Center for Kapampangan Studies

The most interesting place I’ve visited in Angeles City has got to be the Center for Kapampangan Studies.  The center was put up by Holy Angeles University in 2002 and is located inside the biggest university in the city.

The facility aims to research, compile, preserve facts and promote Kapampangan heritage and culture.

Center for Kapampangan Studies has three floors.  First floor has the gallery, mini-museum and library.  Second floor has the Archival Collection.  Lastly, third floor houses the theater.

• Gallery & Mini-Museum

The Retablo contains the statues of patron saints representing the 21 towns of Pampanga.  Right at the center is Virgen de los Remedios, Patroness of Pampanga.

We can see a replica of a typical Kapampangan Nipa house which was made so nicely by an artist.

The wreaths of famous Kapampangan poets and playwrights were on display.

Two computer stations are also free for use wherein we can listen to Kampampangan songs & music (Dalitan) and  translate words into Kapampangan language (Kulitan).

We also got to see the beautiful craftsmanship of Kapampangans with their giant lantern!  So pretty!  Do you know that they are willing to spend so much money to produce such a beautiful thing?  Some of the giant lanterns that Kapampangan has made cost up to Php 300,000.00!

Macabebes were labeled as traitors as they remained loyal to the Spaniards even at the height of the revolution.  They were believed to have helped the capture of General Aguinaldo.  According to history, they also served the Americans.

A photo collage of Kapampangan personalities arranged by the year they are born.

Kapampangan timeline that shows the landscapes of the Kapampangan region.  The photo was nicely laid and it was easy for us to understand if we spend time looking at the timeline closely.

• Library

The Library has all the books related to Pampanga history and culture.  If you have time, do try to read a book or two.  It should be nice to learn a thing or two about the province.

• Archival Collection

The items in the collection were gotten from the archival materials of the university as well as from donations.

The Center for Kapampangan Studies pays tribute to beautiful Kapampangan beauty title holders, Kapampangan Cuisine and Kapampangan Music.

The Archival section features original paper documents, manuscripts, rare books, photographs and other items that reveal Pampanga’s rich history.  I was totally awed while I was touring the place.  I can see how sentimental and how important it is for Kapampangan’s to preserve their history and to share their culture and heritage to us.

• Theater

The theater is the venue for showing films related to Pampanga.  We saw several videos like Kapampangan AVP, Pampanga MTV and Singsing MTV.

Here’s my favorite presentation (I actually left the place with the song repeating in my mind):

What made our tour in Center for Kapampangan Studies so special was that Erlinda Cruz is our tour guide.  If you recall the Enervon Prime commercial, she was the lady! 😀

The Center for Kapampangan Studies is open mondays to fridays from 8am to 8pm and saturdays from 8am to 5pm.  Entrance fee is free.  However, it will cost Php 10 per child from private schools if you’re touring as a big group.

If you insist to go on a sunday, it can be arranged.  You can call the center and ask for a reservation.

I’m so happy that I was able to visit the center as I learned a lot about Kapampangans.  I hope you can do that too!

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Center for Kapampangan Studies
Holy Angel University, # 1 Holy Angel Avenue, Sto. Rosario, Angeles City, Philippines
(045) 888-8691 local 1312