“Maorag Magayon Maogma, Mga taga-Naga” The Heart of Bicol region, Naga City has been for hundreds of years a center of trade, education, culture, and the seat of governmental and ecclesiastical authority. It has a rich and vibrant culture shown in the famous Peñafrancia Festival which is one of the biggest and most popular religious events in the Philippines. This celebration and other famous infrastructure in the city such as Our Lady of Peñafrancia Museum, Museo del Seminario Concillar de Nueva Caceres & Basilica Minore attributes to the increase of the city’s tourism. Naga city is the hub of education in Bicol due to the presence of various academic institutions like Ateneo de Naga University, Universidad de Sta Isabel, University of Nueva Caceres and many more. It progressed from a simple and dull city to being one of the most improved cities in the Philippines. But how did it reach its peak of fame? And more importantly where did the name Naga City come from?
 |
General Luna Street before
Source:www.nagalibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/03/2009-filipino-heritage-festival.html |
|
General Luna Street at Present Source:naga.gov.ph//gallery/photos/6/6_20030922132731.jpg |
Some places are named after an influential person while others are named after a certain object the place is famous for. According to the book named Naga: The Birth and Rebirth of A City by Danilo Gerona published in the year 2006, before the coming of the Spanish colonial government, Naga which was then a flourishing village off the riverbanks of the storied Naga River, was already a blooming community. With panday-like weapons and astonishingly advanced technology, it was then a leading village. Narra Tree was seen all over the area and because of its abundance the city was named after Naga which was then the bicol term for Narra. The name was changed to Nueva Caceres in honor of Francisco de Sande, a governor general and a native of Caceres in Spain during the Spanish Colonization. Caceres is the name of a town in Extremadura, Spain. Therefore, Nueva Caceres means New Caceres in the Bicol region during those times. Nueva Caceres remained the capital of Camarines Sur province until the formal independence of Naga City under the Philippine Republic. With the arrival of American rule, it was officially known as Naga City.
Naga City has survived a lot of difficult times and will still remain a bright gravestone of the early beginnings of the Philippines. Naga is now one of the most improved cities here in the Philippines because of its outstanding governance, hardworking people and because it is bordered on all sides b
y agricultural, forest and fishing areas which makes it a perfect location for business and industries.
