Villa de Arevalo (; ), commonly known as simply Villa or Arevalo, is one of the seven districts of

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

in the province of

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

, on the island of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

Western Visayas Western Visayas ( hil, Kabisay-an Nakatundan; tl, Kanlurang Kabisayaan or ''Kanlurang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimara ...

, in the

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 55,476 people. Arevalo is the westernmost district of Iloilo City and it borders

Oton Oton, officially the Municipality of Oton (; krj, Banwa kang Oton, hil, Banwa sang Oton, tgl, Bayan ng Oton), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 98,509 p ...

to the west. Its church, Santo Niño de Arevalo Parish, possesses the third oldest '' Santo Niño'' (Infant Jesus) image in the

. Arevalo is sometimes given the title "Flower Capital of Iloilo", where potted plants, flowers, bouquets, wreaths can be bought. Arevalo is also famous for its firecrackers and fireworks. Its prominent attraction is the Villa Beach ''(Playa de Villa de Arevalo)'' along the coast which boasts several resorts and an outdoor nightlife such as open air restaurants and bars.

Camiña Balay nga Bato Camiña Balay Nga Bato (Stone House), formerly known as Avanceña House, is a century-old heritage house in the Arevalo district, Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avance� ...

(formally known as the Avanceña Ancestral House) is a heritage house and a restaurant in Arevalo that was constructed in 1865. It is one of the best heritage attractions in Iloilo serving the traditional Filipino way-made ''tsokolate''.

History

Villa de Arevalo was established in 1566 when Spanish conquerors established a settlement in the areas between it and the neighboring town of

. It was formally founded as ''La Villa Rica de Arévalo'' by ''Gobernador'' Ronquillo de Peñalosa in 1581, named after his hometown Arévalo, Spain. It is one of the first places in the Philippine archipelago to be named in Spanish. The founding population consisted of 80 colonists who were pure Spaniards from Europe and reinforced by 169 Mexican soldiers from Latin America., AGI, México, leg. 25, núm. 62; AGI, Filipinas, leg. 8, ramo 3, núm. 50; leg. 10, ramo 1, núm. 6; leg. 22, ramo 1, núm. 1, fos. 408 r –428 v ; núm. 21; leg. 32, núm. 30; leg. 285, núm. 1, fos. 30 r –41 v . and It became the capital of the settlement in the province on 1582. It was invaded by the British in 1588 and followed by more raids by

Moros In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ (Ancient Greek: Μόρος means 'doom, fate') is the 'hateful' personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave peop ...

in 1600 and by the Dutch in 1609, 1614 and 1616. The continuous raids forced the capital to be relocated near the mouth of

Iloilo River The Iloilo River is an estuary river located in the province of Iloilo, in Western Visayas, Philippines. The river starts in Oton, Iloilo, Oton at the Batiano estuary, then traverses through the Iloilo City districts of Lapuz, Iloilo City, Lapuz, ...

, which is the current location of

Iloilo City Proper Iloilo City Proper (''City Proper'') (also locally known as Downtown, Ciudad, Iloilo Poblacion, or simply Iloílo) is one of the seven districts of Iloilo City in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the second-most densely popula ...

. It was incorporated as a district of Iloilo City on July 16, 1937, along with the towns of

Mandurriao Mandurriao () is one of the seven districts of Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the Western Visayas region, in the Philippines. It is the second-largest district by land area as well as the third-most populous di ...

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

, and Molo.

Barangays

The district of Arevalo has 13

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

Education

*Melchor L. Nava National High School, named after Melchor Nava the former barangay captain of Calaparan. *Ramon Avanceña National High School, named after Ramon Avanceña the former Chief Justice. *

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) is the first maritime institution in the Philippines to obtain the accreditation of DNV (''Det Norske Veritas''). It consist of four major academic components by the John B. Lacson Fo ...

-Arevalo campus, formerly known as

Iloilo Maritime Academy The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) is the first maritime institution in the Philippines to obtain the accreditation of DNV (''Det Norske Veritas''). It consist of four major academic components by the John B. Lacson Fo ...

Culture

Santo Niño de Arevalo Parish

3rd Oldest Santo Nino in the Philippines Arevalo Iloilo City

The district's parish, the Santo Niño de Arevalo Parish, is home to the third oldest Santo Niño figure in the Philippines. The church was built in such a way that when seen from above it is shaped like a cross. Adjacent to the church is the Arevalo Convent, a heritage building in a Spanish colonial design. Residing parish priest is Rev. Fr. Jose Gerardo Classico Nufable.

Arevalo Town Fiesta

In January, Arevalo celebrates its town fiesta in honor of the Santo Niño. The festivities take place during the month of January, the Fiesta day is held every 3rd Sunday of January. During Fiesta day households open their doors and prepare food for fiesta goers, friends, visitors and distant relatives. A fireworks display contest is one of the highlights of the celebration held on the night of the town fiesta

Paraw Regatta Festival

Arevalo hosts the annual

Paraw Regatta The Paraw Regatta Festival or Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival is an annual festival held every third weekend of February in the Villa de Arevalo district, Iloilo City, Philippines. Its main event is a sailboat race in Iloilo Strait that features t ...

, which is the oldest traditional craft event in Asia, and the largest sailing event in the Philippines. A

paraw Paraw (also spelled ''parao'') are various double outrigger sail boats in the Philippines. It is a general term (similar to the term '' bangka'') and thus can refer to a range of ship types, from small fishing canoes to large merchant lashed-l ...

is a Filipino double-outrigger sailboat much like a

pump boat A pump boat (usually variation as ''pambot'' in local languages) is an outrigger canoe (') powered by a small gasoline or diesel engine. Smaller pump boats might be powered by the sort of small single-cylinder engine used to drive a water pump. ...

which was used for transportation and fishing and still is in limited areas. The main event is the paraw boat race along

Iloilo Strait The Iloilo Strait is a strait in the Philippines that separates the islands of Panay and Guimaras in the Visayas, and connects the Panay Gulf with the Guimaras Strait. It is the location of the Port of Iloilo, the third-busiest of the ports in the ...

and also showcases Pinta Layag, sail painting contest; Porma Balas, sand sculpting; Pintawo, body painting contest; Miss Paraw Regatta, a local beauty pageant; Samba De Regatta, music & Mardi Gras contest; Luces by the Sea, a pyrotechnic exhibition; beach volleyball; and photo competition.

Transportation

Transportation is mainly by

jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become ...

which serves the district to the Iloilo City Proper. Metered taxi cabs also serve the traveling public.

Tricycles A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

and trisikads operate within the district. The Don Benito Acap Southern Iloilo Line Jeepney Terminal (Mohon Terminal) in the district serves the routes to and from southern Iloilo towns and the province of

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

References

External links

Iloilo City Government Official Website
{{Iloilo City Districts of Iloilo City Former municipalities of the Philippines Former provincial capitals of the Philippines