Victorias, officially the City of Victorias ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Victorias; fil, Lungsod ng Victorias), is a 4th class
component city
A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...
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 ...
of
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
,
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 90,101 people.
Victorias is notable for the
St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, which was declared as an
Important Cultural Property of the Philippines in December 2015.
It is also the site of
Victorias Milling Company
Victorias Milling Company () is a publicly-listed company in the Philippines that was established in 1919. It is largest producer of sugar in the country and one of the largest sugar millers and refineries in Asia. Its core business is the pro ...
, the world's largest integrated sugar mill, sitting on a compound that makes it the Philippine's largest sugar refinery.
Victorias City also serves as the access point to the
Northern Negros Natural Park
The Northern Negros Natural Park is a protected area of the Philippines located in the northern mountainous forest region of the island of Negros in the Visayas. It is spread over five municipalities and six cities in the province of Negros Occide ...
, popular among hikers visiting
Mount Mandalagan
Mount Mandalagan is a complex volcano located at latitude 10.65° North (10°39'0"N), longitude 123.25° East (123°15'0"E), in the province of Negros Occidental, on the north of the island of Negros of the Philippines. It is located inside the Nor ...
and
Mount Silay
Mount Silay is a stratovolcano and potentially active volcano located in Negros Island, in the Visayas area of the central Philippines. It is located inside the Northern Negros Natural Park.
See also
* List of potentially active volcanoes in ...
.
Victorias City is from
Bacolod
Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...
.
Geography
Barangays
Victorias City is politically subdivided into 26
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 ...
s.
Climate
Demographics
The people in the city speak the
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisaya/Bisaya nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, most o ...
(often called Ilonggo).
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
are generally understood.
Economy
Religion
Notable religions include:
*
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
*
United Pentecostal Church International
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal C ...
*
Baptist Bible Fellowship International
The Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) is a conservative Baptist Christian denomination. It is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.
History
The Fellowship was founded during a meeting in 1950 at Fort Worth in 1950 by a group of 1 ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
*
*
Iglesia ni Cristo
*
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
*
Apostolic Pentecostalism
*
Evangelical Protestantism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
*
Philippine Independent Church
, native_name_lang = fil
, icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg
, icon_width = 80px
, icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church
, image ...
Churches
Notable churches include:
*
St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, also known as the Angry Christ Church
*Ultrafidian Center
*The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Victorias City
*Our Lady of Victory Parish
St. Joseph the Worker Chapel
Within the Victorias Milling Company's complex is the
St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, a masterpiece considered the first example of modern sacral architecture in the Philippines and raised to the status of Important Cultural Property by the
National Museum of the Philippines
The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visu ...
in 2015. The chapel was designed by the famous Czech Architect
Antonín Raymond.
Its
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
of the Angry Christ was painted by international artist
Alfonso Ossorio. The mural has been featured in various publications such as ''
Life Magazine
''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
''. Its fierce, vivid colors gave the church its most known name, the "Angry Christ Church".
Festivals
The city celebrates the annual Kadalag-an Festival, a charter anniversary held on March 21, and the annual Malihaw Festival on April 26.
The city also celebrates the Kalamayan Festival every December. The word "Kalamayan" depicts what Victorias is known for, its “kalamay” or refined sugar and its sugar industry, the Victorias Milling Company.
Notable personalities
*
Noven Belleza
Noven Gonzaga Belleza (November 26, 1994) is a Filipino singer-songwriter. He won as the first season grand champion at ''Tawag ng Tanghalan'' of the noon-time television show '' It's Showtime''. He was born and raised in Victorias City.
Biog ...
- first champion of
Tawag ng Tanghalan
''Tawag ng Tanghalan'' (, abbreviated as TNT) is a Philippines, Philippine amateur singing competition currently airing as a segment of the noon time program, ''It's Showtime (Philippine TV program), It's Showtime'' on ABS-CBN. It airs on the Ka ...
; born in Victorias
*
Alfonso A. Ossorio - Filipino-American abstract expressionist artist; though born in Manila in 1916 to a Negros Occidental family, his ''Angry Christ Mural'' is connected to Victorias City
*
Albee Benitez
Alfredo Abelardo "Albee" Bantug Benitez (born December 20, 1966) is a Filipino-American businessman and politician serving as the City Mayor of Bacolod since 2022. He served three consecutive terms as the House of Representatives of the Philippi ...
- politician, business magnate
Education
Notable educational institutions include:
*
Central Philippines State University – Victorias City Campus
*
Don Bosco Technical Institute, Victorias
Don Bosco Technical Institute of Victorias Inc., also known as Don Bosco Victorias, is a private Catholic Salesian co-educational technical basic education institution run by the Salesians of the Society of Saint John Bosco in Victorias City, N ...
*
La Salle College–Victorias
La Salle College-Victorias (formerly ''University of St. La Salle-Vicmico'') is a private school in Victorias, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ...
*
Negros Occidental National Science High School
The Negros Occidental National Science High School or NONSHS is a public science high school at Estrella Road, Brgy. XIV, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. It is a Department of Education (Philippines), Department of Education-recogn ...
*
Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias
The Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias (CSAV) is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution located along Osmeña Avenue in Victorias, Negros Occidental. The school was established in June 2011 by Romeo Valenia Santa Ana Sr., one ...
Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias
/ref>
*Victorias National High School
*Victorias Elementary School
*Laura Vicuña Women Development & Training Center (Hda.Malihao, Barangay XX, Victorias City)
*Jack & Jill School/Castleson High
References
External links
Victorias City profile at the official website of Negros Occidental
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine census information
Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Cities in Negros Occidental
Component cities in the Philippines