Pampanga Essay

I. Introduction

Pampanga’s Background Geography

(Photos from google images)

Pampanga can be found in Central Luzon region, bordered in the North by Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, in the East by Bulacan, in the South east by the Manila bay, and in the West by Bataan and Zambales. It’s exact co-ordinates on the map are 15°04′N 120°40′E. Pampanga has a total of 206,247 hectares of land area, and it is known to be quite flat in terrain with only one mountain, Mt. Arayat—an extinct volcano with its last eruption date unknown—and the distinct Pampanga River. Because of its flat terrain, Pampanga is one of the best provinces for farming; Rainy season and Dry season are Pampanga’s two distinct climates. From February to May is the

Pampanga, as said before, has a flat terrain making it one of the best places to farm because the more flat the land is, the less problems it would cause. Some of the major crops Pampanga produces are corn, rice, and sugar cane. Products that they produce from fishing are tilapia (zebrafish), bangus (milkfish), and Ito (catfish). Besides farming and fishing, the province also support industries specialising in handicrafts, wood carving, and furniture-making. In the Christmas season, Pampanga becomes the centre of “parols”— handcrafted lighted

Since Pampanga was one of the main provinces in the Spanish era, the culture of the Spaniards—mainly their religion—left a big impact. Many religious holiday are taken very seriously in Pampanga, an example is holy week. Kapampangans celebrate holy week with people participating and acting as “Magdarame”— a person who either carries a big, heavy cross going from station to station in different barangays, all over the province, or they could be “Namamalaspas," they do the same thing but instead of carrying a cross, they slash their backs and hit them repeatedly with tiny wooden sticks attached to a whip-like item. This is to symbolise the pain and sacrifice Jesus Christ had to endure during his death march. This practice goes on from Monday morning to Saturday morning, this practice is to welcome Easter Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead. As far as research goes, it is only in Pampanga is this tradition practiced heavily.

Another tradition Pampangueños have is the Giant lantern festival, held every christmas season. It is were different barangays join a contest where they design and make their own giant lantern. It is usually help in the capital of Pampanga, San Fernando