Camiling, a premiere town of
Tarlac lying next to
Pangasinan, was once a part of
Paniqui. It was declared an independent town in 1838, with
Don Vicente Galsim serving as the first
gobernadorcillo. The town, with a name derived from the
‘kamiring’ tree that once grew abundantly there, is rich in history and tradition
. Camiling is the birthplace of prominent Filipino personages such as
U.N. Diplomat and
General Carlos P. Romulo, U.P. President Onofre Corpuz and of course,
Dr. Jose Rizal’s young love,
Leonor Rivera.
In the 1930s, amidst a time of peace and plenty,
Camiling held its own ‘petit carnivals’ in conjunction with the town
fiesta that was held annually from May 6, 7, and 8. The first recorded provincial fair of
Tarlac was held in 1927, same year as the town fair of
Concepcion.
Camiling followed suit in 1930, with a mini-fair that adapted certain successful elements of the grand national carnival in
Manila.
Two pictures from that event show the lavishness of the petit fair, aping successfully the costumed pageantry of the
Manila Carnival. Reigning queen over the festicities was
Queen Pura I, a namesake of the very first Carnival royale of Manila
(Pura Villanueva).In 1933, the chosen Queen was a pedigreed beauty named
Remedios Romulo Kipping. If her name sounds familiar, it is because the lovely
Camiling Queen is a direct descendant of
Leonor Rivera-Kipping. Leonor was a second cousin of
Dr. Jose Rizal; they had met while he was but in her early teens. Unfortunately, their love did not prosper owing to Rizal’s departure for abroad to escape arrest and Leonor’s mother’s objection over her controversial suitor. Leonor was the inspiration of the character
“Maria Clara” in Rizal’s
“Noli” and
“Fili” novels.
Leonor, instead, married the British engineer
Charles Henry Kipping, whom she had met while staying in
Dagupan. A lone child of their union,
Carlos Jr., married
Lourdes Romulo, sister of
Carlos P. Romulo. They had four children namely,
Carlos III, Linda, Araceli and
Remedios, the future
Queen of the Camiling Fair. Remedios was a student of
Sta. Catalina de Manila, a school run by Dominican sisters, when she was elected to reign as the monarch of the fiesta. At her coronation, she was dressed as a Russian Empress.
The
Camiling petit carnival that year had a grandiose mixed European-theme as these pictures show, reflecting the rise of this premiere commercial town, which, in prominence and affluence, ranked second only after the
Tarlac capital.
Remedios later married
Cesar Jimenez, with whom she had 6 children:
Miguel, Meddie, Anna, Rita, Jimmy and
Josefina.
WIN OR LUZ. Luz Besa, the second beauty to hold the title of Miss Tarlac, married her escort, Engr. Arturo Ilagan, and led a long and fruitful life. 
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