Cervantes (Philippinen) 5.21

', officially the ', is a of the Philippines in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.The municipality is officially the Summer Capital of Ilocos Sur. It has a relatively cooler climate than most of lowland Ilocos Sur due to its geographical location and proximity to Mountain Province and Benguet. The municipality is home to the Bessang Pass Natural Monument.HistoryMunicipality of Cervantes lies along the Southeastern tip of the province. It is bounded by the Municipalities of Mankayan and Bakun (Benguet) on the South; by Alilem (Ilocos Sur) on the Southeast, by Suyo and Sigay (Ilocos Sur) on the West; by Gregorio del Pilar (Concepcion) on the Northwest and Quirino (Angaki) on the North; and by Tadian (Mt. Province) on the East. It is cut southwesterly by the biggest and longest river in the area, the Abra River. It is almost isolated from the rest of Ilocos Region due to its location and natural barriers.The earliest known historical document about Cervantes was that, it started as a small Igorot Village known as “Mantamang”, an Igorot word meaning “to look over”. Igorot traders and Chinese merchants who always had to pass the village frequently used man and horse trails connecting the lowland and upland neighboring localities.On March 4, 1879, the residents of Mantamang petitioned that the village be recognized as a Christian town under Lepanto-Amburayan Sub-province of Mountain Province. The town was given the name Cervantes and that remained the name of the town up to the present. How it got the name Cervantes is not known or documented but it is believed that it was named after the famous poet Miguel de Cervantes.