Stay, Stray, Play and Feast: We are Caceres: From Cuidad de Nueva Caceres to Caceres, Spain (Medieval Caceres Series 16)

We are Caceres
From Cuidad de Nueva Caceres to Caceres, Spain
Medieval Caceres Series 16

Lisbon was our second stop of our spring European

tour, and we intended to take a bus to Madrid, our

last stop, to enjoy the scenic European countryside.

Traveling for more than ten hours would be too tiring,

so we decided to stop halfway and we had to choose

between unknown Caceres and the popular Salamanca.

We favored Caceres in Extremadura

as it was closer, only 5 hours of bus

ride from Lisbon, compared to almost

14 hours of travel time to Salamanca,

…and we were dead curious of this ancient city

as it was where the Cuidad de Nueva Caceres,

now known as Naga City, the city where we came

from was named after by our Spanish colonizers.

The Cuidad de Nueva Caceres, is one of the five royal cities
created by the Spanish conquistadores in the Philippines. Although
it is presently known by its post- colonial name of Naga City,
most of our major institutions still bear the Spanish name.

It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Cáceres,

considered as one of the oldest dioceses in

the Philippines having been founded in 1595,

…and the home to the Our Lady of Peñafrancia,

the Patroness of Bicol, the largest Marian Pilgrimage

in Asia, which originated from Salamaca, Spain and

interestingly, the other city that we considered visiting.

The very first university in South Luzon

called the University of Nueva Caceres

still bears the ancient name of the city.

Source LINK

The oldest hotel in our city

is called Villa Caceres Hotel.

Source: LINK

Interestingly, our surname is also Caceres,

...so we are the Caceres Family,
from the Cuidad de Nueva Caceres,
on our first time in Caceres, Spain.

‘This place is mine, mine, mine, mine’.

My young son was overwhelmed upon

arriving by the abundance of Caceres

signages, from the Caceres Bus Station,

…Caceres Train Station,

…Caceres tourism center,

…Ayutamiento de Caceres or the city hall,

…churches,

…hotels,

...museums.

…apartments,

… shows,

…and even underground sewer covers.

But beyond the profusion of our surname,

our visit to Caceres, Spain is a trip to get

acquainted where our beloved city got its

name and where my surname originated.

Francisco de Sande Picón , the third Spanish governor
and captain-general of the Philippines from August 25, 1575
to April 1580, a native of Caceres, Spain, established the
Royal City of Nueva Cáceres, now known as Naga City,