The name "Bulakan" was derived from the Tagalog word "bulak" which is cotton in English.
When
the Spaniards first came to the country's shore, they found cotton, among others, growing
abundantly in many places in Luzon, particularly in Bulakan.
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Bulakan, as well as the rest of the towns of Bulacan province,
was consisted of small scattered settlements of villages each then called "barangay", a word
derived from the name of the boats used by the early seafaring Malays who went to various
islands of what we now called Philippines. These predecessors of our ancestors settled in
different parts of the archipelago, and their villages and barangays swere each headed by a petty
chieftain who bore the title "Gat" as is Gat-Maytan, Gat-Salian, and "Gat-Dula", and "Lakan" as in
Lakandula. These early settlers lived along the seashores and rivers, thus they were called "taga-
ilog", meaning people who dwell near the rivers or other waterways. From this term "taga-ilog"
came the word "Tagalog".
The early Tagalog were peaceful, honest, industrious and hardworking and were engaged in
farming, fishing and handicrafts, especially weaving.
From the original thriving native settlements or villages called "barangays", the Augustinian
founded most of the towns in the province of Bulacan, including the town of Bulakan which was
founded in 1572 and one of the 385 towns founded by the Augustinians throughout the
Philippines. Another account of the founding of Bulakan town points to Father Agustin de
Alburquerque, O.S.A., as the first minister and founder of Bulakan.
By the year 1591, the town of Bulacan had 1,000 tributes or 4,800 persons; one Augustinian
convent and one "alcalde mayor" who had jurisdiction over the towns of Malolos (became
independent in 1673), Caluya-now Balagtas and formerly Bigaa (separated in 1596), Guiguinto
(which became a separate town in 1841) and Meycauayan. The parish priest was under the
jurisdiction of the diocese of Manila.
The town of Bulacan, being the first capital of the province, was the hub of economic activities
and the inhabitants enjoyed excellent trade with Manila, primarily due to its proximity to the city
and accessibility through its wide and navigable river.
Bulakan was also the scene of battle between the Spaniards led by Simon de Anda y Salazar and
the British on January 18, 1763. The British sent an expedition of 400 Britishers, 300 Malabar
Negroes and 2,000 Chinese allies. The Spaniards with the natives of Bulacan made a gallant
stand but were defeated.
The town still enjoys trade and commerce with the neighboring towns and Manila with whom she
shares a coastline, a place that is replete with historical and glorious past.
SAN RAFAEL, BULACAN
Long before the Spaniards came, the Philippines had already political units of some known as the
"balangays" composed of several clans living is specific areas. In one of those barangays, in the
then unknown town of San Rafael, a man named Rafael lived to become a legend.
One night in his deep slumber, he dreamt that he could cure the sick with the liver of the fish he
caught. The following morning, he happened to pass by a neighbor's house, where an old man
was ill and bed-ridden. He applied the liver on the painful stomach and after some moments the
old man was able to get up from his bed. Since then he became a famous medicine man.
Everyday his house was full of sick people hoping to be cured by him.
Then the Spaniards came to rule the Islands to carry out their mission of spreading Christianity
through the Catholic faith. Several missionaries traveled from one place to another to spread the
Gospel of God.
One of the places they visited was of Rafael's. They were attracted by the presence of many
people going in his house. One of the Spaniards asked this question: "Que lugar es Este?" The
natives unknowingly answered back with: "Si Rafael po nanggagamot: (Rafael is treating patient).
The Spaniards retorted, "Pues, Este es San Rafael, ah?"
Since then, the town was known as San Rafael.
San Rafael including the town of San Ildefonso became once the property of the Hospital of San
Juan de Dios because of the capricious friars who declared the lands that could be treated by a
loose, sacrificial cow would become part of the San Juan de Dios. The two towns then begun to
be called Hacienda de Buenavista until the year 1944.
The town of San Rafael also bore the brunt of Spanish and Japanese occupation troops but the
people managed to live under stress and still they were united.
San Rafael was once a remote part or town of Bulacan bounded on the north by San Ildefonso,
Southwest by Angat, South by Bustos, and Southeast by Baliuag. On the Southern part of San
Rafael runs the Famous Angat River separating the town from Angat and Bustos.
The town of San Rafael is of line village type. The farms are located on a considerable distance
from the houses. It is a vast plain stretching a few miles away from the foot of the famous Victory
Hill and formerly a part of the most publicized Buenavista Estate
.
