Nagcarlan

Nagcarlan ([nɐgkɐɾˈlan]), officially the Municipality of Nagcarlan (Filipino: Bayan ng Nagcarlan), is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 66,351 people.^[6]

According to the origin, the name Nagcarlan came from the name of a famous rich and generous woman named Ana Kalang or Ana Panalangin, who was a native woman who was known for her golden salakot 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 extended to those in need. One day, a Spaniard 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.

Before the Spanish conquest of the area, it was headed by Gat Lakilaw. Christianity was propagated to the area in 1578 through Fr. Juan de Plasencia 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. In 1595, Nagcarlan became an independent pueblo (town), separating itself from other towns which were formally established in 1583. The very first Gobernadorcillo was Gaspar Cahupa (Cajopa), a Nagcarleno who served until 1617. The first stone church was built in 1752 by Fr. Cristobal Torres. While the town is already known as Nagcanlang even before the Spaniards came (as evidenced in the 1572 narrative of Juan Masolong, First Christian of Liliw, Laguna), it was Fr. Torres who officially and formally named it Nagcarlan at that time, to honor and recognize the contributions of an influential and respected tribe woman leader named Ana Kalang (baptized as Ana Panalangin). The name Nagcarlan consistently appeared in the Spanish encomienda system during that period as one of the official name of the town. In 1851, Fr. Vicente Velloc, a Franciscan Missionary built the Underground Cemetery, the first of its kind in the Philippines. According to Historical records, this is where the historic Biac-Na-Bato pact was planned by Pedro Paterno and General Severino Taino in 1897. It was also in Nagcarlan, where the Brain of the Katipunan, General Emilio Jacinto, coming from Majayjay and wounded, was captured.

Nagcarlan was first colonized in 1571 by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi. It was founded by Franciscan priests Juan de Plasencia 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 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.

Nagcarlan is 52 kilometers (32 mi) from Santa Cruz and 97 kilometers (60 mi) from Manila.

Nagcarlan is politically subdivided into 52 barangays, as indicated below. ^[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios

The closest city to Nagcarlan is San Pablo. Its neighboring municipalities are Liliw, Rizal, Calauan and Victoria.

In the 2020 census, the population of Nagcarlan was 64,866 people,^[14] with a density of 830 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Nagcarlan

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Along Rizal Avenue, leading from the market to the municipio still stands many old Art Deco buildings built during the 1920s to the 1930s.

There are also many natural attractions within Nagcarlan. The Bunga Falls is a favorite getaway among the locals, while the Yambo Lake can be accessed through the back roads going to Calauan. The "baby" mountains can be climbed in a day, its trails are 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 belltower on the right and an attractive convent on the left. The parish officials still allow visitors to climb up to the top of the belltower to see where Anne Curtis shot most of her scenes in the famous TV series Kampanerang Kuba.

Nagcarlan's best known attraction is Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery, containing 240 niches laying above ground and 36 niches underground. Members of the town's elite were buried underground below the funeral chapel. It is said that the underground cemetery was used by the Katipuneros to hold their secret meetings.

The Nagcarlan-Rizal Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[23]

• Efren V. Esmilla – Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia^[24]
• Esteban Baldivia – actor and comedian
• Alice Doria-Gamilla – composer
• Jak Roberto – actor, model and singer

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived May 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine