by Dr. Sasithara Sethanandha-Moreno, Fr. Franz Joseph Aquino and Mr. Regil Dela Cruz
The town of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija was founded on January 3, 1849. This is way earlier than the traditionally commemorated date of February 8, 1849.
This historical correction springs from a 2023 archival research. The research finds solid backing from pertinent 1849 records found at the Archdiocesan Archives of Manila. More importantly, the same date is inscribed clearly in the Decree of Establishment of the Aliaga Parish, also found at the Archdiocesan Archives. Additionally, these newly revisited records indicate that the canonical establishment of the Aliaga Parish took place on February 27, 1849, instead of April 26, 1849.
More significantly, the research also leads us to the correct name of Aliaga’s first Gobernadorcillo (town mayor): Aniceto Maria Muñoz. Previous documents have introduced him as Aniceto Ferry. The birth record of Don Aniceto Maria Muñoz reveals that his family hailed from Los Navalucillos in Toledo, Spain. This corrects an earlier misattribution, claiming that the gentleman came from the Spanish town of Aliaga.
In eastern Spain, Aliaga is a municipality located in the Province of Teruel. Teruel is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Catellon, Valencia, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Zaragoza. Aragon is an Autonomous Community, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. It comprises of 3 provinces: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel, with Zaragoza as its capital.
Looking back at how towns were established in the Spanish colony of the Philippines, the research team surmises that the local name Aliaga recalls the Spanish town intimately known to Don Aniceto. Other than Aliaga, familiar place names which had been taken from Spain include Jaen, Talavera, and Zaragoza. Thousands of miles away, in the Spanish colony of the Philippines, these towns quietly found their counterpart territories, next to Aliaga, all of them situated in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
Aliaga’s First Gobernadorcillo
Don Aniceto Maria Muñoz y Ramos was born on March 30, 1813 in the town of Los Navalucillos in Toledo, Spain (Quiñones 2022). His parents were Segundo Muñoz and Dorotea Ramos, both natives of Los Navalucillos. He married Doña Clementina Leonor Marti y Arnedo who was born on April 18, 1842. Her parents were Jose Marti and Josefa Arnedo, from Alpera in La Mancha. The couple were married on July 31, 1863. The chronology suggests a wide age gap between the couple: Don Aniceto was already 50 years old when he married his 21-year old bride.
Don Aniceto was a lawyer by profession, a proprietor, and Alcalde Mayor (Governor) of Nueva Ecija. Archival documents kept in Talavera, Nueva Ecija show that on August 31, 1852, he presented a petition to the Governor General in Intramuros, creating Catuguian (later known as Talavera) as yet another town of Nueva Ecija.
For us, Don Aniceto holds the honor of being Aliaga’s first town mayor. Repeatedly, he would hold this important post in 1849, 1855, and 1859 respectively. At the age of 67, he passed away from a stroke back in his homeland on December 31, 1880.
Enduring Catholic Devotion and Heritage
Within our familiar territory, the barrio of Bibiclat is established earlier than Aliaga. This barrio came into being in 1836, 13 years before Aliaga gained township. This information is the fruit of Isidro Gregorio’s historical research, as one of Aliaga’s dedicated historians. However, it is not until 1889 when Bibiclat would officially gain the name Barrio San Juan Bautista (Villamayor 2021).
Today, Bibiclat enjoys national fame for one unique tradition, carried out by devotees of its patron saint, San Juan Bautista. During the feast day of their patron saint, devout residents would dress up as “Taong Putik” (Mud People). Another way in which the faithful understand the ritual is to call it as “Pagsa-San Juan”—a mimetic gesture of assuming the character of St. John himself, negotiating the biblical wilderness.
Days before the great feast, the devotees would spend time fashioning their ritual cloak, usually made of vines or dried banana leaves. First, these are soaked in mud, even as the devotees themselves roll in the mud. Instead of a procession, the costumed devotees would ply the streets, begging for alms. At the conclusion of this ritual, they would spend whatever they had received, buying candles which would eventually be lit in church.
Journey Back in Time
Our story glows with newfound meaning because of yet another important finding. Since 1632, the municipality of Los Navalucillos in Spain has held a devotion, lighting votive candles to the Nuestra Señora La Virgen De Las Saleras. On September 8 each year, Don Aniceto’s hometown would hold a fiesta lauding Our Lady of Salt. The community’s great celebration would include competitions, processions, cabezudos, and fireworks (Saleras Fiesta 2022).
But how do we explain the Blessed Mother’s association with the image of salt? One way of securing a more definitive answer is to revisit Aliaga in Spain. According to the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy (2023), Aliaga is located in an area consisting of a group of mines: sedimentary rocks still intact from the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Tertiary Ages. The mine area is known for lignite, a type of brown coal used to generate electricity.
This region is called Cuencas Mineras, situated north of the province of Teruel. This geo-tourism paradise projects a strong and deep-rooted mining identity. For this reason, Aliaga holds the national record for developing Spain’s first geological park. The Geological Park of Aliaga boasts of rock formations almost unique in the world, with layers stacked one on top of the other. Yet while Aliaga shines because of this group of famous rock mines, it does not have a salt mine. It may have lignite and coal to offer in abundance but not a grain of salt.
Still and all, what explains Our Lady’s association with the biblical image of salt? If Aliaga does not provide the answer, perhaps we can draw it from Don Aniceto’s hometown of Los Navalucillos.
For this town, history declares that until the middle of the 18th century, the faithful continued to address their beloved patroness as Our Lady of Grace. Over time, though, this old and sacred name would gradually fade, in favor of a new one. Following lore, the residents gradually began hailing the Virgin as Nuestra Señora de Las Saleras. To this very day, believers repeat the beguiling story about the Virgin appearing to a shepherd, enabling him to give salt to his famished flock. This apparition has inspired a deep-rooted custom in the area which compensates for the deficient supply of salt in the pastures.
Our research team recognizes Don Aniceto as the moving force in selecting the Nuestra Señora La Virgen de las Saleras of his birthplace as our town’s patron saint. However, Aliaga’s patron saint enjoys a different feast day, celebrated annually on 26 April.
The parish of Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras in Aliaga was long thought to have been founded on April 26, 1849. However, historical records indicate the actual founding date was February 27, 1849. This discrepancy has led to the question: why is the feast of Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras celebrated on April 26?
It appears that the name of Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras came to be officially associated with the parish only in the late 1880s, notably, after the parish had to be rebuilt following a devastating typhoon on September 17, 1887. The Augustinian Friars, who were overseeing the parish, chose April 26 as the feast day in honor of the Feast of the Mother of Good Counsel, a significant day for the Augustinian Order.
They likely intended for the Mother of Good Counsel, whom they deeply revered, to be recognized, too, as Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras, thus offering her protection and guidance to the parish from 1887 onwards. This decision would align the parish’s celebration with an existing Augustinian tradition, giving the parish a renewed spiritual focus after the destruction it had endured.
On hindsight, we see how the Virgin of Los Navalucillos holds a special place in Don Aniceto’s memory. It stands for his enduring connection to his faraway homeland. It also affirms his spiritual devotion, choosing a familiar figure to be his guiding star, as he pursued and fulfilled whatever aspirations, through the town which he had founded faraway from his homeland.
Why was this image of Our Lady of Salt close to Don Aniceto’s heart? How does it affirm his deep ties with his place of origin?
Tracing a make-believe visit to Don Aniceto’s hometown, we find an important hermitage in the square called “Ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Saleras”. It was inaugurated on April 14, 1632, centuries before Don Aniceto was born. Within walking distance, one can find the Plaza Mayor and the Oficina de Correos, or the post office. The temple has a Renaissance look to it, its interior tracing the shape of a Latin cross. At 120 square meters, the church of Don Aniceto’s childhood has undergone several renovations over time.
Like the parish of San Sebastian in Los Navalucillos, the hermitage sustained extensive damage from the furious fires of the Civil War. For three years, from 1936-39, it was converted into a school. Back then, a wall of the central nave was demolished to create large windows. It would take until 1943 for the nave’s original features to be restored.
Fronting the church is a double-leaf wooden door installed in 1963. Advancing through the central hallway, we quickly reach a small transept in the center where stands a beautiful golden altarpiece from the late 17th century. At its helm stands the figure of the Patroness of Los Navalucillos, venerated as the Virgen de las Saleras. Inside the temple, fresco paintings adorn the dome. These were made in 1822, reflecting allegorical moments in the life of the Virgin Mother.
The altar features a modest monstrance displaying the original head of the Virgen de las Saleras. The venerated image of the patroness shows the Virgin gazing upon her little shepherd and his goats being nurtured with salt. This statue plies the streets of the town during the annual procession on September 8.
Left of the temple hangs a copy of El Greco’s painting, depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. Since March 2013, the faithful have maintained a devotion, praying to an image of the crucified Christ, through a generous donation from the Bravo Caballero family. They call this image the “Christ of Faith”. This Christ is framed and located to the right of the nave, visible as soon as you enter the temple.
In the Philippines, certain Marian images that were carved locally could help us in saying something more about the creation of our very own Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras. These Marian images include Our Lady of Orani in Bataan and Our Lady of Amorseco in San Fernando, Pampanga. Like Nuestra Señora De Las Saleras, these images enjoy a strong wave of devotion in their local areas. However, such devotion did not spread to other parts of the country the way popular devotions have surged, in honor of the Santo Nino (the Infant Jesus), the Nazareno (Black Nazarene), and some other Marian images.
