Rizal In Zenith And Living ...

Rizal In Zenith And Living ...

          Rizal Province or simply Rizal was named after Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal. It is located in the CALABARZON region, east of Manila. It is a mountainous province lying at the feet of Sierra Madre. Rizal boasts its tourist spot cities like Angono, Binangonan and Antipolo, the province's capital. 

          Angono City is labeled as the "Arts Capital of the Philippines." In fact, it is the hometown of the famous national artist, Carlos "Botong" Francisco. You can't blame its beauty because it's pretty much obvious around the town. You would see sculptures, wall paintings along the road and even "boom boom box" jeepneys which makes Rizal province alive. It is also known for its art galleries like the Blanco Museum and the Carlos "Botong" Francisco Studio. Angono also celebrates the feast of St. Clement every 22nd and 23rd of November with various festivals like Higantes, to name one. Higantes Festival has the traditional "higante" or giants made up of bamboo and paper mache that are included in the parade of bands and dancers. For a short history, the "higante" was the Angono villager's way of protesting to the Spanish colony by forming the giants like them with their arms on their waist. Other than that, Angono before was a barrio but now it is a first class urban municipality of the province.

          Next is Binangonan. Binangonan in English means "first established town around the lake." Prior to this, the city lies along Laguna de Bay, the country's largest lake. It is known for its fish ports and fishing industry. This city is a major supplier of freshwater fish to Metro Manila and up to Batangas. One famous church in Binangonan is the St. Ursula Parish Church.

          Lastly, Antipolo is the capital of Rizal province. The Hinulugang Taktak waterfall is a popular tourist spot that is located here. Many towns of Rizal have Spanish time-old churches but the Antipolo Cathedral is the most eminent. Antipolo is also dubbed as the "Pilgrimage City of the Philippines."

           Rizal people love their food! During merienda or afternoon snacks, people dash on to street food carts loaded with different street food like fish balls, kikiam, dirty ice cream and iskarambol (flavored crushed ice). During nights, binatog (cooked corn with coconut), kalamares (breaded squid rings), jaribi (breaded chicken wings and neck) and barbeque are the best. Also you can still buy a 50-cent worth of candy here and would only spend as low as 15 pesos for a whole belly-loaded complete snack.

        All in all, Rizal is quite an urbanized province. It is the country's least poor province with a poverty rate of 3.4%, which is lower than NCR and Metro Manila. It is also where Philippines' riches town is located. For me, Rizal is at the zenith of its progress and I must say that it remains to be a lively and rich-cultured province! 

-Cha :)