CARIGARA LEYTE

Carigara was originally called Kangara, meaning “that of Gara” or simply

“Gara’s”. Gara was said to have come from Borneo, one of the unnamed companions of
the ten datus who landed in Panay and purchased that island from the Ati (or Aeta) chief
Marikudo. Later, for phonetic convenience, Kangara became Kalgara and when the
Spaniards came, they called the place Carigara, hence its present name. Carigara is the
first town established in Eastern Visayas. Its town fiesta which is elebrated every July
16, commemorates the day of the first coming of the Spaniards dated July 16, 1569. The
fiesta that is celebrated almost the entire month of July was dubbed as the fiesta of the
Holy Cross. Carigara also became the capital and premier port of Samar and Leyte. In
the early part of the 20th century, it was an important commercial town in Leyte, with
steamboats from Manila making weekly calls at the port and three big presses for bailing
abaca in operation. The Americans introduced changes in the fields of education, health
sanitation, commerce and trade. The U.S. government sent men and women to the
town, among them, Mr Cassidy, Miss Brenvancier and Miss Galdwin. Carigara became
an important commercial town in Northern Leyte. Carigara became the trading center of
the nearby towns within a radius of forty kilometers. On May 19, 1942, Carigara was
occupied by the Japanese. The town suffered enormous losses in lives and property. It
became the center of guerilla resistance in the north of the province. It was made the
provisionary capital of the politico-military government organized by the guerillas from
1942-1944. Among the foremost leaders of the guerilla force in Carigara were the late
Dr. Ralph Posungcuy, the Aguilos brothers, the Kierulf brothers, Capitan Dipa and Diloy.
The town suffered three disastrous fires, twicw 1944 and again in 1957 which practically
wiped out the entire commercial area of the poblacion including some of the old
buildings dating back to the Spanish colonial period. These fires completed physically,
the downgrading of a once glorious spiritual and political center which was known as
Carigara.

Dreams have been dreamt, visions envisioned for re-creating the glory that once
Carigara’s, many Kalgaran-ons have left the dreaming and the envisioning to others and
have gone to greener pastures. Today Carigara can still boast of the gifts which nature
has given her the beaches, the products of the sea, the rich rice fields, the bountiful
forests and a handful of a Kalgaran-ons who care to make their Carigara more than
another hometown.