Marikina, officially the City of Marikina, was former capital of the province of Manila during the declaration

of Philippine Independence and one of the sixteen cities within the Manila Metropolitan Area. Marikina is part of

Eastern Manila District of Metro Manila's four districts. It is located on the eastern border of Metro Manila of the

 island of Luzon. Several cities and municipalities lies on its border: San Mateo, Rizal, to the north and northeast, Antipolo City to the east, Cainta, Rizal, to the southeast, Pasig City to the south and Quezon City to the entire

west.

Marikina was given the title the "Shoe Capital of the Philippines" because of its notable shoe industry.

Shoemakers in the city recently finished creating the "World's Largest Pair of Shoes" and it was only recently

that the Guinness World Records recognized this feat. The Shoe Museum located in the city is the home of the

famous shoe collection of the former First Lady Imelda Marcos, shoes of the world leaders, past presidents,

 famous celebrities and persons, shoes of different countries around the world etc., and contains the largest

collection of pair of shoes in the world.

Marikina was divided into two districts consisting of 16 barangays. The people of Marikina are amongst the

most disciplined in the Philippines. Marikina City is considered as one of the healthiest and livable cities within

the Asia-Pacific. Marikina City is one of the wealthiest local government units (LGU) in the Philippines in terms

of current assets, cash in banks, share of internal revenue allotment (IRA), gross income and gross net income.

The city features many spacious parks, tree-lined streets, bikelanes, boulevards and commercial areas. Despite the latter, most of the city is classified as residential. It was devastated by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. The most

influential persons in the city is former mayor Marides Fernando and former MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando,

who was also previously a mayor. Both Fernandos were credited for the city's radical transformation and

improvement. The incumbent mayor is Del De Guzman.

Geography

Marikina City is one of the large distribution in Metro Manila in terms of land area at approximately 21.5 square

kilometers (2,150 hectares), about 3.37% of the total land area of Metro Manila. The city lies on the Marikina

Valley. Not only is Marikina City a part of this valley, the valley extends to the south towards Pasig City and

 Cainta, Rizal. Marikina River runs through the central portion of the city and Nangka River runs through the north portion. The dynamic Sierra Madre Mountains, the longest mountain range in the Philippines is located at the eastern portion while the Quezon City hills are located to the west. It is also the home of the Valley Fault System

, one of the active faults in the Philippines.

History

The Augustinians were the first to arrive at the valley, at the spot now known as Chorillo, in Barangay Barangka. The Jesuits next came in 1630 in a place called Jesús de la Peña. They established a mission and built a

chapel where the first mass in Marikina was held. On April 16 , 1630, Fray Pedro de Arce, apostolic ruler of the

Archbishop of Manila, approved the transfer of ecclesiastical control and supervision of Marikina area to the

Jesuits. The area was later called Mariquina in 1787 after Felix Berenguer de Marquina who was the

governor-general at that time, and Mariquina was declared a pueblo (officially town) under the Spanish colonial government.

City

Marikina City Hall

The city lies on a valley of the same name. Marikina River runs through the mid-west portion of the city. There

 are two distinct seasons namely dry season from November to April and wet season from May to October