Founded October 15, 1869 Area code 34 Local time Friday 8:44 AM | Cityhood June 19, 1965 Population 64,469 (2015) University La Carlota City College | |
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Weather 27°C, Wind N at 19 km/h, 74% Humidity | ||
Weekend rides inside la carlota city
La Carlota, officially City of La Carlota, is a fourth class component city in the Philippine province of Negros Occidental in Negros Island Region. With a population of only 64,469 as of 2015, it is the least populous city in the province. Until two years after its foundation in 1871, it was known as Simancas, a barrio under the jurisdiction of the neighboring town of San Enrique, which was led by a Spaniard who was married to a woman named Carlota. Legend has it that she was well-loved by the natives for her social works so that they named their settlement after her when it was created as a municipality near the end of the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines. In line with the Spanish practice of adding an article before a proper noun, “La Carlota” became its official name. On June 19, 1965, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4585, La Carlota was granted a city charter, becoming the only landlocked city in the island province.
Contents
- Weekend rides inside la carlota city
- Map of La Carlota City Negros Occidental Philippines
- History
- Geography
- Barangays
- Demographics
- Landmarks
- Festivals
- Notable people
- Sister Cities
- References
Map of La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
In 2011, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) awarded the city with a "seal of good housekeeping" for its efforts in advancing accountability and transparency in local governance. In the same year, it was also named as one of the top performing local government units in the Philippines, ranking eighth in the component cities category. On December 29, 2011, the city was nominated for excellence in local governance, an honor given by the provincial government under its Pagpasidungog Awards .
History
Throughout much of its early history, agriculture was the main source of livelihood for the settlers of Simancas. The original inhabitants grew rice for their own consumption and latter ones cultivated tobacco for export during the Spanish era. Early settlers were drawn to Candaguit River from where Simancas expanded. In 1856 historians began mentioning the village of Mampunay in their accounts of the settlement's history. The local parish priest of San Enrique at the time designated Simancas as a barrio.
Prior to the establishment of the permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines in 1565, Simancas was led by Mangkas, a negrito warrior. He lived around the area of what is today known as Canman-ug Creek. People looked up to him for his bravery in warding off hostile forces and for keeping the peace. Legend says that because the people revered him, they named their children after him. With many inhabitants named Mangkas, the settlement eventually became known as Simancas.
The prosperous life of the natives was shattered upon the arrival of the Spanish colonizers who easily subdued them with modern weapons against their bows and arrows. Some of the natives fled but others opted to continue living in the village under the harsh rule of the colonizers. This ended years later when Carlota's husband was assigned as capitan of San Enrique town. She was compassionate and tended to the sick and cared for the poor.
In 1856, the barrio of Simancas was placed under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Valladolid. On July 23, 1864, however, the settlements of San Enrique, Pontevedra and Simancas were formed into a new municipality known as San Enrique. On October 15, 1869, the King of Spain issued a royal decree elevating Pontevedra into a parish and Simancas into a town. In 1871, King Carlos of Spain issued another royal decree changing the name of Simancas to La Carlota
The decree was issued upon the request of Spanish "Carlistas," the term used to describe the followers of King Carlos of Spain. On December 4, 1876, a royal order was issued making La Carlota a parish.
By the 1890s, La Carlota’s agricultural advances had become a model for farms throughout Negros. During this period, the sugar planters of La Carlota formed Circulo de Agricultores, the first organization on the island to undertake an anti-locust campaign. When the Philippine revolution broke out in 1898, the planters actively participated in the fight for independence from Spain.
The 1890s were important years in the history not only of La Carlota but of the whole island. It was during this decade when the levantamiento or uprising against Spain started and ended with the capitulation of the Spanish authorities in Bacolod, the capital of the province, to the revolutionary forces in 1898. The division of Negros island into two distinct provinces (Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental) took place in 1890 at the start of this historic decade. La Carlota as well saw a flowering of culture during this decade, which ushered in what many consider as its golden literary age. Near the end of that decade was born in La Carlota one of its most famous children in the literary field: Adelina Gurrea. She later gained world prominence as a journalist, poet and novelist in Spain where she espoused women's causes in her writings.
From 1901 to 1906, La Carlota figured prominently in the anti-American resistance movement on Negros island. It produced some of the best-known Babaylan leaders, chief among whom was Papa Isio. He led the struggle against the American occupation that replaced the Spanish regime as a result of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish–American War and ceded control of the Philippines to the United States. Babaylans or entrencirados conducted guerrilla warfare against the American forces in the towns of La Carlota, Isabela, Kabankalan and La Castellana.
The American period saw the construction of a Gabaldon-type school building in 1908. The Central Azucarera de La Carlota, considered as the biggest sugar mill tandem in Asia, was constructed by the Elizalde family in 1918.
The period from 1918 through the 1980s saw further expansion in La Carlota in terms of infrastructure. The imposing Presidencia Building, the seat of the local government, was constructed in 1934, and since then has become a landmark in the city center. In 1948 the La Carlota City High School building was constructed. Two years later, it hosted the first-ever carnival to be held on the island. La Carlota has produced three world boxing champions: Pancho Villa, world flyweight champion from 1923 to 1925; Small Montana, world flyweight crown holder from 1935 to 1938; and Little Dado (Eleuterio Zapanta), world bantamweight champion in 1940 and world flyweight champion in 1941.
The creation of La Carlota as a chartered city occurred on June 19, 1965 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4585. In 1967, La Carlota City College was established, becoming the only community college in the province at that point in time to be operated by a local government unit. From its humble beginnings as a small settlement, La Carlota has evolved into one of the major sugar-producing cities in the Philippines.
Geography
La Carlota City is geographically located at the southwestern portion of Negros Occidental. It is bounded in the north by Bago City, in the east by the mountain ranges of Kanlaon Volcano, in the southeast by the town of La Castellana, in the south by Pontevedra and in the east by San Enrique. It has a total land area of 13, 729 hectares, most of it devoted to agriculture.
The city enjoys two distinct seasons like the rest of the Philippines: The dry season from January through May and the wet season from June through December.
Barangays
La Carlota City is politically subdivided into 14 barangays (villages), three urban and eleven rural areas. The urban barangays are Barangay I, Barangay II and Barangay III, which are all situated in the city proper. The farthest from the city is Barangay Yubo, which is 17.9 kilometers from the urban core. The city's barangays are as follows:
Demographics
The first recorded census, conducted in 1903, pegged the population at 3,097. The 1995 National Statistics Office survey recorded a population of 56,414. Two years later, the population grew to 57,982, increasing to 62,094 in 2002. By then population density was 4.5 persons per hectare. Of the 14 barangays or villages, Barangay II has the biggest population with 9,221 and Barangay Yubo has the smallest with 1,962.
About 96 percent of the people use Hiligaynon as their main language of communication while four percent of the population use other languages such as Cebuano and Tagalog. English is generally understood and spoken by a large segment of the population.