Tuguegarao

Tuguegarao, a town and the capital of the province of Cagayan, Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Grande de Cagayan River, about 60 m. from its mouth. Pop. (1903), 16,105. Many of Tuguegarao's buildings - government, religious, business and residential - are of stone or brick. There are a Dominican college for boys, a convent school for girls, and good public schools, including a high school. The river is navigable to Tuguegarao for vessels of light draught; the Cagayan Valley is the great tobaccoproducing region of the Philippines; and Tuguegarao is an important shipping point for tobacco. Local business is largely in the hands of Chinese merchants; Spanish and German companies control the exportation of tobacco. The town was settled in 1774, and the old church and bell tower are still standing. The local dialects are Cagayan, and, of less importance, Ilocano and Tagalog.