Where rich history and bright future merge
City of San Fernando:
As the City of San Fernando gears up towards its endeavor to become the ‘New San Fernando,’Fernandinos led by Mayor Edwin Santiago continue to keep their rich culture and history alive, as they celebrate the city’s 263rd Founding Anniversary and 113th Transfer of the Provincial Capital.
Tracing its roots, the City of San Fernando was founded on August 16, 1754 from the towns of Bacolor and Mexico following the petition of Don Josef Bersosa to create a new pueblo.
On August 15, 1904, then Pampanga Governor Macario Arnedo ordered for transfer of the Provincial Capital from the town of Bacolor to San Fernando by virtue of Act No. 1204.
Hence, annually, the city holds the ‘twin celebration’every August, to commemorate and revisit the two historical events.
This year, the twin celebration was highlighted by the launching of the Heritage Passport mobile app, which aims to provide convenience to foreign and local tourists who want to explore the city.
According to City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan, the interactive mobile application was designed to guide users as they navigate around the city’s heritage sites and attractions. This app will also help them reach their destination through either jeepney, pedicab, kalesa ride, or walking.
A first of its kind, the mobile application developed by Fernandino student John Michael Marcelo, can be downloaded in Google Playstore for free.
Pangilinan stressed that through the said app, the City Tourism Office intends to heighten cultural awareness not only to the Fernandinos but to introduce the city’s heritage sites to other tourists.
Moreover, as part of the city’s mission to preserve San Fernando’s culture and tradition while it evolves into a smarter and more sustainable community, the City Tourism Office, in partnership with the Department of Tourism Region III, conducted a three-day Basic Tour Guiding Seminar to develop the local kutseros into tourism front liner s.
This, as part of the city’s quest to further boost the tourism industry while preserving and promoting calesa as a daily mode of transportation.
According to Pangilinan, the activity also serves as one of the technical requirements for the Department of Tourism’s accreditation of calesas. She said that this move will help avert the extinction of calesas amid tough competition from hundreds of pedicabs and motorcycles in the city.
During the Spanish colonial times, the calesa was the primary public mode of transportation in the City of San Fernando. Through the years, the city government continues to go beyond lengths to preserve this iconic trade through empowering kutseros and giving them sense of pride.
As Mayor Edwin Santiago said: “Only when we look back and value our rich history and heritage can we finally make real our vision of a progressive city— a city that will be a catalyst for development in Pampanga and in Central Luzon.”
Erika Mariel Gines