Argao, officially the Municipality of Argao ( ceb, Lungsod sa Argao; tgl, Bayan ng Argao), is a 1st class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,187 people.

Geography

The municipality of Argao is located in the southeast of the province of

, from

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Ac ...

. Argao is bordered to the north by the municipality of Sibonga, to the west are the municipalities of

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

Alcantara Alcantara, Alcântara (Portuguese language, Portuguese), Alcántara (Spanish language, Spanish), Alcàntara, Alcàntera, El-Qantarah and (El) Kantara are all transliterations of the Arabic language, Arabic word ''al qantara'' (القنطرة), mean ...

and

Moalboal Moalboal, officially the Municipality of Moalboal ( ceb, Lungsod sa Moalboal; tgl, Bayan ng Moalboal), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,930 people. Exten ...

, to the east is the

Cebu Strait Cebu Strait ( Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Cebú''; also Bohol Strait) is a strait in the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. Geography The Cebu Strait (and its 3 channels, the Mactan, the Olango, & the Hilutangan) connects the western part of t ...

, and to the south is the municipality of

Dalaguete Dalaguete, officially the Municipality of Dalaguete ( ceb, Lungsod sa Dalaguete; tgl, Bayan ng Dalaguete), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 74,596 people. Lo ...

Barangays

Argao comprises 45 barangays:

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Tourism

The economy of the town of Argao heavily revolves around farming, baking, and tourism. Argao is renowned in Cebu as the "Torta Capital of the Province" because of its local delicacy, the ''Torta'', a Cebuano tart that is inspired from the Spanish tart, but differs in its recipe by using ''

tubâ Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico ...

'' or

palm wine Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in va ...

as the rising agent instead of the usual yeast. There are three Cebuano baking towns, the others are Liloan and Santander. The La Torta Festival, which replaced the Pitlagong Festival in 2011, is the municipality's local food festival in honor of St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Argao. La Torta Festival happens every 28–29 September to celebrate Argao's Tart Economy and the torta as an Argaoanon delicacy, as well as cultural heritage from the Spanish period, which includes the tradition of making the torta. Argao is also a producer of Cebuano '' tsokolate'' (chocolate). Much of the

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

production originates from Argao. The raw cacao, once harvested, is molded, while melted, into disk-shaped tablets called '' tablea''. These are often used in '' sikwate'', a Cebuano version of

hot chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

. The production of chocolate in Argao is said to have been pre-colonial.

Maria Cacao Maria Cacao is the '' diwata'' or mountain goddess associated with Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu, Philippines. The Maria Cacao legend is a prominent example of the mountain goddess motif in Philippine mythology; other prominent examples being Mar ...

, a goddess of the Lantoy Mountain, is said to have been the giver of the cacao tree to the natives of Argao, according to legend. It is said that she and her husband Mangao reside in a cave in that area, surrounded by cacao trees. Argao is, additionally, a producer of

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

in the province. When the tubâ ferments or when it is aged too long, it becomes sour. It eventually turns into vinegar which is used as sauce or as component for a sauce in main courses. The palm vinegar is referred to as ''sukang tubâ''. It is often accompanied with spices such as

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

and

chili peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...

and usually comes by the bottle. Saint Michael Parish Church, Argao.jpg, St Michael Parish Church Rizal statue in Argao.JPG, Rizal statue at Municipal plaza Argao Public Market.JPG, Argao Public Market

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2020, cs1-dates=ss Municipalities of Cebu