Carigara, Leyte
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Carigara (), officially the Municipality of Carigara ( war, Bungto han Carigara; tl, Bayan ng Carigara), is a 2nd 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 ...
of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
,
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 54,656 people. The town, founded in 1571, is the first town established in the entire region of
Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...
. In 1735,
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
and
Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
were separated from
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 ...
and placed under a single provincial government with Carigara as the first provincial capital. Carigara is known for its
pastillas Pastillas, also known as pastillas de leche (literally "milk pills"), refer to a type of milk-based confections that originated in the town of San Miguel in Bulacan, Philippines. From San Miguel, pastillas-making spread to other Philippine pro ...
, ''humba'', ''sundang'' (machete), and the ''hubhob'', a local delicacy made from grated cassava, egg, ''
kalamay ''Kalamay'' (also spelled ''Calamay'', literally "sugar"), is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine ...
'', milk, and sugar cooked inside a ''bagacay'' (bamboo pole) over charcoals.


History

Carigara was originally called ''"Kan Gara"'', meaning "that of Gara" or simply "Gara's." Gara was said to have come from
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, one of the unnamed companions of the ten datus who landed in
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 ...
and purchased that island from the Ati (or Aeta) chief Marikudo. Later, for phonetic convenience, ''"Kan Gara"'' became ''Kalgara'' and when the Spaniards came, they called the place Carigara; hence its present name. Carigara is the first town established in
Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...
. Its town fiesta which is celebrated every 16 July, commemorates the day of the first coming of the Spaniards dated July 16, 1569. The fiesta that is celebrated almost the entire month of July was dubbed as the Fiesta of the Holy Cross. In the first quarter of 2018,
Puregold Puregold Price Club, Inc. or simply Puregold (stylized as PUREGOLD) is a chain of supermarkets in the Philippines trading goods such as consumer products (canned goods, housewares, toiletries, dry goods, and food products, among others) on a ...
was able to penetrate the town market and became operational to serve Carigaran-ons and the neighboring towns. The first mall opened as well, then followed by Goldilocks in the second quarter of 2019.


Carigara's Attempt for a World Record

Last July 14, 2018, Carigara attempted to clinch
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the "''Largest Participants in Philippine Folk Dance''" by performing ''Kuratsa'' or Curacha. The event was part of the town's 423rd fiesta celebration on July 16, it made the locals proud and hopeful that the said event will help to boost their town's economic and tourism activities. With nearly 5,000 participants mostly students and teachers from different schools, municipal workers, the private sector, and local residents have joined. Carigara had already submitted their bid, waiting for the official confirmation.


Geography


Topography

It is a town in the northern part of Leyte province located right on the shores of
Carigara Bay Carigara Bay (; ), is a large bay in the northern part of Leyte in the Philippines. The bay is bounded by Leyte to its western, southern and eastern parts and the island of Biliran to the northwest. It is named after the municipality of Carigar ...
, and surrounded by wide rice fields fanning out towards the mountains in the distance. Carigara shares borders with Capoocan to the west,
Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...
to the south, Jaro to the southeast, Tunga to the east and
Barugo Barugo (IPA: ɐˈɾugo, officially the Municipality of Barugo ( war, Bungto han Barugo; tl, Bayan ng Barugo), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,497 people ...
to the northeast.


Flora and Fauna


''Flora''

The climate and topographical features of the vast land, wide rice fields and hilly areas of Carigara make it ideal for the growing of fruit-bearing trees, vegetables and various crops. Among the fruit-bearing trees most fitting to be planted are
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s,
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
s,
jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...
s,
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
es,
guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...
s, ''
rambutan Rambutan (; taxonomic name: ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to s ...
s'', '' santol'', and
star apple ''Chrysophyllum cainito'' is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated. It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including ...
s. For vegetables, '' gabi'', '' karubasa'', '' pipino'', '' kamalunggay'', '' marigoso'', '' munggos'', '' sitaw'', and '' upo'' are the most commonly produced by some farmers and local residents in which thrive best in the community. For crops, '' kamote'' and '' balanghoy'' are the root crops that mainly thrive and
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
crops, plus more.


''Fauna''

Carigara possesses vast forests especially near the highlands, its fauna is a mixture of domestic and non-domestic animals. Some of those domesticated are
carabao The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
s, horses, cats, dogs, chickens, and pigs. Non-domesticated or wild animals should include snakes, frogs, insects, various kinds of lizards, birds and many more.


Barangays

Carigara is politically subdivided into 49
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, namely:


Climate


Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Carigara, Leyte, was 54,656 people, with a density of .


