Marikina City is known for its shoes but in the 90s, it has become known for its successful transformation from an ordinary rural town to a highly-urbanized city. It is now a favorite tourist destination for: (1) travelers — to buy inexpensive but quality shoes and for the museums and interesting places in the city and; and (2) benchmarkers — people from organizations, local and international, who wanted to benchmark and learn from Marikina’s experiences on governance and politics.

Marikina’s neighboring towns are Quezon City, San Mateo, Cainta, and Antipolo. It is part of the 14 cities and 3 municipalities comprising Metro Manila but it is formerly part of Rizal province. It is 21 kms. away from Manila.

Marikina is considered a bedroom community since approximately 802 of its 2,150 hectare-land is for residential land use. Its total population (based on NSO estimated growth rate of 2.34%) is projected at 479,394 for the year 2007.

A Little of Its Past…
The Augustinians were the first to arrive in Mariquina at the valley known today as Chorillo, Barangka. In 1630, the Jesuits came in a place now called Jesus dela Peňa. In 1901, the Americans officially named the pueblo (small town) Marikina.

The early settlers lived along the banks of the river and the fertile farms nearby. With the combined local industry of the natives merged and the skills of the Chinese settlers, the farms began to produce abundant harvest of rice and vegetables. The valley then became part of the country’s most priced hacienda.

In 19th century, Hacienda Marikina became the biggest in the country through the administration of the Tuason family. It was declared a mayorazgo, or royal estate by the Spanish government. (link)

By the 20th century, Marikina become known as the town of the shoemakers. Soon, the arrival of the heavy industries engulfed the city and the once sleepy town became a victim of runaway growth.