Gumaca Public Market: A Reflection of the Town's History, Culture, and Resilience

This study aimed to determine the Gumaca public market: a reflection of the town’s history, culture, and resilience. It determined the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, years of residency, and address. Gumaca public market evolved, and significantly influenced its development in terms of early development, colonial influence, post-colonial development, and recent revitalization. The market plays a vital role in preserving and showcasing the cultural heritage and traditions of Gumaca, Quezon, through its products, vendors, and practices in terms of promotion of local products, cultural events, and festivals. The market’s layout, architecture, and design reflect the town’s history, cultural identity, and resilience in the face of modernization and urbanization in terms of historical architecture, community-centric layout, cultural identity, and adaptation to modern needs. The Gumaca public market has an impact on the local economy and community. The stories, experiences, and perspectives of vendors, customers, and other stakeholders in the Gumaca public market reflect the town’s history, cultural values, and resilience in the face of challenges and changes in terms of historical narratives, cultural values, community resilience, and consumer engagement. The researcher used a descriptive method of research. This study employed a convenience sampling design. Under this procedure, the researcher considered using eighty (80) selected residents and consumers in Gumaca, Quezon to get the 100% of the respondents. This study determined that the majority of the respondents are 18-24 years old, which account of 30% of the total respondents. It revealed that the majority of the respondents are females, who account for 59% of the total respondents. Most of the respondents have been living in Gumaca, Quezon, for almost 26 years or more, which accounts for 30% of the total respondents. In terms of address, most of the respondents live in Barangay Peñafrancia and Villa Nava Gumaca, Quezon. Most of the respondents agreed that the Gumaca public market is a reflection of the town’s history, culture, and resilience, as shown by the result of the findings of the study. Further, based on the results of the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, the null hypothesis of age, sex, years of residency, and address is accepted, which means that there is no significant difference in the perceived responses about the town’s history, culture, and resilience related to the Gumaca public market. It is recommended that a link between the Arañat Baluarte Festival be strengthened through the active participation of the vendors and business owners in the public market during the festivals. Local government officials in charge of the festival may find ways to promote the different entrepreneurial activities in the public market to boost the economic growth of the municipality. The local government and residents of Gumaca may provide information about the early establishment of the Gumaca public market, which may strengthen their social interaction for the better development of the community. Future researchers may conduct a study for further research using a bigger population and other variables not included in the study.