SANGANDAAN

The Life and Legacy of
Agapito M. Joaquin

Atty. Agapito M. Joaquin (AMJ) was born and raised in Sangandaan, Kalookan City (formerly Rizal), Philippines. Dedicated to his grandchildren: Apple, Patrick, Aldwin, Daniel, Paolo, Ace, Issa and Vincent Nathan; this site was created to house his literary works, the history of Kalookan City (up to 1970), and to serve as a sangandaan for the Joaquin family and friends' websites.

• Dadai's Soil Painting
• LCS Friends' Kumustahan
• J'Ace Kusina
• Mansanas
• Sari-Sari etc.
• Tanikalang Ginto
• Zoom In
• More Links

"Pagkalagpas ng kanyang kotse sa riles ng tren ay nagugulumihanang luminga-linga si Lino.
Wala siyang makitang kilalang palatandaan, at kung ito ang Sangandaan, naisaloob niya,
ay napakalaki ng ipinagbago nito sa loob ng labing-apat na taon."

 Basahin ang "KALIGAYAHAN"
Iba pang mga Kwentong Sangandaan

CALOOCAN OR KALOOKAN?

The observant reader will notice the seemingly interchangeable use of "Caloocan" (with two "C's") and "Kalookan" (with two "K's") in the different articles contained in this book.  Those using "C's" were generally written before July 28, 1970.  On that date, the Municipal Board enacted Resolution No. 106, requesting all department heads thenceforth to use the letter "K" instead of "C" in spelling the name of the city.  The move was inspired by the wave of nationalism that engulfed the nation in the late 1960's.
So, should it be spelled with a "C" or a "K"?

A CHANNEL TO FREEDOM

The first settlement was founded at the base of the hill, on a strip of land that could be approached only from the inland lagoon on which it bordered.  Called Dagat-Dagatan (miniature sea) because of its expanse, the lagoon was in the shape of a half-moon, running from Bitas, in Tondo, to the tip (Tangos) of Tambobong.  It was separated from Manila Bay by a narrow ridge running also from Bitas to a gaping hole in Navotas (Kinabutasan) where its waters joined the open sea.

Dagat-Dagatan was non-navigable, but there was a deep channel running from the mouth of Canal de la Reyna, hugging the shoreline as far as the center of the crescent before veering westward to the hole in Navotas.  A skilled sea-farer could pilot a light watercraft downstream from Bitas to within a hundred meters of Aromahan's shore. A little more strength and daring would allow a banca to go upstream from Navotas to reach the same destination.

It is not known who first discovered Salusoy River, as the channel is now called, or whether the first settlers came downstream from Bitas or upstream from Navotas.  There is also no record as to when and why they chose Aromahan as a homesite.  We first find them already with a church built in Sitio de Espinas (Libis Espina), obviously the center of the Aromahan community.  This small church (only a chapel, in fact), was completed in 1765, built with stones quarried from the hill and with a roofing of red tiles. [Dr. Fausto J. Galauran (1905-1971), one of the most important sources of historical data included in this book, wrote that as late as 1927, he saw the ruins of this church in Libis Espina, near the house of Mariano Galler.]

read The Role of Kalookan in the Nation's Quest for Freedom
More from Two Golden Decades:  Kalookan, 1951-1970

 "Paalam, Inang Bayang mahal, lupaing kasuyo ng araw, Perlas ng dagat sa silangan, paraiso naming pumanaw, Malugod akong maghahandog ng aba at nalantang buhay, Na kahit naging sariwa pa, mabulaklak man o makulay, Ipagkakaloob ko pa ring sa ikabubuti mo'y alay."

Basahin ang "HULING PAALAM NI JOSE RIZAL", salin sa Filipino ni AMJ.