Nagcarlan, officially the Municipality of Nagcarlan ( tgl, Bayan ng Nagcarlan), 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 state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Laguna,

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 64,866 people. It is northeast of San Pablo City, or south of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. The town is home to the

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery ( fil, Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan) is a national historical landmark and museum in Barangay Bambang, Nagcarlan, Laguna supervised by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It was buil ...

, one of the most important cemeteries in the Philippines which has been declared as a National Historical Landmark by virtue of Presidential Decree no. 260, dated August 1, 1973 with amendments by Administrative Order 1505, dated June 11, 1978. Since the declaration, no more burials were allowed in the cemetery. It underwent renovations before it was again opened to the public during the unveiling of the marker on november 24, 1981. The oldest tomb is dated 1887 while the last interment was in 1982 when it was formally declared as a National Historical Landmark.

Etymology

According to the origin, the name ''Nagcarlan'' came from the name of a famous rich and generous woman by Ana Kalang or Ana Panalangin was a native woman who was known for her golden

salakot Salakót is a traditional lightweight headgear from the Philippines that is commonly used during pre-colonial era up to the present day, used for protection against the sun and rain. Every ethnolinguistic group in the archipelago has their own ...

and cane which she always carried when walking around town. She was well-respected by the townfolk not just for her wealth but also for the help she extends to those in need. One day, a

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...

came to her house and upon looking out of the window, he saw branches swaying and hitting one another, and so he asked what was going on. Ana Kalang answered and said "nagkakalang sila". The word was repeatedly mispronounced by the Spaniards until it became Nagcarlan, which is now the name of the town.

History

Before the

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 ...

conquest of the area, it was headed by Gat Lakilaw.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

was propagated to the area in 1578 through Fr.

Juan de Plasencia Miguel Juan de Plasencia () was a Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order. He was among the first group of Franciscan missionaries who arrived in the Philippines on 2 July 1578. He spent most of his missionary life in the Philippines, where he fou ...

and Fr. Diego Oropesa, both missionaries of Franciscan Order. The area became a formal town in 1583 under Fr. Tomas de Miranda, who brought and successfully cultivated in Nagcarlan the first wheat seeds ever on our country's soil. The very first Gobernadorcillo was Gaspar Cahupa, a Nagcarleno who served until 1687. The first church was built in 1752 by Fr. Cristobal Torres. In 1851, Fr. Vicente Velloc, a Franciscan Missionary built the Underground Cemetery, the first of its kind in the

. According to Historical records, this is where the historic Biac-Na-Bato pact was planned by

Pedro Paterno Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera IgnacioGarcía Castellón, Manuel. (February 27, 1857 – April 26, 1911, 993 pages) was a Filipino politician infamous for being a turncoat. He was also a poet and a novelist. His intervention on behalf of th ...

and General Severino Taino in 1897. It was also in Nagcarlan, where the Brain of the

Katipunan The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK; en, Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation ...

, General

Emilio Jacinto Emilio Jacinto y Dizon (; December 15, 1875 – April 16, 1899) was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution. He was one of the highest-ranking officers in the Philippine Revolution and was one of the highest-ranking officers of the ...

, coming from

Majayjay Majayjay, officially the Municipality of Majayjay ( tgl, Bayan ng Majayjay), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,893 people. It is located at the foot of M ...

and wounded, was captured.

The Legend of the Hidden Tunnel of Nagcarlan

Nagcarlan was first colonized in 1571 by

Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish- Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompa ...

, grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi. It was founded by Franciscan priests

and Diego Oropesa in 1578. The church of Nagcarlan was first built from light materials such as nipa and wood in 1583 under the chaplaincy of its first priest, Father Tomas de Miranda who also pioneered the cultivation of wheat in the country and was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew.Fr. Vicente Velloc supervised the establishment of a cemetery in Nagcarlan in 1845 below Mt. San Cristobal. Unlike the traditional Spanish cemeteries at that time, Fr. Velloc decided to build it away from the town's center. The cemetery is planned to serve as a public resting place for the people of the town while the underground chamber below the chapel of the cemetery will only house remains of Spanish friars and prominent people. It was built together with the construction of the expanded St. Bartholomew Parish Church and rectory. The

