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These unique activities and tourist spots will show you why San Fernando, Pampanga is a bustling destination you should check out.
If you are a traveler headed to other provinces like Tarlac, Pangasinan, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan, you cannot miss passing the City of San Fernando. The city is a mere 66 kilometers away from Metro Manila and around 20 kilometers from the Clark Special Economic Zone. This strategic location of San Fernando City has been a vital factor in its continuous development, establishing itself as a regional growth center of the province of Pampanga, and giving it a competitive edge in terms of trade and commerce and investment prospects.
The beauty of San Fernando City lies in its ability to preserve cultures while at the same time embracing development. The city is a major tourism service center notable for its tourism events that showcase traditions, culinary delicacies, and the Fernandinos’ craftsmanship and creativity.
The Giant Lantern Festival
San Fernando City is known as the Philippine’s Christmas Capital because of this world-famous annual festival held in December. Known as the Ligligan Parul in Kapampangan, the festival attracts millions of tourists who flock to the city to witness a display of breathtaking giant Christmas lanterns illuminated by thousands of light. The interplay of local materials such as capiz and modern elements such as fiberglass to create new intricate designs are truly a manifestation of the local people’s talent and hard work.
The Maleldo Festival
During the Lenten season, thousands of pilgrims and tourists are drawn to the city to witness the Maleldo festival, which is a live re-enactment of the Way of the Cross and Christ’s passion and death. There are penitents who participate by carrying crosses, while others crown themselves with thorns and whip their bodies until they bleed and still some others who crawl down the dirt roads. This ritual ends with actual nailing to the cross of a kristo. This festival has been a tradition embedded in the culture of the locals who believe that this is a way of repentance for sins or thanksgiving for favors received from God.
The Piestang Tugak
The Piestang Tugak is a celebration which celebrates the frog which is an important element in the Kapampangan culinary tradition. The event showcases delectable cuisines made from frog and festivities like frog-catching and frog Olympics.
Apart from these festivities, the city of San Fernando is home to places of interest that depict a rich cultural heritage that has been preserved through the ages.
Wow Philippines Hilaga
What was before a Paskuhan Village which housed the giant lanterns during the Christmas season, the entire complex is now transformed into a village that displays indigenous products from Northern Philippines. There are large capacity pavilions for conventions and events, open amphitheaters, exhibit halls, trade booths, and garden restaurants. The place is conveniently located right at the San Fernando exit of the North Luzon Tollway.
The Monumento Fernandino
This is a sculptural work of masterpiece that welcomes you as you enter the city. The monument, which looks like a sprouting plant, is actually believed to be a tribute to the Fernandino spirit: girl with a lantern, lady with a torch, lady giving an offering, and a boatman.
The Train Station
Visiting this place will give you the feeling that you are in a different time. Historical accounts recall it as the culminating area for the Death March of the Americans and Filipino prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation. The station is now transformed as the Bataan Death March Museum and the City Tourism Office.
The Metropolitan Cathedral
This neo-classical church reflective of elements of Baroque and Renaissance architecture, with its majestic dome highly visible from around the city, is the seat of the Archdiocese of San Fernando.
The Heritage Houses
A cluster of bahay na bato constructed from the colonial Spanish period still remains preserved, the most notable of which is the Henson-Hizon house. A number of other interesting edifices include the Tabacalera house used as an office by a cigar manufacturer, the Dayrit-Cuyugan Mansion, the Lazatin house, and the Consunji house. All of these homes are memorable because of their particular roles in history.
Despite this rich cultural heritage, San Fernando City is not left out in terms of development. Investments continue to pour into the city as evidenced by the presence of large manufacturing companies like San Miguel Corporation, Pepsi, Coca Cola Plant, Universal Robina, and a lot of other major companies. City life is bustling with the presence of malls like the SM City Pampanga and Robinsons Starmills, delectable restaurants that offer unique Kapampangan cuisine, fast food chains, supermarkets, groceries, and almost all banking institutions.
Megaworld’s Capital Town
Aptly described by its slogan “Heritage meets progress”, Megaworld embarks on its 35.6 hectare Capital Town project envisioned to be the new Central Business District of the north. Drawing its inspiration from the rich cultural history of the old Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASUDECO), Capital Town intends to revive PASUDECO towards a new phase of development while preserving its values.
As a first-class township with the components of “Live, Work, Play, and Learn,” the project is a mix-use of commercial, residential, educational, and cultural development. The township features a cyberpark and a tower called The Casa Emperador intended to cater to business process outsourcing companies and office spaces for various other industries. The Chelsea Parkplace, a mid-rise condominium development with majestic views of Mount Arayat on the North and Manila Bay on the South, will be the Capital Town’s residential offering.
Bryant Parklane is another residential offering of Capital Town. Inspired by New York’s splendid Bryant Park, this 35.6-hectare property features select units that offer lanai and balcony offer splendid views of the Zambales Mountain Range, Mount Arayat, San Fernando’s cultural cityscape. But what is truly unique about Bryant Parkplace is the one-of-a-kind lobby concept featuring bi-level functional shared spaces and receiving area.
As a tribute to the resilience of Kapampangans, the township will have the Pasudeco Museum and Mall, shaped as the old sugar mill building and with artifacts made from lahar. There will also be an events trade hall, an amphitheater, a rainwater park landscaped open spaces and gardens, green central avenue with spacious walkways, bike lanes, and arcades, and a multi-level shopping and residential center.
With all these development prospects and San Fernando City’s rich cultural heritage, the city is indeed positioned to be a premier cultural and business hub outside Metro Manila.
