Albay
—  Province  —
Flag Official seal of Albay Seal
Map of the Philippines with Albay highlighted
Coordinates: 13°14′N 123°38′E / 13.233°N 123.633°E / 13.233; 123.633Coordinates: 13°14′N 123°38′E / 13.233°N 123.633°E / 13.233; 123.633
Country	Philippines
Region	Bicol Region (Region V)
Founded	March 10, 1917
Capital	Legazpi
Government
• Type	Province of the Philippines
• Governor	Joey Salceda (Liberal)
• Vice Governor	Harold Imperial (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
Area
• Total	2,565.77 km2 (990.65 sq mi)
Area rank	34th out of 80
Population (2010)
• Total	1,233,432
• Rank	20th out of 80
• Density	480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Density rank	10th out of 80
	[1]
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	3
• Municipalities	15
• Barangays	720
• Districts	1st to 4th districts of Albay
Time zone	PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code	4500-4517
Spoken languages	Bikol, Albayano, Tagalog
Website	Albay Tourism Website

Albay is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in southeastern Luzon island. The capital of the province is Legazpi City, which is located in the southern foothill of Mayon Volcano, the symbol most associated with the province. This near perfectly-shaped active volcano forms a scenic backdrop to the city of Legazpi and is visible throughout the municipalities and cities of Albay including the surrounding provinces.^[2]

Geography[link]

The near perfectly-shaped Mt. Mayon, serves as the backdrop to the city of Legazpi, Albay.

Albay has a total land area of 2,552.6 square kilometres (985.6 sq mi), which makes it the 26th smallest province. The province is bordered by the provinces of Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. To the northeast, the province lies along Lagonoy Gulf, which separates it from the province of Catanduanes. To the southwest of the province, is Burias Pass with the island of Burias, Masbate located about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) offshore.

Topography[link]

Mayon Volcano with the surrounding towns that has jurisdiction on the volcano.

The province is generally mountainous with scattered fertile plains and valleys. On the eastern part of the province is a line of volcanic mountains starting with the northernmost Malinao in Tiwi, followed by Masaraga and Mayon Volcano. Separated by Poliqui Bay is the Pocdol Mountains in the town of Manito.

Mount Mayon, standing at around 2,462 metres (8,077 ft), is the highest elevation in the province. It is the most famous landform in Albay and in the whole Bicol Region. This active volcano falls under the jurisdiction of eight municipalities and cities of Albay, namely Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Legazpi City, Ligao City, Malilipot, Santo Domingo, and Tabaco City. The volcano is divided like slices of a pie when viewed from above.

The western coast of the province is mountainous but not as prominent as the eastern range with the highest elevation at around 490 metres (1,610 ft).^[3] Among these mountains are Mount Catburawan in Ligao and Mount Pantao in Oas.

Population[link]

Based on the August 2010 census, Albay has a total population of 1,233,423, which makes it the 20th most populous province in the country. Based on the 2007 census, there are 208,640 households in the province with an average size of 5.22 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99.

Political subdivision[link]

Joey Salceda, Governor of Albay Province

Albay is subdivided into 15 municipalities and three component cities namely Legazpi, Ligao, Tabaco. Seven of them, Daraga, Camalig, Polangui, Guinobatan, Oas, Libon, Tiwi are classified as 1st class municipalities. The province has three representative districts.

Languages[link]

Bikol is the primary language spoken in Albay, being a part of the Bicol Region. It has many dialects, such as Bicolano Viejo, Daragueño, Legazpeño or Albayano, Oasnon and others. The dialects spoken in the coastal areas of the province are similar to the language spoken in Camarines Sur, while those further inland are similar to each other but differ significantly from the coastal dialect. The majority of the inhabitants also understand Tagalog and English.

History[link]

Pre-Hispanic period[link]

Long before the Spaniards arrived, Albay had a thriving civilization. Formerly called Ibat, Albay was once ruled by Gat Ibal, an old chief who also founded the old barangay of Sawangan, now the district of Albay and part of the city of Legazpi.