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

is built with a chapel where funeral masses were held and directly below it is an underground crypt. Pilgrims flock to the Nagcarlan Church to pray before the images of St. Bartholomew and San Diego de Alcala known for their miraculous healing. However, there is also one interesting belief among the locals about a hidden tunnel which is referred to as "the Jewel of Nagcarlan" the stories about the existence of a "hidden tunnel of the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery" circulated and never ceased to depart from the minds of the believers. This legend has been passed from generations after generations of Nagcarleños about the hidden

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

somewhere in the very heart of

that is believed to be connected behind the church's

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. Stories unendingly chronicled that the Franciscan Father Vicente Belloc who supposedly had the first hand knowledge of the secret tunnel, protectively carried the secret of the underground tunnel to his grave. To this date, many in Nagcarlan still believe and adhere to the "hearsays" that if one can locate "the Jewel of Nagcarlan", "the Hidden Tunnel of Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery that connects below the Altar of Nagcarlan

Catholic 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 ...

Church, he might also be tracking his way up to the summit of the Legendary Mount

Banahaw Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces an ...

Geography

Barangays

Nagcarlan is subdivided into 52

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 metropolita ...

s. * Abo * Alibungbungan * Alumbrado * Balayong * Balimbing * Balinacon * Bambang * Banago * Banca-banca * Bangcuro * Banilad * Bayaquitos * Buboy * Buenavista * Buhanginan * Bukal * Bunga * Cabuyew * Calumpang * Kanluran Kabubuhayan * Silangan Kabubuhayan * Labangan * Lawaguin * Kanluran Lazaan * Silangan Lazaan * Lagulo * Maiit * Malaya * Malinao * Manaol * Maravilla * Nagcalbang *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

I (

) * Poblacion II (

) * Poblacion III (

) * Oples * Palayan * Palina * Sabang * San Francisco * Sibulan * Silangan Napapatid * Silangan Ilaya * Sinipian * Santa Lucia * Sulsuguin * Talahib * Talangan * Taytay * Tipacan * Wakat * Yukos

Climate

Distances

Based on the great-circle distance (the shortest distance between two points over the surface of the Earth), the cities closest to Nagcarlan are San Pablo,

Tayabas Tayabas, officially the City of Tayabas ( fil, Lungsod ng Tayabas), is a 6th class component city in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 112,658 people. It is known for ''lambanog'' (cocon ...

, Calamba, Tanauan,

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...

, and Lipa. The nearest municipalities are Liliw, Rizal,

, Magdalena,

Calauan Calauan (), officially the Municipality of Calauan ( tgl, Bayan ng Calauan), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. The municipality has a land area of 25.25 square miles which constitutes 3.41% of Laguna's total a ...

, and

Luisiana Luisiana, officially the Municipality of Luisiana ( tgl, Bayan ng Luisiana), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,859 people. Locals call the town ''Little ...

. Its distance from the national capital is 68.58 kilometers (42.62 miles). The following list delineates such distance measurements. ;Nearest towns * Liliw, Laguna, 2.65 kilometers (1.65 miles) to the East‑Southeast (S76°E) Rizal, Laguna, 3.25 kilometers (2.02 miles) to the Southwest (S40°W)

Majayjay, Laguna Majayjay, officially the Municipality of Majayjay ( tgl, Bayan ng Majayjay), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,893 people. It is located at the foot of M ...

, 6.53 kilometers (4.06 miles) to the East (N81°E) Magdalena, Laguna, 7.21 kilometers (4.48 miles) to the North‑Northeast (N14°E)

Calauan, Laguna Calauan (), officially the Municipality of Calauan ( tgl, Bayan ng Calauan), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. The municipality has a land area of 25.25 square miles which constitutes 3.41% of Laguna's total a ...

, 10.55 kilometers (6.55 miles) to the West (N83°W) Luisiana, Laguna, 11.74 kilometers (7.29 miles) to the East‑Northeast (N63°E) ;Nearest cities *

San Pablo, Laguna San Pablo, officially the City of San Pablo ( fil, Lungsod ng San Pablo), is a 1st class component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 285,348 people. It is located in the southern ...

