Angeles City

• Angeles, officially the City of Angeles

(Kapampangan: Lakanbalen ning
Angeles; Tagalog: Lungsod ng
Angeles), or simply referred to as
Angeles City, is a 1st class highly
urbanized city in the region of Central
Luzon, Philippines. According to the
2015 census, it has a population of
411,634 people.
• It is bordered by Mabalacat to the
north, Mexico to the east, San
Fernando to the southeast, Bacolor to
the south, and Porac to the southwest
and west. Though the city administers
itself autonomously from Pampanga, it
is the province's commercial and
 HISTORY
• in 1796, the gobernadorcillo or town head of San Fernando,
Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, and his wife, Doña
Rosalía de Jesús, along with some followers, staked out a
new settlement, which they named Culiát because of the
abundance of vines of that name in the area. The new
settlers cleared the woodland and cultivated the area for
rice and sugar farming. Don Ángel built his first house with
light materials at the northwest corner of the intersection of
Sapang Balen and the road going towards the town of
Porac. It was later donated to the Catholic Church and
became a cemetery called "Campo Santong Matua" (today
the site of Nepomuceno Coliseum).
• On May 12, 1812, the new settlers tried to make Culiat a self-governing
town but the Catholic friars resisted the move, led by Fray Jose
Pometa. Ten years later, on February 11, 1822, Don Ángel filed a
petition for the independent township of Culiat from San Fernando but it
was denied. This was followed by another petition within the same year,
jointly signed by Don Ángel, his son-in-law, Dr. Mariano Henson, and
the latter's father, Severino Henson. He donated 35 hectares for the
construction of the first Catholic Church, a convent and a primary
school while Doña Agustina Henson de Nepomuceno, the niece of who
would become the first gobernadorcillo of Angeles in 1830, Don Ciriaco
de Miranda, gave land for the new public market. Don Ángel paid the
complete amount required by law just for the political separation of
Culiat from San Fernando. There were only 160 taxpayers then but the
law required that it should have at least 500 taxpayers.
• Located some 10 miles (16 km) north of the capital town of Pampanga,
Culiat was a barrio of San Fernando for 33 years and on December 8, 1829,
it finally became a separate municipality, at which time it was renamed "El
Pueblo de los Angeles" (The Town of the Angels,) in honor of its patron
saints, "Los Santos Angeles de los Custodios" (Holy Guardian Angels), and
the name of its founder, Don Ángel, coinciding with the rise of new barrios
such as Santo Cristo (as the poblacion or town proper), Cutcut, Pampang
and Pulong Anunas. The progressive barrios developed some new
industries like a sugar mill and a wine distillery. The transition of Angeles
from a jungle clearing to a barrio, to a town and finally to a city took 168
years and in that time, it survived locusts' infestations, wars, epidemics,
volcanic eruptions and typhoons to become one of the fastest rising towns in
the country. When it received its first official municipal charter, the town
contained 661 people, 151 houses and an area of 38.65 km².
• On March 17, 1899, General Emilio Aguinaldo transferred
the seat of Philippine government to Angeles. It then
became the site of the first anniversary celebration of the
Philippine Independence from Spain, which was proclaimed
a year earlier in Kawit, Cavite. It was highlighted with a
parade led by the youngest ever Filipino generals, Gregorio
del Pilar and Manuel Tinio. It was viewed by General
Aguinaldo from the Pamintuan's residence, which became
the Presidential Palace from May to July 1899 and now
houses the Central Bank of the Philippines in Central Luzon.
Aguinaldo's sojourn was short however, for in July of this
same year he transferred his government to the province of
Tarlac ahead of the advancing American forces.
 Historical sites
• Fort Stotsenburg, named after
Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, a
captain of the 6th U.S. Cavalry,
was the location of the
permanent quarters of the
American forces in Sapang Bato,
Angeles. It is also known as the
"Parade Ground," which served
as a venue for many important
celebrations by the Americans
before the Philippine-American
Military Bases Agreement ended
in 1991.
 Salakot Arch
Salakot Arch is a landmark of Angeles. From
1902 to 1979, Clark Air Base remained a U.S.
territory, guaranteed by the Military Bases
Agreement in 1947. In 1978, the Philippines,
under the dispensation of then President
Ferdinand Marcos, and the U.S. finally agreed
to establish Philippine sovereignty over the
U.S. bases and thus the Clark Air Base
Command (CABCOM) of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines came into being, following the
signing of a revised Military Bases Agreement
on 7 January 1979. To commemorate this
unprecedented and bold event, the
government constructed a special structure
based upon the design of a salakot or native
hat, which soon became a widely recognized
symbol of this renewed Filipino spirit.
• Old Pamintuan Mansion
• Old Pamintuan Residence served as the
seat of government of the First
Philippine Republic under General
Emilio Aguinaldo from May to July 1899
and the central headquarters for Major
General Arthur MacArthur, Jr., the father
of General Douglas MacArthur. It used
to serve as municipal hall of Angeles
and later the Central Bank of the
Philippines in Central Luzon. Currently,
the National Historical Commission and
the city government with the help of the
embassy of France in the Philippines
are funding the restoration of the
mansion into the Museum of Philippine
Social History.
• Founders' Residence (Bale Matua)
• Located at the heart of Santo
Rosario, it is the oldest building in
the city. It was built in 1824 by the
city founder, Don Ángel Pantaleón
de Miranda, and his wife, Doña
Rosalia de Jesus, and was inherited
by their only daughter, Doña Juana
de Miranda de Henson. This house,
which is made of high stone and an
ornate gate, nostalgically symbolizes
the glorious past of Angeles amidst
the overwhelming onslaughts of
modernization.
• Camalig
• Camalig was built in 1840
by Don Ciriaco de Miranda,
the first gobernadorcillo of
Angeles, and was used as a
grain storehouse along
Santo Rosario Street. It was
restored in 1980 by
Armando L. Nepomuceno
and is now the site of
Armando's Pizza and the
historic Camalig Restaurant.
• Holy Rosary Parish Church
(Santo Rosario Church)
• Holy Rosary Parish Church
(Santo Rosario Church) was
constructed from 1877 to 1896 by
the "Polo y Servicio" labor
system, a kind of forced labor
imposed on Filipino peasants by
the Spanish colonial government.
It was used as a military hospital
by the U.S. Army from August
1899 to December 1900. Its
backyard was the execution
ground to the Spanish forces in
shooting down Filipino rebels and
• Bale Herencia (Ancestral
House)
• Built in 1860, it is situated in
Lakandula Street corner Santo
Rosario Street. It is a picturesque
house with the unsavory
reputation of having been built
for the mistress of a parish priest.
The current owners have leased
the place to various restaurants,
food stalls, and other businesses
like salons and computer shops.
The antique architecture,
however, is still preserved.
• Museo ning Angeles (Museum of Angeles)
Museo ning Angeles (Museum of Angeles) is a
vintage building located at the prime "Santo
Rosario Historic District" across the Holy Rosary
Church. This edifice was constructed in 1922
and served as the Municipio del Pueblo or Town
Hall until 1998. The Museum has become the
venue of the city's cultural activities be it from
the or government sector. From the time it
opened in the year 1999, it has been a beehive
of activity from exhibits, art classes, concerts,
venue for performances and climax for
traditional celebrations. In June 2012, the
National Museum of the Philippines declared the
Museo ning Angeles as an "Important Cultural
Property of the Philippines," the first cultural
property to be given such a distinction. The
museum is currently administered by Kuliat