Spanish colonial period[link]

In July 1569, Luis Enriquez de Guzman, a member of the expedition led by Maestro de Campo Mateo de Saz and Captain Martin de Goiti, led a group which crossed from Burias and Ticao islands and landed on a coastal settlement called Ibalon in what is presently the province of Sorsogon. From this point another expedition was sent to explore the interior and founded the town of Camalig.

In 1573, Juan de Salcedo penetrated the Bicol Peninsula from the north as he made it as far south as Libon, establishing the settlement of Santiago de Libon. Jose Maria Peñaranda, a military engineer, was made “corregidor” of the province on May 14, 1834. He constructed public buildings and built roads and bridges.

The entire Bicol Peninsula was organized as one province with two divisions, Camarines in the northwest and Ibalon in the southeast. In 1636, the two partidos were separated, and Ibalon became a separate province with Sorsogon as capital. In the 17th century, Moro slave raiders from southern Philippines, ravaged the northeastern coastal areas of the province of Albay.

Mayon Volcano, in one of its most violent eruptions, destroyed the five towns surrounding its base on February 1, 1814. This eruption forced the town of Cagsawa to relocate to its present site, Legazpi.

A decree was issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1846 separating Masbate, Ticao and Burias from Albay to form the comandancia of Masbate. Albay was then divided into four districts: Iraya, Cordillera or Tabaco, Sorsogon and Catanduanes.

Philippine revolution[link]

Glicerio Delgado, a condemned insurecto (insurgent), started revolutionary activities in the province. With a headquarter in the mountain of Guinobatan town, he joined the revolutionary government of Albay as a lieutenant in the infantry.

A unit of the Philippine Militia was then organized by the Spanish military authorities. Mariano Riosa was appointed major of the Tabaco Zone, which comprised all the towns along the seacoast from Albay to Tiwi, while Anacieto Solano was appointed major for the Iraya Zone, which was made up of the towns from Daraga to Libon. Each town was organized into sections of fifty men under the command of a lieutenant.

During the Philippine Revolution on September 22, 1898, the provisional revolutionary government of Albay was formed with Anacieto Solano as provisional president. Major General Vito Belarmino, the appointed military commander, reorganized the Filipino Army in the province.

American colonial period[link]

The sovereignty of the country was transferred to the United States after the Treaty of Paris (1898).^[5] During the Philippine-American War, Brigadier General William Kobbe headed the expedition that landed at the ports of Sorsogon, Bulan and Donsol. From there, the American marched to Legazpi and captured it.

Although a civil government was established in Albay on April 26, 1901, Colonel Harry H. Bandhortz, Commanding Officer of the Constabulary in the Bicol Region, said that General Simeon Ola, with a thousand men, continued to defy American authority after the capture of Belarmino in 1901. Ola was later captured with about six hundred of his men.

World War II[link]

During the Second World War, the Kimura Detachment of the Japanese Imperial Forces occupied Legazpi on December 12, 1941. The region was defended only by the Philippine Constabulary unit under Major Francisco Sandico.^[6]

On 1945, Filipino soldiers of the 5th, 51st, 52nd, 54th, 55th, 56th and 57th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was around the liberation and recaptured the province of Albay and helped Bicolano guerrilla fighters and American soldiers defeat the Kimura Detachment of the Japanese Imperial Forces and end in World War II.

Economy[link]

Agriculture is the main industry in Albay, which produces crops like coconut, rice, sugar, and abacá. Handicrafts are the major source of rural income. It continuous to provide fairly large share in the small-scale industries of the province. Forestry and paper-making are another source of livelihood. The manufacture of abacá products like Manila hemp, hats, bags, mats, and slippers is one of the main sources of income in the rural areas. Fishing is the main livelihood along both shores of the province. Tourism because of Mayon Volcano, also draws income for Albay.

Transportation[link]

By water

Albay is the region's principal trans-shipment point with its ports: Tabaco International, Legazpi National, Pio Duran Provincial, and the Pantao Regional Port.