, 11.95 kilometers (7.43 miles) to the Southwest (S52°W)

Tayabas, Quezon Tayabas, officially the City of Tayabas ( fil, Lungsod ng Tayabas), is a 6th class component city in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 112,658 people. It is known for ''lambanog'' (cocon ...

, 22.86 kilometers (14.21 miles) to the East‑Southeast (S58°E) Calamba, Laguna, 28.09 kilometers (17.46 miles) to the West‑Northwest (N73°W)

Tanauan, Batangas Tanauan, officially the City of Tanauan ( fil, Lungsod ng Tanauan), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...

, 28.63 kilometers (17.79 miles) to the West‑Southwest (S79°W)

, 31.02 kilometers (19.28 miles) to the Southeast (S44°E)

Lipa, Batangas Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa ( fil, Lungsod ng Lipa), is a 1st class component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people. It is the first city charter in the pr ...

, 34.44 kilometers (21.40 miles) to the Southwest (S51°W) ;From national capital * Distance from

: 68.58 kilometers (42.62 miles) to the Northwest (N43°W)

Demographics

{{Philippine Census , align= none , title= Population census of {{PH wikidata, name , 1903 = {{PH census population, 1903 , 1918 = {{PH census population, 1918 , 1939 = {{PH census population, 1939 , 1948 = {{PH census population, 1948 , 1960 = {{PH census population, 1960 , 1970 = {{PH census population, 1970 , 1975 = {{PH census population, 1975 , 1980 = {{PH census population, 1980 , 1990 = {{PH census population, 1990 , 1995 = {{PH census population, 1995 , 2000 = {{PH census population, 2000 , 2007 = {{PH census population, 2007 , 2010 = {{PH census population, 2010 , 2015 = {{PH census population, 2015 , 2020 = {{PH census population, 2020 , 2025 = , 2030 = , footnote= Source:

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

{{PH census, 2015{{PH census, 2010{{PH census, 2007{{LWUA population data In the 2020 census, the population of Nagcarlan, Laguna, was 64,866 people,{{PH census, current with a density of {{convert, {{sigfig, 64,866/78.10, 2, PD/km2, disp=or.

Economy

{{PH poverty incidence

Election

2022

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - ! colspan="10", 2022 Nagcarlan local election , - ! rowspan="2" colspan="2", Party ! rowspan="2", Candidates ! colspan="5", Running Mate ! rowspan="2", Votes ! rowspan="2", % , - ! colspan="2", Party ! Candidate ! Votes ! % , - , style="background:{{party color, Nacionalista Party;" , , Nacionalista , Elmor Vita , style="background:{{party color, Aksyon Demokratiko;" , , Aksyon , Rexon Arevalo (Incumbent) , 25,357 , 68.64 , 21,974 , 57.78 , - , style="background:{{party color, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan;" , , PDP{{endashLaban , Lourdes Arcasetas (Incumbent) , style="background:{{party color, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan;" , , PDP{{endashLaban , Evelyn Sotoya , 11,587 , 31.36 , 16,055 , 42.22 , - ! colspan="6", Total votes , style="background:lightgray;" , 36,944 , style="background:lightgray;" , 100.00 , style="background:lightgray;" , 38,029 , style="background:lightgray;" , 100.00 , - , style="background:lightgray;" colspan="10" align="left", Winner : Nacionalista, Aksyon , -

