Luisiana, Laguna

"Luisiana" redirects here. For other uses, see Louisiana (disambiguation).

Luisiana
Municipality
Official seal of Luisiana Seal
Nickname(s): Little Baguio of Laguna Pandán Capital of the Philippines
{{#property:P242}} Map of Laguna showing the location of Luisiana
Luisiana Location within the Philippines
Coordinates:
Country	[[{{#property:P17}}]]
Region	CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Province	Laguna
District	4th District of Laguna
Founded	April 3, 1854
Barangays	23
Government
• Mayor	Nestor Rondilla
Area vlain
• Total	73.31 km2 (28.31 sq mi)
Elevation	372 m (1,220 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	20,148
• Density	270/km2 (710/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Luisiense
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	{{#property:P281}}
Dialing code	{{#property:P473}}
Income class	4th

Luisiana is a fourth class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 20,148 people. Locals call the town 'Little Baguio of Laguna' because of its high elevation and cooler climate like the City of Baguio.

History

During the 17th century, there was an area of land in Laguna known as Terreno de Nasonog (Lupaín ng Nasonog in Tagalog). In 1678, Terreno de Nasúnog was divided into three parts: Nasúnog de Lucban, Nasonog de Cavinti, and Nasúnog de Majayjay.

Nasonog de Majayjay later became the town of Luisiana. It was only on April 3, 1854 that ecclesiastical independence was granted to Nasonog by the Governor-General (the Marqués de Novaliches) with the corresponding approval from the Archbishop of Manila, having Don Marcos Bartolomé as its first interim parish priest. Because of the role of Don Luis Bernárdo and his wife Doña Ana, the town was named 'Luis y Ana', later changed to 'Luisiana'.

In 1948, Visita de Luisiana gained civil independence from Majayjay.

In 1903, the towns of Cavinti and Luisiana were combined, Pedro Villanueva of Cavinti was elected mayor and it was during his term that the Aglipay Church was founded in April, 1904. The Romana family funded the construction of a couple of Protestant churches. However, on November 12, 1907 under the leadership of Don Blas Oración, through the Civil Commission, Cavinti and Luisiana became independent towns.

Geography

About 108 kilometres (67 mi) away from Manila and 24 kilometres (15 mi) away from the provincial capital, Santa Crúz, the town of Luisiana is bounded on the north by Pagsánjan and Cavinti, on the west by Magdalena and Majayjay, on the south by Lucban, Quezon, and Sampaloc in the east.

Luisiana occupies 8,096.33 hectares (20,006.5 acres) on a plateau 1,400 feet (430 m) atop the Sierra Madre mountains.

Barangays

Luisiana is politically subdivided into 23 barangays.

• De La Paz
• Barangay Zone I (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone II (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone III (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone IV (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone V (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone VI (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone VII (Pob.)
• Barangay Zone VIII (Pob.)
• San Antonio
• San Buenaventura
• San Diego
• San Isidro
• San José
• San Juan
• San Luis
• San Pablo
• San Pedro
• San Rafaél
• San Roque
• San Salvador
• Santo Domingo
• Santo Tomás

Climate

The climate is cold, humid, and tropical. The average yearly temperature is around 26 °C (78.8 °F).

Climate data for Luisiana, Laguna
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	28 (82)	28 (82)	30 (86)	32 (90)	32 (90)	32 (90)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	28 (82)	30.2 (86.3)
Average low °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23.3 (73.7)
Source: World Weather Online

Demographics

Population census of Luisiana
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1990	14,241	—
1995	16,269	+2.53%
2000	17,109	+1.09%
2007	19,255	+1.64%
2010	20,148	+1.66%
Source: National Statistics Office

Economy

Luisiana is basically an agricultural town. At the población, there are only a few commercial establishments which cater to the basic services of the people. Most of them still go to Santa Crúz to do their shopping or marketing and to avail themselves of other services not available in their town.

Sources of income of the people of Luisiana are mainly focused on agriculture such as copra, pandan, palay, bamboo and bunliw, with light industry base and service-sector economy. Piggery and poultry farming are also an additional income.

Transportation

Going to Luisiana by private transportation from Manila, you will pass by the South Superhighway and enter the province via the Calamba exit. Another way is through the Manila East road – Pagsánjan route or coming from Quezon, the Lucbán route.

Luisiana is also accessible by public transportation taking the same routes as mentioned above. However, whichever route you take, a trip to Luisiana will still be long since it is one of the inner towns in Laguna.

From Manila via Calambâ, a bus will take you to Santa Cruz, Laguna. In Santa Cruz, jeepneys going to Luisiana can be found at the jeepney terminal. Just ask a tricycle driver to take you to the terminal of jeepneys going to Luisiana. Via Santa Crúz, you will pass by the town of Pagsanján before reaching Luisiana. You will easily know it when you have reached the town because the roads become zigzagged with lots of sharp twists and turns. This is one of the reasons why Luisiana is called the 'little Baguio of Laguna.'

Sites and events

File:Miss Luisiana.jpg

A candidate in Miss Luisiana beauty pageant wearing pandan costume

At the centre of the town, some of the sites are the Roman Catholic Church, the monument of Don Luis Bernárdo (town’s founder) and a monument of Dr. José Protacio Rizal.

But one interesting site in town is the "guard dogs" at the stairs in front of the municipal building. Instead of lions which are common sites or designs in stairs of other buildings, the municipal building of Luisiana has two dogs, which look like Dalmatians, one in each side of the building. However, no one can tell why they are there or what is the story behind the presence of the dogs in the building. Some of them believe that the dogs might have been a part of the town’s history which is yet to be discovered.

Aside from the man-made attractions, Luisiana is also home to natural attractions like falls (such as Hulugan, Bumbóngan, Malaog, Maapon, Limbun-limbón, Aliw, Lagaslás and Botocán-Tiklingan) and caves (such as the caves of Simbahang Bato and Butás Kabag). Although most of these attractions are not yet fully developed commercially, they are open for the public to see in their natural state.

Town feast is celebrated on October 9 for the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Another celebration in town is held every 3 April, which is in commemoration of the town’s establishment as a separate entity from Majáyjay. Luisiana also celebrates the Pandán Festival during this month and also the annual Miss Luisiana beauty pageant to select representative for Miss Laguna beauty pageant. Luisiana has 2 Miss Laguna crowns so far, in 1998 and in 2002.

Education

Secondary

• Liceo De Luisiana
• San Buenaventura National High School (main-Brgy.San Buenaventura)
• San Buenaventura National High School (annex-Town of Luisiana)
• Luis Bernardo Memorial High School

Primary

• Luisiana Central Elementary School
• Bonifacio Elementary School
• San Antonio Elementary School
• San Isidro Elementary School
• San Buenaventura Elementary School
• Saint Dominic Savio School (Closed)
• Santo Domingo Elementary School
• San Salvador Elementary School
• De La Paz San Pablo Elementary School
• Luisiana Adventist Elementary School
• San Rafael Elementary School

Sister cities

• Makati City
• Malaybalay City
• Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur
• Baguio City

Gallery

• 

  Plaza with Municipal Hall in background

• 

  Luisiana Roman Catholic Church

• 

  Liceo de Luisiana

• 

  Bonifacio Elementary School

• Miss Luisiana 2005.jpg

  Miss Luisiana 2005

References

 5. ^ Hulugan Waterfalls by mountainsnbeyond

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System