Santa Cruz, Laguna - Kesong Puti Festival
Kesong puti (white cheese) is a
traditional breakfast in Laguna, which is made from the milk of carabaos
or water buffaloes and is widely produced in Sta. Cruz. Kesong puti,
eaten with hot pandesal and kape or tsokolate became the municipality’s
symbol of annual gaiety as it is the most popular food in the town’s
culinary history. The festival evolved to include the cultural
uniqueness and industrial prowess of the town of Sta. Cruz.
Santa Cruz may not have natural tourist spots and no wide areas to
develop but one thing the townsmen of Santa Cruz are proud of are the
local foods available in the town. Santa Cruz boasts of the famous white
cheese or kesong puti, freshly made from carabao's milk.
Santa Cruz is a first class urban municipality and capital of the province of Laguna in the Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 110,943 people.
Santa Cruz is situated on the banks of the Santa Cruz River which flows into the eastern part of Laguna de Bay.
The town is bounded by the Bay on the north, by Lumban and Pagsanjan
towns in the east, Pagsanjan and Magdalena towns in the south, and Pila
in the west. It is 87 kilometres (54 mi) from Manila via Calamba. It is
accessible by land from the nearby 28 municipalities and by water
through Laguna de Bay from Manila and some Rizal towns.
Santa Cruz is considered as the service and commercial center on the
eastern part of the province. The town is composed of five barangays in
the Poblacion area and 21 classified urban barangays. Although
relatively far from the immediate urbanizing influence of Metropolitan
Manila, Santa Cruz continues to progress. It is now classified as first
class municipality. The present administration is headed by the Mayor
Denis Panganiban. Santa Cruz is also the seat of the provincial
government since 1885, giving the municipality an additional
administrative function over the entire province. It also functions as
the service center for transportation, commerce, health, education, and
other social services for the predominantly rural north-eastern
municipalities of the province. Boosting the economy of the municipality
are the incipient and fast-growing agribusiness industries such as
livestock raising, horticulture and aquaculture. The town is composed of
twenty-six (26) urban barangays. All barangays are being classified as
urban.
The development of Santa Cruz as the administrative, commercial, and
service center of Laguna makes it accessible for all private/public
vehicles going to nearby places particularly Pagsanjan, Lake Caliraya, Liliw, Paete and Nagcarlan.
Situated at the central portion of Laguna province along the
south-eastern coast of Laguna de Bay, the Municipality of Santa Cruz
lies approximately 87 kilometres (54 mi) southeast of Metro Manila via
Calamba and is geographically located at approximately 14 degrees 17'
latitude and 121 degrees 25' longitude. The municipality is bounded on
the north and north-west by Laguna de Bay, on the north-east by Lumban,
on the east by Pagsanjan, on the southeast by Magdalena, on the south by
Liliw, and on the south-west by Pila. It has 26 barangays and covers
approximate land area of 3860 hectares which comprises about 2% of the
total land area of Laguna Province.
Santa Cruz, Laguna - Kesong Puti Festival