2019

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - ! colspan="10", 2019 Nagcarlan local election , - ! rowspan="2" colspan="2", Party ! rowspan="2", Candidates ! colspan="5", Running Mate ! rowspan="2", Votes ! rowspan="2", % , - ! colspan="2", Party ! Candidates ! Votes ! % , - , style="background:{{party color, Nacionalista Party;" , , Nacionalista , Lourdes "Ody" Arcasetas , style="background:{{party color, Nacionalista Party;" , , Nacionalista , Felipe Arcigal III , 12,041 , 38.53 , 17,781 , 54.78 , - , style="background:{{party color, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan;" , , PDP{{endashLaban , Amie Malabag-Hernandez , style="background:{{party color, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan;" , , PDP{{endashLaban , Rexon Arevalo , 13,171 , 42.14 , 10,897 , 33.58 , - ! colspan="3", , style="background:{{party color, Independent politician;" , , Independent , Cecille Plantilla , 3,946 , 12.63 ! colspan="2", , - , style="background:{{party color, Lakas-CMD;" , , Lakas{{endashCMD , Manolo Cura , style="background:{{party color, Lakas-CMD;" , , Lakas{{endashCMD , Neri Monteza , 2,094 , 6.70 , 3,777 , 11.64 , - ! colspan="6", Total votes , style="background:lightgray;" , 32,455 , style="background:lightgray;" , 100.00 , style="background:lightgray;" , 31,252 , style="background:lightgray;" , 100.00 , - , style="background:lightgray;" colspan="10" align="left", Winner : Nacionalista, PDP{{endashLaban

Transportation

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

jeepneys 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 ...

are popular modes of transportation in Nagcarlan.

Tourism

{{Advert, section, date=October 2020 Nagcarlan Church San Bartolome Apostol Parish

Nagcarlan has clean flowing rivers, gushing water falls, calm lakes and lush hills and mountains, historic Spanish colonial sites, restaurants with competitive and affordable dishes, resorts and vacation houses. Along Rizal Avenue, leading from the market to the municipio still stands many old

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

buildings built during the 1920s to the 1930s. The presence of many narrow three-story buildings where the ground floors are rented out to commercial establishments in Nagcarlan is an indication that the town may have played the role of the central trading center early in the previous century. There are also many natural attractions within Nagcarlan. The little known Bunga Falls is a favorite getaway among the locals, while the hidden Yambo Lake can be accessed through the back roads going to Calauan. The "baby" mountains can be climbed in a day, the assistance of a local guide is usually required, as the trails are usually covered with vegetation. Another interesting attraction is the San Bartolome Apostol Church. Located on an elevated ground overlooking the rest of the town, the 18th century church built by the Franciscans has an elegant stone and red clay façade with an imposing bell-tower on the right and an attractive convento on the left. The parish officials still allow visitors to climb up to the top of the bell tower to see where Anne Curtis shot most of her scenes in the famous TV series ''Kampanerang Kuba''.{{citation needed, date=September 2020 Nagcarlan's best known attraction is

. This one of its kind cemetery in the

, where there are 240 niches laying above ground and 36 niches underground. Members of the town's elite were buried underground below the funeral

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

. It is said that the underground cemetery was used by the Katipuneros to hold their secret meetings.

Notable personalities

* Esteban Baldivia - (September 2, 1928 – October 10, 1997), better known as Dencio Padilla or Tata Dens, was a veteran Filipino actor and comedian. *

Jak Roberto Jan Rommel Osuna Roberto (born December 2, 1993), professionally known as Jak Roberto, is a Filipino actor, model and singer. He was a member of the trio boy band 3LOGY alongside Jeric Gonzales and Abel Estanislao. Roberto is currently worki ...

- Jan Rommel "Jak" Osuna Roberto (born December 2, 1993) is a Filipino actor, model and singer. He was a member of the trio boy band 3LOGY alongside Jeric Gonzales and Abel Estanislao. Roberto is currently working as an exclusive artist of GMA Network, and is known for his role as Andres "Andoy" dela Cruz in the 2017 television series ''Meant To Be'' . Roberto is brother to fellow GMA artist Sanya Lopez.

References

{{reflist

External links

{{Commons category * {NSCB detail Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Geographic location , Centre = Nagcarlan , North = Pila , Northeast = Magdalena , East = Liliw , South =

Dolores, Quezon Dolores, officially the Municipality of Dolores ( tgl, Bayan ng Dolores), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,514 people. It is located at the foot of Mount ...

/ Candelaria, Quezon , Southwest = Rizal , West =

San Pablo , Northwest =

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

{{Laguna {{CALABARZON {{Laguna Special Zones {{Authority control Municipalities of Laguna (province)