betis carvers have made altars, saints and furniture for generations. Meet the craft behind the Dukit Festival.
Guagua
© Ralff Nestor Nacor on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SACulture
A relic of Saint Peter in Apalit
In 2017 Apalit's parish received a fragment of Saint Peter's bones, adding to a church already rich in history.
Apalit
Culture
Pottery capital: the clay of Sto. Tomas
Kapampangan earthenware goes back to the 13th century. In Sto. Tomas, one family is making sure the craft has a future.
Santo Tomas
Culture
Sto. Tomas, the casket capital of Central Luzon
In Pampanga's smallest town, hundreds of families build the coffins sent to funeral parlours across the country.
Santo Tomas