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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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CHAPTER 4
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CHAPTER 5
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CHAPTER 6
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CHAPTER 7
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      People are the greatest asset of a nation or community. Without people, there can be no society; and without society, no nation can exist. As a great Chinese philosopher, Mencius (372-289 B.C.) once asseverated: "The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirit of the land and the gains are next; the sovereign is the least important." So it may be said that the Pagsanjeños are God's best gift to Pagsanjan.

A People of Multi-Racial Ancestry

      Like other Filipinos, the Pagsanjeños represent a gorgeous tapestry of races. In their veins flow the bloods of the East and the West. Contrary to Kipling's imperialist credo that "East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet," The East and the West do meet and blend harmoniously in the veins of Pagsanjeños.
      Since dawn of history, the Pagsanjeños have freely intermarried with other races and nationalities. Never have they been afflicted with the virus of xenophobia. Pre-dominantly Malayan in racial origin, they posses the ethnic influences of the Chinese, Indians (Hindus), Japanese, Thais, Arabs, Spanish, Mexicans, Americans, British, French, Italians, and other nationalities.
      It is precisely this multi-racial ancestry which enables Pagsanjan to produce men of remarkable talents and women of alluring beauty.
      Foreign scientists and scholars who had visited the Philippines during colonial times, notably Sir John Bowring (British) in 1858-59, Dr. Feodor Jagor (German) in 1859-60 and Alfred Marche (French) in 1879-81 and 1883-85, affirmed that the best interracial crossing in the Philippines was the Chinese-Malayan, whose descendants possess the superlative qualities of both races, namely, the frugality, fortitude, and wisdom of China and the courage, adventurous spirit, and pride of Malaysia. As Sir John Bowring said: "The mestizo descendants of Chinese fathers and Indian (Malayan) mothers form incomparably the most prominent portion of the Philippine populations."
      Most of the Pagsanjeño families, especially the affluent, enterprising, and intellectual ones, are descendants of Chinese-Malayan ancestors. Other families have infiltration of Japanese, Arab, Hindu, Thai, Indonesian, Spanish, British, American, Mexican, French, and Italian bloods.
      Many Pagsanjeños have distinguished themselves in all branches of knowledge and in all realms of human enterprises -- in arts and sciences, in politics and diplomacy, and in war and peace. As a matter of fact, in almost all professions or occupations under the sun you will find Pagsanjeños. Because of this versatility of her people and their high culture, Pagsanjan came to be known during the Spanish period as the "Atena de la Provincia de Laguna" (Athens of Laguna Province). In our time, it may be asserted that Pagsanjan, with her intelligent and talented citizenry, can be a sovereign mini-republic, like Athens and Corinth in ancient Hellas and Genoa and Venice in the Middle Ages.