Paranaque City, Metro Manila Etymology
- Jack Maico
- Sep 26
- 4 min read
From Spanish Parañaque, from Palañac, an earlier Hispanized form of Tagalog Palanyag, attested in 1582, of uncertain origin. A common folk etymology is a phrase, para aqui (“stop here”), supposedly said by a Spaniard to a coachman when he wanted to stop in the area.
Special credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para%C3%B1aque_Cathedral...
Church in town: 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧̃𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥
The Cathedral Parish of Saint Andrew, also known as the Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso and commonly known as Parañaque Cathedral, is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines, located in Parañaque City, Metro Manila. Established on May 11, 1580, by the Spanish Augustinians, it is, at present, the seat of the Diocese of Parañaque, which comprises the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Muntinlupa.
Saint Andrew Parish started when Augustinian missionaries set foot on a fishing village near the sea, some kilometers south of Manila, more than four hundred years ago. The missionaries' purpose was to evangelize the natives to facilitate the conquest of the islands for Spain.[2] The town was called "Palanyag", the contraction of the word Paglalayag, which means sailing. At that time, Palanyag consisted of several nipa huts grouped as a residential settlement known as "barangays". Elviro Jorde Perez, being the Augustinian historian in the 19th century, wrote that as early as 1575, the Provincial Chapter subjected the populace of Palanyag to the patronage of St. Andrew, and later on to the advocacy of the Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, an image of the blessed Virgin Mary enthroned on August 10, 1625.
The pioneer missionary in Parañaque was Juan de Orto. Although based in Manila, he started to administer to the spiritual needs of the village folks in 1575. In 1580, Diego de Espinal was appointed superior in the convent of Parañaque. He established a mission house, with its spiritual jurisdiction reaching up to Cavite El Viejo; he was assisted by Francisco Campos. The Conference of Chiefs of the Religious Order, held on May 11, 1580, accepted Palanyag as an independent town, and it is on this date that the foundation day of the parish of Saint Andrew the Apostle was officially recognized, under the patronage of Saint Andrew, patron of fishermen.
Since there was no income for parish maintenance at that time, royal support, as ordered by King Felipe II, was given to each religious order that worked on the conversion of the natives. Parañaque, in 1589, was given a periodic sustenance which consisted of 200 pesos and 200 bushels of rice for the two religious assigned at St. Andrew. Later on, financial assistance was given to buy wine and oil to keep the Blessed Sacrament lit.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Parish of St. Andrew was made up of only a few homes, found mostly along the Parañaque River and Manila Bay in the present barrios of Don Galo, La Huerta, and San Dionisio. Later, Tambo, Santo Niño, and Baclaran developed. Barrios Don Galo, La Huerta, and San Dionisio built bisitas, or satellite chapels, with facades facing the St. Andrew Church. The San Nicolas de Tolentino Chapel, located at Barrio La Huerta, still has the inscription 1776, the year the said chapel was erected.
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
In 1574, during the invasion of the town by the Chinese pirate Limahong, Parañaquenos, particularly those from Don Galo, heroically aided in preventing the attack on Manila. This incident became known as the "Red Sea Incident" due to the blood that flowed through the sacrifice of the people of barrio Santa Monica.
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞:
- Cathedral Parish of Saint Andrew
- National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
- Okada Manila
- Solaire Resort
- DreamPlay
- PAGCOR City
- City of Dreams
- Ayala Malls Manila Bay
- Nightmares Manila
- Baclaran Market
- Soul Poker Club
𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞:
- Manuel Quioge (leading Revolutionary figure)
- Father Pedro Dandan y Masangkay (leading Revolutionary figure)
𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞:
- Dolphy (Pinoy comedian, actor)
- Loisa Andallo (Pinay actress, dancer, and singer)
- Bobby Ray Parks (Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Osaka Evessa of the Japanese B.League)
- Bianca Umali (Pinay actress, television host, singer, and dancer)
- Andrew E (Pinoy rapper and actor)
- Dawn Chang (a finalist on the Civilian Edition of Pinoy Big Brother/Pinay actress and dancer)
- Max Eigenmann (Pinay actress and singer)
- Rachel Grant (Pinay actress and TV presenter)
- Alexa Ilacad ( actress, singer, host, dancer, vlogger and model who has appeared in several programs of ABS-CBN)
- Bianca Manalo (Filipina actress and beauty pageant titleholder)
- Winwyn Marquez (Filipina actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned the first Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title at Miss World Philippines 2017)
- Alma Moreno (Filipina actress and politician)
- Roselle Nava (Filipina singer, film and television actress, and former politician)
- Sam Pinto (Pinayactress, model, singer, and VJ)
- Sue Ramirez (Pinay actress)
- Mariel Rodriguez (Fil-Am actress, television host, model, and video jockey)
- Eric Fructuoso (Pinoy actor, comedian, businessman, and former hip hop dancer)
- Dominic Ochoa (Pinoy actor)
- Khalil Ramos (Pinoy actor and singer)
- Wendell Ramos (Pinoy actor/comedian)
- Val Sotto (Pinoy actor, singer, composer, and comedian)
- Vandolph (Filipino actor, comedian and politician)
- Freddie Webb ( Filipino retired basketball player and coach, former politician, and television and radio personality)
- Anjo Yllana (Filipino actor-comedian, television host and politician)
- Jomari Yllana ( Filipino actor, model, racing driver, concert producer, promoter, and politician)
- Pinky Webb ( Filipina broadcast journalist, best known for her work on CNN Philippines)
- Risa Hontiveros ( Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist who has been serving as a senator since 2016)
- Dimples Romana (Pinay actress)
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