For now, this much is true: a hundred and seventy five years later, we find out that Aliaga, Nueva Ecija is the lone Catholic parish featuring Our Lady of Las Saleras as its patroness. No other parish in the country has sustained a devotion to the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Salt. The only other known visual expression of Mary as Our Lady of Salt is found in Las Navalucillos, Spain. For us, the story finds some measure of closure, the connection clearly revealed through the figure of Don Aniceto Maria Muñoz.
List of Mayors
Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
| NO. | NAME | YEAR |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aniceto Maria Munoz | 1849 |
| 2 | Marcos Benoza | 1850 |
| 3 | Pedro Samson | 1851 |
| 4 | Pantaleon Dumayag | 1852 |
| 5 | Estanislao Yango | 1853 |
| 6 | Romualdo Lleya | 1854 |
| 7 | Aniceto Maria Munoz | 1855 |
| 8 | Anastacio Dimaliwat | 1856 |
| 9 | Felipe Medina | 1857 |
| 10 | Mateo Corpus | 1858 |
| 11 | Aniceto Maria Munoz | 1859 |
| 12 | Eusebio Asuncion | 1860 |
| 13 | Juan Cajucom | 1861 |
| 14 | Leon Flora | 1862 |
| 15 | Anastacio Dimaliwat | 1863 |
| 16 | Fernando Simeon | 1864-1865 |
| 17 | Anastacio Dimaliwat | 1866-1867 |
| 18 | Agaton Mehiko | 1868-1869 |
| 19 | Fernando Simeon | 1870-1871 |
| 20 | Anastacio Dimaliwat | 1872-1873 |
| 21 | Felipe Medina | 1874-1875 |
| 22 | Alejandro Santiago | 1876-1877 |
| 23 | Justo Agaton | 1878-1879 |
| 24 | Eustaquio Garcia | 1880-1881 |
| 25 | Cornelio Ortega | 1882-1883 |
| 26 | Victorino Cajucom | 1884-1885 |
| 27 | Feliciano Soriano | 1886-1887 |
| 28 | Escolastico delos Santos | 1888-1889 |
| 29 | Jose Guia | 1890-1891 |
| 30 | Pedro Manas | 1892-1893 |
| 31 | Casimiro Tinio | 1894-1895 |
| 32 | Apolinario Duran | 1896-1897 |
| 33 | Santiago Gregorio | 1898 (9mo.) |
| 34 | Macario delas Santos | 1898 (3mo.) |
| 35 | Pablo Medina | 1898 |
| 36 | Nicolas Cajucom | 1900-1902 |
| 37 | Alejandro Corpus | 1903-1904 |
| 38 | Feliciano Ramoso | 1905-1906 |
| 39 | Victor Domingo | 1907-1908 |
| 40 | Martin Villasan | 1909-1910 |
| 41 | Alejandro Corpus | 1911-1912 |
| 42 | Gregorio Pascua | 1913-1914 |
| 43 | Pablo Medina | 1915-1920 |
| 44 | Emiliano Soriano | 1921-1924 |
| 45 | Alfonso Ortega | 1925-1930 |
| 46 | Raymundo Bumanlag Sr. | 1931-1934 |
| 47 | Joaquin Villanueva | 1935-1937 |
| 48 | Raymundo Bumanlag Sr. | 1938-1943 |
| 49 | Lazaro Bayan | 1943-1947 |
| 50 | Antonio Romero | 1945 (1mo.) |
| 51 | Arcadio Moreno | 1945 (1mo.) |
| 52 | David Villamin | 1945-1946 (1.5mo.) |
| 53 | Pedro V. Saulo | 1948-1951 |
| 54 | Eusebio R. Bumanlag | 1952-1955 |
| 55 | Zacarias B. Viernes | 1956-1963 |
| 56 | Maximo B. Serrano | 1964-1967 |
| 57 | Quirino V. Dela Cruz | 1968-1979 |
| 58 | Benjamin Mamaclay | 1980 (2mo.) |
| 59 | Nelia S. Valencia | 1980-Feb 1986 |
| 60 | Jose T. Romero | 1986-1992 |
| 61 | Marcial R. Vargas | 1992-June 2001 |
| 62 | Elizabeth Vargas | 2001-June 2004 |
| 63 | Marcial R. Vargas | 2004-June 2013 |
| 64 | Elizabeth Vargas | 2013-June 2016 |
| 65 | Gonzalo D. Moreno | 2016-June 2019 |
| 66 | David Angelo Vargas | 2019-June 2022 |
| 67 | Gilbert G. Moreno | June 30, 2022 present |
Reference for List of Mayors:
LGU record (Nov. 2023). Municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
http://aliagamunicipality.weebly.com/list-of-past-mayor.html