By air

Traveling to the province by air is served by the Legazpi Airport, the province's gateway from Manila and Cebu City in the Visayas. The larger Bicol International Airport is under construction in the municipality of Daraga, west of Legazpi City.

By train

Since March 2012, train service from Manila to Albay and vice versa, has been resumed by the Philippine National Railways. The Mayon Limited is a 10 1/2-hour one-way trip between Manila and Ligao City with the extension to Legazpi under construction (as of May 2012).^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Albay

• New Albay Tourism Promotion Website
• Province of Albay Official Website
• List of active LGU websites in Albay Province
• DILG Albay Provincial Office Directory
• Albay LGU Profiles

	Ragay Gulf	Camarines Sur	Lagonoy Gulf / Catanduanes
	Masbate / Burias Pass		Philippine Sea
		Albay    East
		Sorsogon

v t e Political divisions of the Philippines Capital Manila National Capital Region Autonomous region Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Provinces Abra Agusan del Norte Agusan del Sur Aklan Albay Antique Apayao Aurora Basilan Bataan Batanes Batangas Benguet Biliran Bohol Bukidnon Bulacan Cagayan Camarines Norte Camarines Sur Camiguin Capiz Catanduanes Cavite Cebu Compostela Valley Cotabato Davao del Norte Davao del Sur Davao Oriental Dinagat Islands Eastern Samar Guimaras Ifugao Ilocos Norte Ilocos Sur Iloilo Isabela Kalinga La Union Laguna Lanao del Norte Lanao del Sur Leyte Maguindanao Marinduque Masbate Misamis Occidental Misamis Oriental Mountain Province Negros Occidental Negros Oriental Northern Samar Nueva Ecija Nueva Vizcaya Occidental Mindoro Oriental Mindoro Palawan Pampanga Pangasinan Quezon Quirino Rizal Romblon Samar Sarangani Siquijor Sorsogon South Cotabato Southern Leyte Sultan Kudarat Sulu Surigao del Norte Surigao del Sur Tarlac Tawi-Tawi Zambales Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga Sibugay Former Provinces Agusan Ambos Camarines Camarines Cotabato Davao Kalinga-Apayao Lanao Lepanto-Bontoc Manila Mindanao and Sulu Mindoro Misamis Moro Province Negros Negros del Norte Occidental Leyte Oriental Leyte Samar Shariff Kabunsuan Surigao Tayabas Zamboanga Other subdivisions Island groups (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) Regions Cities Municipalities Barangays Legislative districts Territorial disputes North Borneo (Sabah) Scarborough Shoal Spratly Islands

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Shaenon K. Garrity at WonderCon 2005

Shaenon K. Garrity (born May 4, 1978) is a webcomics writer and artist, best known as the creator of Narbonic. She is one of the most prominent cartoonists in the Modern Tales network of commercial webcomic sites, and became the site's editor on August 1, 2006.^[1] In addition to writing and drawing Narbonic, she writes (and often draws) spinoff series Li'l Mell and Sergio for Girlamatic, wrote Smithson (drawn by Brian Moore, Robert T. Stevenson and Roger Langridge) for Webcomics Nation and is currently working on the comic Skin Horse which she illustrates and co-authors with Jeffrey Channing Wells. In October 2007, she began a column called "All the Comics in the World" for comiXology.com

Career[link]

She created the webcomic Smithson, with art by Robert Stevenson, Brian Moore, and Roger Langridge. The strip was first called More Fun and premiered in September 2003 as one of the original strips on the subscription-based site Graphic Smash. The strip, which makes some use of infinite canvas techniques, follows the exploits of the self-appointed campus superhero, Chamucka Man, and several students who attend Smithson College.

In 2005, More Fun moved to Webcomics Nation under the new name Smithson. It is currently suspended. She works for Viz Media as an editor and volunteers at the Cartoon Art Museum. She has also written for Marvel Comics, including their 2005-2007 Marvel Holiday Specials.^[2]

In 2005, Garrity won the Outstanding Writing award, and was also nominated for Outstanding Comedic Comic, from the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards,^[1] She was also named co-Lulu of the Year by the Friends of Lulu,^[2] sharing the award with the Flight anthology.

