Asturias, officially the Municipality of Asturias ( ceb, Lungsod sa Asturias; tgl, Bayan ng Asturias), is a 3rd class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,397 people.

History

The original name of Asturias is Naghalin, perhaps from the word ''lalin'', native Cebuano term for settlers coming from far places. Other authorities say that "Naghalin" is a mispronunciation of the Cebuano word ''naghaling'' which means "making fire" as preparation for cooking. This assertion is supported by the old name of an adjacent municipality, "Bagacawa" (now known as Tuburan), which means "fiery cauldron" from the Cebuano ''baga'' (ember) and ''kawa'' (cauldron). The first occupants of Asturias came from other places and neighboring islands such as Negros and Bohol. At first, one part of Naghalin was part of Tuburan and the other part of Balamban. Over time, the population of Naghalin increased because of immigration and natural population growth. Eventually the inhabitants petitioned Spain to grant them their own local government. This petition was granted in the late 19th century by Spain, thereby creating the pueblo (region) of Asturias. This event was witnessed by the arrival in 1888 of the

alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

, Antonio Alonso, uncle of

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...

Geography

Asturias is bordered to the north by the town of Tuburan, to the west is the

Tañon Strait The Tañon Strait ( fil, Kipot ng Tañon) is a body of water, separating the islands of Negros and Cebu in the Visayas, Philippines. The strait, which is about long, connects the Visayan Sea in the north to the Bohol Sea in the south. Its width ...

, to the east is the city of Danao, and to the south is the town of Balamban. It is from

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

Barangays

Asturias comprises 27 barangays, of which 7 are coastal and 20 are inland:

Climate

Demographics

Economy

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Cebu