A group of Spaniards first came to this place, surprised and amazed they exclaimed, "Que Hermosa! Que Hermosa!, when they saw some pretty maidens with long, black hair washing clothes and bathing in the brook. The boys who accompanied their sisters repeated what they heard from the Spaniards and upon returning home they repeated again and again what the Spaniards exclaimed. When the next group of Spaniards visited the place, they asked for its name. The folks didn't understand Spanish but answered "Hermosa, Hermosa". And that was how Hermosa got its name. Another version was that "Llana Hermosa", meaning beautiful plain of white flowers was the original name of this town. When the province was created, the town was formally named Hermosa, a name that fits the place not only due to the plain's white flowers but more so to the beautiful maidens and places that abound the town.

Historically, the town was established in 1756 by the Dominican priests. At that time, it was known as Llana Hermosa and composed of Mabuco and Mabuyan. It became an independent missionary center in 1756 with St. Peter de Verona as its patron saint. The town of Hermosa was very peaceful and progressive before World War II. When the war broke out, their quiet routine was disturbed. In the famous "death march", civilians of Hermosa risked the ire of the Japanese by secretly passing food to Filipino and American soldiers.

Present

Hermosa is now a thriving community. With the establishment of the Hermosa Special Economic Zone, many light to medium industries are expected to locate in the area. Hermosa is also famous for their garments, balut and salted eggs, and handpainted jars.

Fast Facts

Hermosa lies on the northern portion of the province of Bataan about 100 kilometers from Manila. It can be reached within two hours by land from Manila through the North Luzon Expressway and about 45 minutes from Subic and an hour and a half from Clark. It has a total land area of 15,730.00 hectares representing 11.40% of the entire provincial area. It is composed of 23 barangays with a population of 38,759 as of 1995. The municipality of Hermosa is predominantly agricultural. A large portion of the agricultural area, mostly in the lowland, is planted with palay. For the last three (3) years, Hermosa produced an annual average of 17,402 MT equivalent to 13.83% of the total annual palay production in the province.

Major Industries

Existing industries in Hermosa are garments, handpainted jars, balut and salted egg making. In the future, fruit processing particularly of mangoes and bananas, handicrafts, stuffed toys and other light industries for export will be dominant in the area with the full operationalization of HSEZ.