Minalin

The Municipality of Minalin is a fourth class highly developed municipality situated in the coastal province of Pampanga, part of Region III or Central Luzon.

 The neighboring  cities to Minalin are San Fernando, Pampanga, Malolos, Bulacan, Angeles, Mabalacat, Pampanga, Balanga, Bataan, and Meycauayan, Bulacan. The nearest metropolises are Santo Tomas, Pampanga, Bacolor, Pampanga, Guagua, Pampanga, Macabebe, Pampanga, Sasmuan, Pampanga, and Santa Rita, Pampanga.

Originally named Minalis, the town is also widely known as the “Egg Basket of Luzon” due to the massive production of eggs and chickens. 

History 

The town of Minalin was formerly named “Minalis” and it is situated southwest of the City of San Fernando, which is the Capital of Pampanga.  It was founded on August 27, 1614. 

According to the book written by Don Mariano Henson, “The Province of Pampanga and its Towns,” the 4 town’s founders viz., Nucum, Mendiola, Intal, and Lopez negotiated with the Datu of Macabebe to purchase a piece of land as far as the border which is now known as ‘Lacmit’ and called the location as Santa Maria honoring the respective wife of the 4 founders of the town with the name Maria.

A church was supposed to be erected in Santa Maria however, floodwater brought some of the construction materials like Lumber to another location named “Burol” (Hilly Place) where the church was built. Ever since, the town was known as “Minalis,” which means “moved to”. The myth of Minalin’s name came from “minalis la ding dutung, minalis ya ing pisamban” (the lumber moved, and so must the church).

“Mina” means mine, a word inscribed on a rock left at the sitio in 1700 by a Spaniard José Espeleta, and “Lin”, the founder’s name.

However, according to some accounts, the origin of the town of Minalin started as a Malayan settlement under the control of Kahn Bulaun, a descendant of Prince Balagtas. The community was then called ‘Tigip” however, when the Spanish conquerors came to ransack and raped some of the women of the town, they gave it a new name and called it “Mina Linda de las Mujeres” because of the good-looking women they met in the area. 

A Chinese trader coming from the town of Wawa (Guagua) founded a store in the area however, he mispronounced the name of the town instead he said, “Minah Linah Neh lah Muchele.” Later on, the townsfolks shortened the name into “Minalina.”

 Diego Tolentino, a Governadorcillo wrote Minalin instead of Minalis and the Calendario Manual y Guia de Forasteros, spelled Minalin from 1939 to 1841.

By the year 1860, the town of Minalin was one of the major producers of rice, corn, sugar cane, cacao, indigo, and fruits which also included dye, nipa wine, vinegar, and mats.

Barangay

The Municipality of Minalin is subdivided into 15 barangays. 

Festivals 

“Aguman Sanduk” Festival (Minalin New Year’s Celebration

The festival is being held every January 1^st, in which all straight men in Minalin town will dress up as beauty queens.  It’s an exclusive tradition in the town of Minalin, which is ongoing since 1934. It is also referred to as the “Belles if Minalin” however, the Minalin folks preferred calling it “Aguman Sanduk; which means “Association of the Ladles,” as a way of celebrating and respecting all kinds of gender. 

Egg Festival 

The Municipality of Minalin celebrated its reputation for producing over a million chicken eggs per day by celebrating the Philippines’ first “First Egg Festival on June 4, 2008. That’s why the town is also known as the “Egg Basket of Luzon.”

La Purisima Concepcion Festival 

The Sta Maria Barangay Youth Ministry of Barangay Sta Maria led the said festival honoring the Image of La Purisima Concepcion which according to the book, “Piaquitan qng Milabas ning Sta Maria”, in the year 1609, a figure was discovered placed inside a dried gourd skin levitating in front of the chapel they were constructing. 

Landmark and Attractions

Santa Monica Parish Church

The town of Minalin was also known for its 403-year-old Santa Monica Church which was also acknowledged as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Museum of the Philippines on August 27, 2011. It was founded in 1614 and started as sub parish of Macabebe. Locals would often call it “Minalin Church.”

Minalin Mural

One famous tourist attraction that you can find at Sta. Monica Church is a 400-year-old map painted on the church’s walls, commonly called the “Minalin Mural

The mural is made composed of argamasa – a kind of cement used during the period which is made of lime mortar, fine river sand, and egg whites. The mural displays the date “1619”, and is alleged to have been created within five years of that time.

The Patio and Convent Museum

The acknowledgment of the church as one of the National Cultural Treasure (NCT) was the second in Pampanga after the St. James Church in Betis, Guagua.

Museo Ampon Simpanan Kabiasnan Ning Minalin

Also known as the “The Museum and Library of Minalin.” It is located in the town plaza in San Nicholas, Minalin, Pampanga. 

References:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minalin

*https://www.zamboanga.com/z/index.php?title=Minalin,_Pampanga,_Philippines

*https://www.pampanga.gov.ph/index.php/about-pampanga-2/189-capitol/tourism/municipality/315-minalin.html

* https://infogalactic.com/info/Minalin,_Pampanga

*https://www.letsgopampanga.com/minalin-pampanga-camaraderie-center-of-pampanga-and-egg-basket-of-central-luzon-2572/

*https://www.pampanga.gov.ph/index.php/the-government/about-the-provincial-government/citizen-s-charter/153-capitol/districts/district-iv/minalin/334-municipality-of-minalin.html

* https://localphilippines.com/destinations/minalin

* https://www.philatlas.com/luzon/r03/pampanga/minalin.html

* http://www.oocities.org/pisamban/minalin.htm

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Monica_Parish_Church_(Minalin)

*For corrections or commentaries, please email us at whereinpampanga@gmail.com