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The Pangasinan language is the primary language in Pangasinan. The estimated population of the indigenous speakers of this language is about 1.5 million. The name Pangasinan means "land of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from Pang/Bang (meaning place) and asin, (meaning salt in the Pangasinan language and many other related languages). Banjarmasin in Indonesia and Toamasina in Madagascar both derive from the world (m)asin. The province is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. An ancient kingdom called Luyag na Kaboloan existed in Pangasinan before the Spanish conquest that began on the 15th century. Princess Urduja, a legendary woman warrior, is believed to have ruled in Pangasinan around the 14th century. The maritime trade network that once flourished in ancient Southeast Asia connected Pangasinan with other peoples of Southeast Asia, India, China, and the Pacific. Pangasinan is famous for the Hundred Islands National Park. This is a marine park located off the coast of Alaminos City in the Lingayen Gulf and is composed of some 123 islands, most of which are quite small and uninhabited. During the summer, several feasts and festivals are celebrated in Pangasinan, including the Fiestay Dayat or Bagat ed Dayat (Sea Feast), the Bangus (Milkfish), and the Mangga tan Kawayan (Mango and Bamboo) festivals. Pangasinan is noted as the birthplace of President Fidel V. Ramos and Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. The mother of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was from Binalonan, Pangasinan. The father of the late actor and former presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. was from San Carlos City, Pangasinan. The maternal great-grandfather of Jose Rizal, a Philippine national hero, was a Pangasinan lawyer named Manuel Facundo de Quintos who was the gobernadorcillo of Lingayen in the 1850s. Jacqueline Aquino Siapno, a professor from Dagupan City, is the interim first lady of East Timorand Lt. Gen. Jose Mejia Calimlim, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces, is from Mapandan, Pangasinan.. The 1,200 megawatt Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant and the 345 megawatt San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam are located in Pangasinan. Pangasinan has extensive areas devoted to salt making and aquaculture along the coasts of Lingayen Gulf and South China Sea. Pangasinan is a major producer of rice, mangoes, and bamboo crafts. Pangasinan occupies a strategic geo-political position in the central plain of Luzon, known as the rice granary of the Philippines. Pangasinan has been described as a gateway to northern Luzon and as the heartland of the Philippines. |
