Talisay, Cebu
', officially the ' (; ), is a in the province of , . According to the , it has a population of people. The name of Talisay is taken from the talisay tree which is abundant in the city. History. Talisay was founded in 1648 as an estate owned by the Augustinians. In 1849 it was converted into a municipality. During both the American colonial period and World War II, Talisay served as a haven of colonial military forces. The municipality served as the center of guerrilla intelligence operations for the Philippine resistance movement in Cebu during World War II. The returning U. S.  liberation forces landed on the beaches of Talisay on 28 March 1945, and were helped together with the Philippine Commonwealth forces and the Cebuano guerrillas, an event that marked the eventual surrender of Japanese forces on Cebu. That day is now an official holiday in the province of Cebu. Cityhood. In 2000 the municipality of Talisay was converted into a city through "Republic Act No. 8979". The municipality is now linked to Cebu City via the South Coastal Highway from Lawaan, opened in 2004. This brought some recent inward investment in the form of subdivisions, but some hastily planned plagued  by problems. Conflict occurred between the residents of the mountain barangay of Maghaway and those of Crown Asia's Azienda Milan and Venezia subdivisions. Geography. Primarily a residential and trading center, Talisay lies within the Metro Cebu area. It is bordered to the north by Cebu City, to the west is the city of Toledo, to the east is the Cebu Strait, and to the south is the town of Minglanilla. Barangays. Talisay City comprises 22 barangays: Demographics. In 2017, Talisay City was the most densely populated city in the Cebu province. This ranking does not include highly urbanized cities : Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, & Mandaue. There were 5,710 people living per square kilometer. Cebuano is the predominant language of the inhabitants of the city (96%). Religion. Talisay City has a Roman Catholic-majority population. It also has sizeable Protestant and non-Christian minorities. Economy. Talisay remains an important center for the production of blasting caps used in dynamite. Much of the commerce in Talisay takes place in the Tabunok area, where several public markets, strip malls and commercial establishments are situated. The biggest mall is Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall Tabunok, which has a supermarket, department store and formerly, a cinema . However, much of the population still depend on the public markets, where they can find fresh meat, fish and vegetables, as well as other household needs. There are many sari-sari stores. Talisay City and the Tabunok area also serve as the commercial area for municipalities south of the city, being the southern gateway to Cebu City. Culture. Talisay City is considered the "Lechon Capital of Cebu" and is considered one of the two places to get the best of the best Lechon, which is nicknamed "Inasal", in Cebu, with the other place being Carcar City. Because of their Lechon , the town decided to create a religious-cultural festival to promote Talisay City, which was "Halad Inasal Festival" and celebrated on October 15. The festival is in honor of St. Teresa of Avila, Talisay City's patron saint, and is highlighted by street dancing merged with a procession with roasted pig, which then culminates with a ritual showdown and a grand finale with a firework display. Transport. Talisay City has benefited from the construction of the South Road Properties and the road that traverses it, the Cebu South Coastal Road, which is a 6-lane coastal highway from downtown Cebu  City to the city's Barangay Lawa-an I, near its border with the town of Minglanilla, with several exits in between, many of which serve several areas of Talisay. Because of this highway, traffic, which has always been a problem for the inhabitants in the past few years for this area, has been greatly reduced, making the city a popular zone for housing once more, as it was in the early 70s and 80s. The city is also set to be served by the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, wherein it will have two (2) feeder lines, going to Mambaling  and to the South Road Properties, both located in Cebu City. In 2016, the Talisay city council expressed support for the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Cebu.