Capalonga, Camarines Norte

Infobox Philippine municipality
infoboxtitle = Municipality of Capalonga
region = Bicol (Region V)
province = Camarines Norte
districts = Tagalog Speaking
class = 4th class
pop2000 = 26,577
barangays = 22
languages = Tagalog, Bicol, English
locatormapfile= Ph_locator_camarines norte_capalonga.png caption = Map of Camarines Norte showing the location of 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.

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" (roster's comb) 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 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 roster'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.

GEOGRAPHY

Culture, Tradition and Folklore

Tourism

"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 shape is like a boat.
*Albino Beach-Located at sitio Talagpucao Barangay Catioan with relaxing smooth waves and fine sand.
*Mount Samat-Located at barangaly alayao. This moountain is covers by the undiscovered species of plantslike ferns, orchids and etc. There are also falls with fresh cold clear water.

"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.

Barangays

Capalonga is politically subdivided into 22 barangays.

External links

* [http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/default.asp Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
* [http://www.t-macs.com/kiso/local/ 2000 Philippine Census Information]

References

* Municipal Planning and Development Office LGU, Capalonga, Camarines Norte