Personal life[link]

Garrity lives in Berkeley, California^{[citation needed]}, with her husband, artist and Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago.^[3] Garrity has contributed to the magazine Otaku USA and reviewed manga for Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide.

References[link]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards 2005
2. ^ Past Lulu Award Winners
3. ^ [3]

External links[link]

	United States portal
	Comics portal
	Internet portal

• All the Comics in the World, Shaenon's column at comiXology
• Shaenon K. Garrity official web site
• Shaenon K. Garrity's blog
• Interview with Futureal Studio
• Interview with Ed Chavez

Zac Efron
Efron at the premiere of The Lucky One, Sydney, Australia, April 9, 2012
Born	Zachary David Alexander Efron (1987-10-18) October 18, 1987 (age 24) San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	2002–present

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.^[1][2] Efron has since starred in the films 17 Again, Me and Orson Welles, Charlie St. Cloud, New Year's Eve, and The Lucky One.

In 2007, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August 2007 issue.^[3]

Early life and education[link]

Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California,^[4] and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant.^[5][6] Efron has a younger brother, Dylan, and had, as he has described it, a "normal childhood" in a middle class family.^[1] He is an agnostic, having never been religious.^[3] His surname, "Efron", means "lark" in Hebrew (his paternal grandfather was Jewish).^[7][8][9]

Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, and has also described himself as having been a class clown.^[10] His father encouraged him to begin acting when he was 11 years old.^[5] Efron subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school,^[11] worked in the theater The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville,^[1] and began taking singing lessons.^[5] He performed in shows such as Gypsy; Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. He was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).^[12][13] Efron was later signed to the Creative Artists Agency.^[14]

Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006^[15] and was then accepted into the University of Southern California, but has deferred his enrollment to work on film projects. He also attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, which provided him with the opportunity to perform as a "young player" during the years of 2000 and 2001.^[16]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Efron in June 2010

In 2002, Efron began to appear in guest roles on several television series, including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. He portrayed Cameron Bale on the now-cancelled WB series Summerland. Originally introduced as a recurring character, Efron became a regular cast member on the show in the second season in 2004, starring opposite the likes of Kay Panabaker, Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Since appearing in Summerland, he has also had guest roles on the shows CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Replacements. In 2003, Efron starred in the Lifetime original television movie Miracle Run. He played Steven Morgan, one of two autistic twins. For his performance, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-series or Special — Supporting Young Actor.^[17] In 2005, he played a main character in Hope Partlow's music video for her song "Sick Inside." Also in 2005, he played horse-loving Patrick McCardle in The Derby Stallion, where his character wants to beat the town bully at the steeple chase race.

Breakthrough[link]

In 2006, Efron starred in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical as Troy Bolton, a popular student and captain of the basketball team. The film, which he initially made with "low expectations",^[1] helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences as both an actor and a singer, even though his singing voice was overdubbed. As a result, he placed as high as #4 on the IMDBPro's STARMeter for the week of January 29, 2006.^[18] In August 2006, Efron won a Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Star and the TV — Choice Chemistry categories, shared with Vanessa Hudgens. The film's cast, along with Efron, toured Sydney, Australia, London, England, and other locations to promote the film.

Shortly after High School Musical aired, on February 4, 2006, Efron debuted with two simultaneous charted songs on Billboard Hot 100 from the film: "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free", a duet with Hudgens. On the following week's chart, Efron had five simultaneous song credits from High School Musical: "Get'cha Head in the Game", "Start of Something New", "What I've Been Looking For: Reprise", "We're All in This Together" and "Breaking Free." "We're All in This Together" was credited to the whole High School Musical cast. "Breaking Free", at the time, made the fastest climb in the history of the Billboard charts, from #86 to #4 between the two weeks; the record was beaten by Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar".^[19] Efron also appeared in the 2006 Disney Channel Games as captain of the Red Team.

Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that Drew Seeley's voice was blended with his on the soundtrack of High School Musical.^[20] An August 23, 2007 interview in Rolling Stone magazine revealed that he had been cast in High School Musical after the songs were written, and the songs (written for a tenor) were somewhat out of his baritone vocal range.

2007–present[link]

Efron at the TIFF premiere of Me and Orson Welles, September 2008

On April 7, 2007, Efron appeared in an episode of Punk'd. Efron also starred in the music video for Vanessa Hudgens's single "Say OK", in which he played her love interest. The video aired on March 16, 2007 on the Disney Channel. That year, he was named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007. A picture and short profile of him was in the section "Coming of Age". In it, he related how he was always the shortest kid in school (as of August 2007, he was 5'8")^[6] and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth.^[21]

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role,^[22] which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, from September 5 to December 2, 2006. He cut and dyed his hair dark brown and gained about 15 pounds for the role.^[23] His performance and the film received positive reviews.^[12] Efron was not able to perform with his fellow castmates in High School Musical: The Concert because of commitments on the film Hairspray. Drew Seeley took over for him.

High School Musical 2 was released in August 2007. Additionally, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%.^[24] The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers.^[25] Efron also appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone.^[3] The article about him revealed that he hoped to someday play an action hero. Efron presented the 2007 Teen Choice Award for "Favorite Movie" along with Queen Latifah, and later that year, he co-hosted the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards with The Veronicas on October 10 in Sydney.^[26]

In early 2008, Efron was cast in the lead role in the film Me and Orson Welles. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name,^[27] the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant. The film was shot in the Isle of Man, London and New York, during February — April 2008. It was introduced to North America via the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 6, and 11, 2008^[28] and was released in 2009. Efron was also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose,^[29] and has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon.^[6] In March 2009, he dropped out of the film.^[30] Efron was quoted as saying that while it was a promising gig, he left the project because he "was looking for a new challenge, and this was another musical."^[31]

Efron reprised his role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was theatrically released on October 24, 2008. His next role was in 2009's 17 Again, a high school-set comedy-drama produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi;^[32] the plot involved an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (played by Efron).^[33]

Efron at the Deauville Film Festival in 2010

On April 8, 2009, Efron's participation in a comedic short video entitled "Zac Efron's Pool Party" for the website Funny Or Die was released for public viewing.^[34] On April 11, 2009, Efron hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.^[35] In early June 2009 it was confirmed that Efron would be making a guest appearance during the sixth season of HBO's comedy series Entourage.^[36] Efron starred in a series of advertisements, along with Kristen Bell and Sean Combs, promoting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the host, Aziz Ansari. In 2009, he signed on to play title character in the movie Charlie St. Cloud.^[37] The film was released on July 30, 2010.

Efron was second on People's 2011 Most Beautiful list.^[38] That year, he appeared in Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve, which did well on the box-office despite receiving many negative reviews from critics.^[39] In 2012, he voiced Teg Wiggins in The Lorax and starred in The Lucky One, a film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel of the same name. He will co-star in The Paperboy alongside Nicole Kidman.

Upcoming roles[link]

Efron has been slated to star in the title role of the live-action adaptation of the Jonny Quest cartoons.^[40] Additional projects include Einstein Theory^[41] and an adaptation of Fire, by Image Comics. On February 11, 2011, it was reported that Efron will star in the action romance Charlie Countryman.^[42][43] He is also set to star in and produce the American remake of Swedish crime film Easy Money.^[44][45]

Personal life[link]

Efron with Vanessa Hudgens at the 81st Academy Awards, 2009

Efron was on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008 as number 92 with estimated earnings of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. As of April 5, 2009, his personal wealth equaled about $10 million.^[46] People magazine said in 2007 that Efron and Vanessa Hudgens began dating in 2005 during the filming of High School Musical,^[47][48][49] although Us magazine said, after the two broke up in December 2010, that they "met in 2005 while making the first High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two years later."^[50]

Filmography[link]

Other awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• High School Musical (2006)
• Hairspray (2007)
• High School Musical 2 (2007)
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Charted songs[link]

References[link]