Vigan Cityhood Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: January 22, 2025

Vigan is a component city in the Philippine province of Ilocos Sur; it serves as the provincial capital. It is one of the few Spanish colonial towns in the Philippines whose old architecture is mostly intact. In 1999, it was even declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the best preserved Spanish colonial town in Asia.

Vigan originated as a settlement of Chinese traders who came to western Luzon from what is now Fujan Province in China. They named it “Bee Gan”, which means “beautiful shore”. Since the letters B and V sound the same in Spanish, the Spanish settlers spelled the name of the settlement with the V.

The Spanish settlement in the area was founded by Juan de Salsedo, who named it “Villa Fernandina de Vigan” in honor of Prince Ferdinand, the song of King Philip II, who died at the age of four. It became the seat of Salsedo’s vast estate, which included the modern provinces of Abra, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and parts of Mountain Province. In 1757, Fernandina de Vigan officially became a cuidad (town).

During the Philippine Revolution, the city was captured by revolutionary forces led by General Manuel Tino in the Siege of Vigan. During the Philippine-American War, the locals tried to resist the invaders, but the town was occupied by American troops in November 1899. When the Pacific War (the Pacific Theater of World War II) broke out in December 1941, Vigan was one of the first towns in the Philippines to be invaded and occupied by Japan. It was liberated in 1945.

After the war and the independence of the Philippines, Vigan continued to grow and develop. In December 2000, President Joseph Estrada signed a decree converting Vigan from a municipality to a city, recognizing the city status granted to Vigan by the King of Spain in 1757. The conversion was approved in a plebiscite held on January 22, 2001.

Vigan Cityhood Day is celebrated on January 22, three days before the Vigan City Fiesta, which coincides with the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle (St. Paul is the patron saint of Vigan). The days between the two holidays are filled with parades, street dancing, cultural shows, talent and fashion shows, arts and crafts exhibitions, food fairs, sports competitions, and other festive events and activities.

The Vigan City Fiesta is also known as the Vigan Longganisa Festival because Vigan is famous for its air-dried sausage called Vigan longganisa. It is similar to chorizo and known for its distinctive salty and sour flavor. Vigan longganisa is made with ground pork and seasoned with bay leaves, black pepper, brown sugar, garlic, onions, salt, soy sauce, sugarcane vinegar, and sometimes chili flakes. The celebration always includes longganisa-themed events such as a longganisa parade. There was even an attempt to set a record for the longest longganisa.