Getting Lost With Names – Sta. / Santa Catalina

This topic started with this article

There are “officially” just two towns in this country named such. One is in the province of Ilocos Sur (Region 1) and the other is in the province of Negros Oriental (Region 7). But…

The town of Santa in Ilocos Sur was formerly called Santa Catalina in honor of Santa Catalina de Alexandria. So, that technically gives us three towns named Santa Catalina, albeit historically, right? In time, probably because people found it inconvenient pronouncing the long whole name, they kept referring to their town as just Santa. Until they altogether decided to drop the “Catalina” and the “de Alexandria”. As you would have known from the previous entry, Santa is just to the north of Vigan, the province’s capital.

Now now… the first “official” Santa Catalina is alas also some kind of suburb of the same city, Vigan. Just about a town in between them to the south by the way. Remember that long bridge connecting two mountains by the mouth of a big river? That one is located in Sta. Catalina, Ilocos Sur.

Had the northern town nor decided to call their town just “Santa”, then there would have been two towns in Ilocos Sur sporting the name Sta. Catalina. And both are near Vigan!

You thought this nomenclature hullabaloo stops there? Read on…

The second town “officially” known as sta. Catalina is down at the southern tip of Negros Oriental. Locals of the said town and all over the province (even the whole region) refer to it with a shortened names of… you guessed it right… Santa! Ahhehehe, you actually will seldom hear any bisdak referring to it with the full name of Santa Catalina or the longer Santa Catalina De Alexandria nor the English version of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

So there now hehe… careful when you say you’re going to “Santa”!
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