Mexico

Etymology

According to folk etymology, the original pre-Hispanic name of the village was purportedly Masicu or Maca-sicu, which the Spaniards spelled as "México". It is claimed that this was a reference to an abundance of chico trees. However chico trees are not endemic to the Philippines and were introduced by the Spaniards from what is now the country of Mexico. Another claim is that it is derived from siku ("elbow") and was a reference to the elbow-shaped bends of the nearby Abacan and Pampanga Rivers. But there are no records of the town ever being called Masicu. Instead, the origin of the latter name is believed to be simply a common mispronunciation by the locals.

History

According to the Augustinian records in Libros de Gobierno Eclesiástico, the town was founded as a river trading port at around 1581 and was originally named Novo México (the Old Spanish form of Nuevo México, "New Mexico") after Mexico City. Mexico, Pampanga, definitely received immigrants from Mexico since it is recorded that there were thousands of Mexican migrants to the Philippines, per year, back when the Philippines was part of Mexico-City governed Viceroyalty of New Spain. In Rafael Bernal's book: Mexico En Filipinas, it is explicitly stated that Pampanga, the province where Mexico is at, was home to large concentrations of Mexican immigrants.

The Spanish colonists made México the capital of the newly formed Province of Pampanga. Gaspar de San Agustin wrote that being the capital, México was one of the most “beautiful and charming” centers in the province. A lavish church made of stone and tiles, the Parish of Santa Monica, was built in 1581 with Masangsang and Matúlid serving as its visitas. Mexico also formerly included the city of San Fernando, including parts of Angeles City (formerly the barrio San Angelo).

In 1660, Don Francisco Maniago, a native leader from México, led the Pampanga Revolt against the Colonial Government. It was caused by the imposition of forced labor (polo) and rice tributes (bandala) by the Spanish colonial government. Maniago also inspired similar revolts in neighboring cities. These were suppressed in 1661 by Governor-General Sabiniano Manrique de Lara. It was during the Maniago rebellion that the ancestral houses of Pampanga were built. In Mexico, the biggest Spanish era colonial architecture composite construction is the Lazatin-Henson-Katigbak Mansion along 2nd street, Barangay Parian (Poblacion).

The Spanish colonial authorities stripped México of its political importance after the Pampanga Revolt by moving the provincial capital further downstream to Bacolor. But it retained its strategic economic importance especially among the Lúsung Chinese and their mestizo descendants. México was still a regular drop off point of forest products from the upper reaches of the Ábacan River. It was also a favored destination by merchants from as far north as Pangasinan.

By the 18th century, the Chinese traders and their mestizo de sangley descendants living in México, Guagua and Malabon had formed and maintained business and social alliances with each other. Cascos and sampans maintained the flow of goods along the Malabon-Guagua-México chain. Like the Chinese section of Manila, the commercial center of México became known as the Parián.

Geography

Mexico is 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from San Fernando and 74 kilometers (46 mi) from Manila.

Barangays

Mexico is politically subdivided into 43 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Mexico was 187,597 people, with a density of 1,600 inhabitants per square kilometer or 4,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Religion

Roman Catholic parish churches and Spanish-era chapels:

Santa Monica Parish Church and Belfry was built by Fr. Jose dela Cruz in 1665 but was destroyed during an earthquake in 1880. What remains is just the Belfry Tower of the former Augustinian-run church. Near the 17th century Belltower of Mexico, one can also find the St. Benedict's Institution de Mexico, an Augustinian convent that was constructed in time with the Santa Monica Parish Church in 1665. Although Augustinian records such as the Estado of 1612 indicates that Mexico has one convent and two priests during that time.

Good Shepherd Parish Church, Pandacaqui Ressetlement

Our Lord's Annunciation Parish Church, San Vicente

San Jose Parish Church, San Jose Malino

San Miguel de Archangel Parish Church, Anao

Santo Domingo de Guzman Parish Church

San Isidro Labrador Chapel, Tangle (and in Sitio Suarez)

San Jose Matulid Chapel is believed to be the oldest chapel in Pampanga.

Sabanilla chapel. The Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary chapel, commonly referred to as the Sabanilla chapel (bisitas ning Sabanilla), is a stone chapel located between the fork roads of the barangay leading to rice fields. Like the San Jose Matulid chapel, no available documents tell of the exact date and history of the chapel. Notable features of the structure are the saint's niche flanked by decorative columns and carved stone blinds located on rectangular windows of the façade.

Good Friday rites: The faithful remember the passion and death of Jesus by the pondering the Seven Last Words of Christ and the "Tanggal" (a re-enactment of how Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross). After the "Prusisyung Pasu at Pamangutcut" (Procession of the Scenes and Burial of Christ), the traditional "burul" (literally means: wake) where the Santo Entierro seems to be in a wake follows. In here, people visit and pray before the image, after which, in the midnight of Good Friday, there is a procession of the Virgen dela Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude). This is a ‘silent procession’ meditating and joining with the Virgin's sorrow and grief. Usually, single men and women join the procession believing that they will be blessed in their opted state of ‘single blessedness' in life.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Mexico

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Education

There are three schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools. These are the Mexico North Schools District Office, Mexico South Schools District Office, and Mexico East Schools District Office.

Higher educational institution

Pampanga State University - Mexico Campus