Luisiana, Laguna

History

During the 17th century, there was an area of land in Laguna known as Terreno de Nasonog (Lupaín ng Nasonog in Tagalog). In 1678, Terreno de Nasúnog was divided into three parts: Nasúnog de Lucban, Nasonog de Cavinti, and Nasúnog de Majayjay.

Nasonog de Majayjay later became the town of Luisiana. It was only on April 3, 1854 that ecclesiastical independence was granted to Nasonog by the Governor-General (the Marqués de Novaliches) with the corresponding approval from the Archbishop of Manila, having Don Marcos Bartolomé as its first interim parish priest. Because of the role of Don Luis Bernárdo and his wife Doña Ana, the town was named 'Luis y Ana', later changed to 'Luisiana'.

In 1948, Visita de Luisiana gained civil independence from Majayjay.

In 1903, the towns of Cavinti and Luisiana were combined, Pedro Villanueva of Cavinti was elected mayor and it was during his term that the Aglipay Church was founded in April, 1904. The Romana family funded the construction of a couple of Protestant churches. However, on November 12, 1907 under the leadership of Don Blas Oración, through the Civil Commission, Cavinti and Luisiana became independent towns.

Geography

109 kilometres (68 mi) away from Manila and 22 kilometres (14 mi) away from the provincial capital, Santa Crúz, the town of Luisiana is bounded on the north by Pagsánjan and Cavinti, on the west by Magdalena and Majayjay, on the south by Lucban, Quezon, and Sampaloc in the east.

Luisiana occupies 8,096.33 hectares (20,006.5 acres) on a plateau 1,400 feet (430 m) atop the Sierra Madre mountains.

Barangays

Luisiana is politically subdivided into 23 barangays.

Climate

The climate is cold, humid, and tropical. The average yearly temperature is around 26 °C (78.8 °F).

Economy

Luisiana is basically an agricultural town. At the población, there are only a few commercial establishments which cater to the basic services of the people. Most of them still go to Santa Crúz to do their shopping or marketing and to avail themselves of other services not available in their town.

Sources of income of the people of Luisiana are mainly focused on agriculture such as copra, pandan, palay, bamboo and bunliw, with light industry base and service-sector economy. Piggery and poultry farming are also an additional income.

Transportation

Going to Luisiana by private transportation from Manila, you will pass by the South Superhighway and enter the province via the Calamba exit. Another way is through the Manila East road – Pagsánjan route or coming from Quezon, the Lucbán route.

Luisiana is also accessible by public transportation taking the same routes as mentioned above. However, whichever route you take, a trip to Luisiana will still be long since it is one of the inner towns in Laguna.

From Manila via Calambâ, a bus will take you to Santa Cruz, Laguna. In Santa Cruz, jeepneys going to Luisiana can be found at the jeepney terminal. Just ask a tricycle driver to take you to the terminal of jeepneys going to Luisiana. Via Santa Crúz, you will pass by the town of Pagsanján before reaching Luisiana. You will easily know it when you have reached the town because the roads become zigzagged with lots of sharp twists and turns. This is one of the reasons why Luisiana is called the 'little Baguio of Laguna.'

Sites and events

At the centre of the town, some of the sites are the Roman Catholic Church, the monument of Don Luis Bernárdo (town’s founder) and a monument of Dr. José Protacio Rizal.

But one interesting site in town is the "guard dogs" at the stairs in front of the municipal building. Instead of lions which are common sites or designs in stairs of other buildings, the municipal building of Luisiana has two dogs, which look like Dalmatians, one in each side of the building. However, no one can tell why they are there or what is the story behind the presence of the dogs in the building. Some of them believe that the dogs might have been a part of the town’s history which is yet to be discovered.

Aside from the man-made attractions, Luisiana is also home to natural attractions like falls (such as Hulugan, Bumbóngan, Malaog, Maapon, Limbun-limbón, Aliw, Lagaslás and Botocán-Tiklingan) and caves (such as the caves of Simbahang Bato and Butás Kabag). Although most of these attractions are not yet fully developed commercially, they are open for the public to see in their natural state.

Town feast is celebrated on October 9 for the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Another celebration in town is held every 3 April, which is in commemoration of the town’s establishment as a separate entity from Majáyjay. Luisiana also celebrates the Pandán Festival during this month and also the annual Miss Luisiana beauty pageant to select representative for Miss Laguna beauty pageant. Luisiana has 2 Miss Laguna crowns so far, in 1998 and in 2002.

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Sister cities