Santa Ana, Manila

Santa Ana is a district of the City of Manila in the Philippines, located at the southeast banks of the Pasig River, bounded on the northeast by Mandaluyong City, Makati City to the east, southwest is the Manila district of Paco and to the west, Pandacan.

Sta. Ana belongs to the 6th congressional district of Manila with thirty two (32) barangays from Zone 96 to 100, barangays 874 to 905. Based on the 2000 national census, the National Statistics Office reports that Sta. Ana has about 34,694 households and an approximate 83,306 registered voters based on the national elections of 2004.

Origin of the name

The original name of Sta. Ana before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors was “Namayan,” a small settlement that was ruled by Lakan Tagkan and his wife Buwan, (meaning Moon). The small Muslim kingdom’s domain stretched from what is now Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay, and the Manila districts of Pandacan and Paco.

When the Spaniards acquired the territory and what is now Sta. Ana, that served as the seat of “Namayan,” the area was awarded to Franciscan missionaries. When the Catholic missionaries asked the natives the name of the area, pointing to the banks of the Pasig River, the locals responded with “sapa” or the Tagalog word for marshes.

The Franciscan missionaries henceforth dedicated the district to Saint Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and called it, “Santa Ana de Sapa,” or Saint Anne of the Marshes.

References

*"By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II, 3 February-3 March 1945" by Alphonso J. Aluit (1994) Bookmark, Inc. © 1994 National Commission for Culture and the Arts ISBN 971-569-162-5

External links

* [http://www.manila.gov.ph Official Website of Manila]
* [http://www.maniladailyphoto.com Manila Photos]