We all know that Lucena City is the only first-class and highly urbanized city in the province of Quezon. And some of its nicknames are LC, Cocopalm City of the South, The Gateway to the South, and the Entertainment Capital of Southern Luzon.
Pero paano nga ba at kailan nagsimulang maging siyudad ang Lucena? Here’s Lucena City’s History in tidbits 🙂 :
1571-1572 – Capitan Juan de Salcedo first explored the province of Kalilaya.
1580-1583 – Franciscan priests Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa founded the town of Tayabas in the provice of Kalilaya and the city then was just one of its barrios.
1591 – the province of Kalilaya was organized into districts which then included a portion of Laguna and Nueva Ecija.
16th Century – when the Spaniards named the barrio site “Buenavista” which means “beautiful view”. Years later the barrio’s name “Buenavista” was changed into the name “Oroquieta” in honor of the then Spanish Governor Domingo Moriones Murillo, a Marquis of Oroquieta, Spain.
17th Century – the name “Oroquieta” was changed to “Cotta” which means fort. This is because forts or cottas were built to defend it from Muslim pirates.
1701 – Nueva Ecija was separated from the province of Kalilaya.
1749 – the capital of Kalilaya was transferred from the town of Kalilaya (Unisan) to Tayabas. The name of the province was also changed from Kalilaya to Tayabas.
November 5, 1879 – finally, the name Lucena was adopted pursuant to an Orden Real Superior Civil to honor the Franciscan priest, Father Mariano Granja. Father Granja established his parish in the barrio and he was the one who is responsible for the barrio’s development. He was believed to be a native of Lucena, Andalucia, Spain.
1881 – the barrio of Lucena became a Parish.
June 1, 1882 – Lucena was declared as an independent municipality of Tayabas.
1896 – the captain municipal of Lucena, Jose Zaballero, led the local revolutionaries.
August 15, 1898 – After the declaration of Philippine Independence, Don Crisanto Marquez was elected as the first ever municipal president.
March 12, 1901 – Lucena was made capital of Tayabas province due to its strategic location and accessibility to the sea.
December 27, 1941 – Lucena was occupied by the Japanese conquerors during the World War II.
January 25, 1945 – The Japanese conquerors were successfully driven out by the Hunter ROTC guerillas.
April 4, 1945 – The province was formally liberated from the Japanese by the joint Filipino and American Troops.
September 7, 1946 – President Manuel A. Roxas renamed the Tayabas Province to Quezon Province in honor of the late President Manuel L. Quezon by the virtue of Republic Act No. 14.
June 17, 1961 – Lucena became a chartered city through the virtue of Republic Act No. 3271 sponsored by Cong. Pascual Espinosa and Cong. Manuel S. Enverga.
August 20, 1962 – Lucena City was formally inaugurated after the 84th birth anniversary of the late President Quezon on August 19.
July 1, 1991 – Lucena City became a Highly Urbanized City.
That’s the quick look back on Lucena City’s rich and colorful history. Do you know that the history of Lucena City was even made into an indie film? It was entitled “Buenavista (Ang Kasaysayan ng Lucena)” made by the TV/Film Director, Felino Tañada, which stars Precious Lara Quigaman and Luis Alandy. Well, that’s a bonus trivia for you. 🙂