MAGALANG -- Established on April 30, 1605, this agricultural town is one of the oldest towns of Pampanga.
This was learned from the municipal officials led by Mayor Malou Lacson during the Mutya Ning Magalang 2018 pre-pageant of 17 lovely candidates held in Barangay San Ildefonso on Monday night.
Ryan Miranda, municipal tourism officer, said that Magalang will celebrate its 413th founding anniversary on April 30.
“As a matter of fact, Magalang is one of the oldest towns in the province,” Miranda said.
He clarified that town folks celebrate Magalang Day every December 13, which is the town transfer year from nearby Concepcion town in Tarlac province.
“That (December 13) is just the transfer date because Magalang as a town had transferred for three consecutive times before it settled to its present site,” Miranda said.
The town was first established in Macapsa, which is situated near Sitio Balitucan in San Ildefonso, according to the tourism official.
He said the local government decided to hold the town’s beauty pageant in said village to make the people, especially the youth, aware of Magalang’s history.
“We want our people, especially the youth, to be aware that Magalang is one of the oldest towns of Pampanga. They say that we are only 163 years old but we are already 413,” Miranda said.
The Mutya Ning Magalang 2018 Coronation Night will be held on April 30 at the town plaza in celebration of the town’s 413th anniversary, he added.
Magalang was initially called Magalo derived from Kapampangan word Galo, which means wavy and moving describing the dangerous water flows of Parua River.