Language

The Waray language is the predominant language spoken by the people within the
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 ...
and serves as the
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the town. Other recognized minority languages are Cebuano and Tagalog. Residents are also literate and knowledgeable in
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 ...
.
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
is also present and used in a very few purpose, like building names, street names, in Catholic churches and historical archives, but not in speech and communication.


Faith and Religion

Carigara is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
municipality, and most of the population are
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. There are also adherents of other Christian denominations and sects like the '' Iglesia ni Cristo'',
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(Mormons),
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
s ''(Sabadistas)'', Evangelicals or '' Born Again Christians'',
Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
,
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 ...
''(Mga Saksi ni Jehova)'' and some more.


Economy


Culture


Festival

On January 25, 2019, Carigara had officially celebrated its first festival along with their 448th founding anniversary called the Magara Festival. ''Magara'' locally means abundant, elegant, and vibrant. The first ''Magara'' Festival focuses mainly on the celebration of the abundance of the town's agriculture, local products, history, and its people.


Events

''Turugpo'' is a major public fight event between two male
carabao The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
s or two male horses held every Black Saturday. It is a popular event in the town attracting thousands of local and foreign tourists just to witness the famous fight.


Tourism

Here's a list of some tourist attractions of the municipality of Carigara. Attractions include: *Lauron's Boulevard (Brgy. Baybay & Ponong) This is the place where people can buy street foods like ''
isaw ''Isaw'' is a popular street food from the Philippines, made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines. It is a type of ''inihaw''. The intestines are cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again, repeating the process several times; they are t ...
'', pork barbecues, and many more. *Carigara Municipal Library and Museum (Brgy. Baybay) *Cassidy Elementary School (Brgy. Ponong) A school famous for its classical-style building. *''Datu Gara'' Shrine (Brgy. Canal) *''Gawas an Harigue'' (Brgy. Baybay) An old house with exposed posts on the sides. *Heroes Shrine (Brgy. Baybay & Ponong) Located right between Carigara Boulevard and the ''Kan Gara'' Gymnasium. *Holy Cross Parish Church (Brgy. Ponong) The oldest and largest church in Carigara. *''Kan Gara'' Gymnasium (Brgy. Ponong) The largest gymnasium. *Lumen Ancestral House (Brgy. Sawang) The only house in the town which serves as a shelter for '' balinsasayaos''. *''Plaza Triunfo'' (Brgy. Ponong) The largest plaza. *St. Francis Assisi Parish (Brgy. Jugaban)


Infrastructures


Transportation


Land Transport

*
Pedicab The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, ...
s are the common mode of transportation within the town proper and the '' poblacións''. *
Tricycle 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, ...
s and '' habal-habals'' on the other hand are commonly used for travelling within the town, especially to the far-flung
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. * Vans,
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 ...
s and
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es are the mode of transport when travelling to the cities of
Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...
and
Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...
or to the municipalities that are faraway from the town. There are few bus companies situated in Carigara. There are new modernized PUVs that travel from Carigara to Tacloban and vice versa issued by its local government on 24 November 2021.


Sea Transport

The municipality owns a port that is located in Barangay Baybay where local boats and ships docks.


Healthcare Service

Carigara District Hospital, also abbreviated as CDH is the only public hospital in the town. Other residents of nearby towns also come here to bring their ill patients for admission and further medical service attention.


Utilities


Education

There are a total of 30 elementary schools, 5 high schools (''1 Private, 4 Public'') and 2 college institutions located on Carigara.


Grade School/Elementary School


Secondary School/High School

*Carigara National High School *Carigara National Vocational School (formerly Carigara School of Fisheries) *Jugaban National High School *Sogod National High School *Holy Cross College of Carigara (Private)


College/University

*Holy Cross College of Carigara *
Eastern Visayas State University The Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU; Filipino: ''Pamantasang Pampamahalaan ng Silangang Visayas''; Waray: ''Unibersidad han Sinirangan Bisayas'') is a regional state higher education institution in Tacloban City, Philippines. It is the ol ...
(Carigara Campus)


Notable personalities

*Eduardo Makabenta Sr. - Waray-language poet and translator *
Mike Hanopol Michael Abarico Hanopol (born April 10, 1946), also known as Mike Hanopol, is a Filipino rockLosorata, YugelMike Hanopol's lyrics of praise.(Entertainment)''Manila Bulletin'', Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp., March 28, 2005
- musician, singer-songwriter


Gallery


References


External links

*
Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Leyte (province)