Sasmuan

Sasmuan, officially the Municipality of Sasmuan (Balen ning Sasmuan, ), formally known by its Spanish name Sexmoán (pronunciation: ses-mo-wan), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,076 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

Etymology
It was known as Sexmoan until January 15, 1991. The town's former name in Spanish was Sexmoán, as was initially transcribed by Spanish friars. In Spanish, the letter  used to be pronounced as a voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, identical to the digraph  in English. It was derived from the ancient Kapampangan rootword sasmo, which means to meet, according to a 17th-century Kapampangan dictionary. Sasmuan therefore is synonymous with "pitagmuan" or "meeting place of the datus" or "meeting point". It was named "Sasmuan" because it is where the Pampangos meet when they were at war with the Chinese in Guagua. In 1991, the spelling was unanimously changed into Sasmuan, due to perceived sexual connotations.

History
Sasmuan already had a well-developed system of government well before the era of Spanish colonization. It was one of the major towns of Pampanga in the 16th century.

The Santa Lucia Church was one of the first Roman Catholic churches built in the Philippines by the Spaniards with the political and financial support of the Principalia.

Geography
Sasmuan is located in the southern part of Pampanga. It is one of the three towns in the province along the Manila Bay coastline (Others are Macabebe and Lubao). It is bounded to the north by the municipalities of Guagua and Minalin; to the east by the municipality of Macabebe; to the west by the municipality of Lubao; and to the south by Manila Bay. Most of the town's area is fish ponds.

Barangays
Sasmuan is politically subdivided into 12 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.


 * Batang 1st "San Vicente"
 * Batang 2nd "Sto. Nino"
 * Mabuanbuan "Sagrada Pamilya"
 * Malusac "Sto Rosario"
 * San Antonio
 * San Nicolas 1st
 * San Nicolas 2nd includes Sitio Remedios (Dakung)
 * San Pedro
 * Santa Lucia
 * Santa Monica includes Sitio San Francisco (Cutud)
 * Santo Tomas includes Sitio Santa Cruz
 * Sebitanan "Sto Cristo"

Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Sasmuan, Pampanga, was 29,076 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy
Sasmuan has a unique geography in that it is surrounded by fish ponds. Aquaculture has been the main industry that drives the local economy. The fish from ponds and other areas are sold at the Fish Port.

The town has 2 prime business ventures and both are in the food industry. These two are Sasmuan Delicacies which was founded in 1990 and Aiza's Sweets which was started in 2000. For Sasmuan Delicacies, their products are being sold in many big supermarkets and malls in the Philippines, including SM City Malls. Aiza's Sweets on the other hand, has SM City Malls as one of their primary customer, but they also sell to several popular local shops such as Susie's Sweets, Nathaniels, etc. Also, Aiza's Sweets exports to the United States and Canada.

Santa Lucia Parish Church
The Santa Lucia Parish Church in Sasmuan is the first church in the province built by Augustinian priests. It stands right beside the Río Grande, a river that connects Pampanga to Manila Bay. The structure is said to have been built by Jose Duque in the 17th century, was rebuilt in the early 1800s, and was reinforced by Toribio Fanjul in 1884.

The edifice has decorative floral carvings on its main entrance. The old town church is one of the few, if not the only church in the country where the single belfry is situated between the church and the convento. The church, which measures 45 m long, 11 m wide, and 6 m high, also features a grotto of Our Lady of Fatima. Devotees from all over the province flock here to honor Saint Lucy, believed to be a miraculous saint.

Founded in 1590, Santa Lucia is a parish of the Vicariate of St. Joseph in the Archdiocese of San Fernando. The parish celebrates the feast day of its titular patron on December 13.

Notable People

 * Jose Montemayor Jr., a candidate for the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
 * Japeth Aguilar, Filipino basketball player