History Class

Mga Kabihug!

Kaunting kaalaman lang po tungkol sa Capalonga.

CAPALONGA is a 4th class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 26,577 people in 5,031 households.

(UPDATE: According to 2007 Population Count I checked at http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2008/pr0830tx.html, CAPALONGA has 29,683 people...details at the bottom)

HISTORY

*Agtas  and **Dumagats, are believed to be the first inhabitants of village used to be called "Apalong". This name was derived from a wild plant called "Palong Manok", which looks like a rooster's comb.

It is said that whenever the settlers of Apalong went to other places and asked where they came from, the usual reply is "We came from Kapalungan". Historians may comment that the natives were either referring to their place which has many "Palong" (rooster's comb) (also known as cockscomb) or maybe they wanted identification for their settlement.

Whatever it was, no record will show and no one at that time is still living, what is clearly known to Capalongueños is that this place was and still is an environment of flowers called Palong Manok.

In 1572, the Spanish Conquistador Capt. Juan de Salcedo (who died in Vigan at the age of 27, huh, young) and his men reached pacific shores and landed on Kapalongan settlement. Instead of finding gold, they found abundant wild beautiful red flowers that looked like rooster's comb. The Spaniards built a church, formed a government, and the village was made a town and officially named Capalonga. The Spaniards for some years persisted on mining for gold at Sitio Maglagonlong, and the Spanish control was described to be brutal, harsh and full of harassment until they went away leaving behind imprints on the community's cultural heritage.

It is also believed that the first migrants of Capalonga came from the neighbouring province of Quezon, formerly Tayabas. This is the reason that out of the twelve (12) municipalities of Camarines Norte, Capalonga has the highest rating and accent in speaking the Tagalog language. However, with the continuous migration process, mixed dialects has been produced. Today, like other places in the country, the dialects of the residents were enriched by various local medium of expression, thereby making no difference from the trend of other political units.

Without roads and being isolated from other towns by mountains, forest, rivers and sea, Capalonga relatively remained untouched by commerce and industry as late as 1950's. In 1956, the road to Capalonga was opened. Still, growth had been slow until Martial law changed the pace. It was in the years 1987 to 1992 that all wooden and temporary bridges have been replaced by concrete bridges. Likewise, in the late part of 2003 up to the present, the concreting of the Bagong Silang - Capalonga Road has started and existence of the Airconditioned Van Transport is now available as a result.

Nature

• Itok Falls - Located 4 km. west of the town with fresh and lush foliage and vegetation.
• Bangka-bangka Falls-Located at Barangay Catabaguangan.It is being called as Bangka-bangka(Boat),because of its boat-like shape.
• Albino Beach-Located at sitio Talagpucao Barangay Catioan with relaxing smooth waves and fine sand.
• Mount Samat-Located at Barangay Alayao. This mountain is covered by the undiscovered species of ferns, orchids and etc. There are also falls with fresh cold clear water. 
•  Sabang - located at the skirts of the town, facing the Philippine Sea.  It's where the river meets the sea.  The beach is popular to nature lovers due to its vast shoreline and beautifully carved huge stones where waves crash.

Festivals and Cultural Entertainments

• Feast of the Black Nazarene (May 13) - The town Fiesta in honor of the Black Nazarene draws devotees from all over the country. The image is said to be miraculous and its feast is particularly celebrated by Chinese businessmen, who pay annual homage and ask for long life and good fortune.
• Palong Festival (May 10-13) - Highlighted by colorful streetdancing and agro-industrial fair which expresses the local folks’ gratitude for their town’s name’s etymology, and signifies the abundant presence of "Palong Manok" (rooster's comb plant) available in the locality. Held also in celebration of the Black Nazarene’s Feast Day on May 13 at the town of Capalonga.

Baranggays

Capalonga is politically subdivided into 22 barangays.

Alayao Binawangan Calabaca Camagsaan Catabaguangan Catioan Del Pilar Itok Lucbanan Mabini Mactang

Mataque Old Camp Poblacion Magsaysay San Antonio San Isidro San Roque Tanauan Ubang Villa Aurora Villa Belen

Additional Information:

*Agta is the generic term used in Bikol to refer to its 40,000 natives with dark-colored skins, short stature and kinky hair. There are three other terms for them in Camarines Norte where they have managed to preserve their indigenous culture. "Kabihug" is what they call themselves; "Manide" is the term for their language; and Abian, meaning "friend" is how they are referred to by non- Agtas.)

**Dumagats also known as Negritos, mostly lived in the hillsides or mountains. They are believed to have result from a fusion of Austronesian and Melanesian ancestries, and survive from fishing and hunting.

PHILIPPINE CENSUS 2007 (As of August 1, 2007)

CAPALONGA 29,683

Alayao 2,550          Binawangan 1,594          Catabaguangan 672
Catioan 3,044         Del Pilar 1,380                Itok 1,793
Lucbanan 611         Mabini 500                     Mactang 739
Mataque 1,139       Old Camp 1,225             Poblacion 3,437
Magsaysay 1,566    San Antonio 657             San Isidro 297
San Roque 736      Tanawan 646                   Ubang 2,012
Villa Aurora 973     Villa Belen 624

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There you go, mga kabihugs, some history taken mainly from wikipedia.  If you have any pictures of the old capalonga, we would love to see them, please send it to me at ccn4607@gmail.com so we can share it to everyone.

Disclaimer: All information here were taken from the web. If you are the owner of the images used, please inform the admin so we can acknowledge.  No infringement intended.