Wikipedia

Draft:Cubao, Quezon City


Cubao
Informal district of Quezon City
Cubao skyline from Santolan–Annapolis MRT-3 station
Cubao skyline from Santolan–Annapolis MRT-3 station
Map
Interactive map of Cubao
Coordinates: 14°37′00″N 121°03′00″E / 14.61667°N 121.05°E / 14.61667; 121.05
CountryPhilippines
RegionNational Capital Region
CityQuezon City
Congressional districtsPart of the: 3rd, and 4th districts of Quezon City
Time zoneUTC+08:00 (Philippine Standard Time)
Zip codes
1109

Cubao is an informal district of Quezon City, Philippines. The district serves as one of the transportation hubs of Metro Manila.[1]

Etymology

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The name Cubao is derived as Spanish rendering of the word kubaw, a local species of banana.[2] Also, there is also another story like that Cubao is derived from calling a hunchback (Kuba o!).[3]

History

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As part of Quezon City creation in 1939 to be the new capital city replacing Manila, Cubao was one of the annexed areas from San Juan which also includes Diliman, Kamuning, New Manila, and San Francisco del Monte.[4]

After the war, in early 1950s, José Amado Araneta from Negros purchased 35 hectares of land between Calle Quezón (now Aurora Boulevard) and Highway 54 (now EDSA) from Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He started the development of newly acquired land into residential and commercial hub, which attracts many people to move or to settle in Cubao, as Escolta was still slowly recovering from Battle of Manila bombings.[5] Many restaurants such as A&W, Kup n Saucer, Ming's and Hong Ning's, Ma Mon Luk, and Aling Nena's Bibingka arose in the district, with the closure of many of them after 2000s.[6]

With the construction of Araneta Coliseum, Cubao became a recreational sports venue, hosting the World Junior Lightweight Championship bout between Harold Gomes and Gabriel “Flash” Elorde. In 1975, Thrilla in Manila happened between Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. Also PBA games hosted for many years.[7]

List of barangays

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The following barangays are either covered of then "district" or only known alternatively as Cubao:

Barangay Name Legislative District Alternate Name
E. Rodriguez District 3 Project 5, Cubao
Mangga Anonas, Cubao
San Roque Cubao
Silangan Cubao
Socorro Cubao, Araneta City
Immaculate Concepcion District 4 Cubao
Kaunlaran Cubao
Pinagkaisahan Cubao
San Martin de Porres Cubao, Arayat

Economy

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Ali Mall

Shopping mall

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As Araneta City being situated at Cubao, many shopping malls are established such as Ali Mall,[8] Gateway Mall,[9][10] Farmers Plaza,[11] and SM Araneta City (formerly SM Cubao).[12][7] Wet market Farmers Market's location is adjacent to Farmers Plaza.[13][14] Indoor amusement park Fiesta Carnival is located along General Aguinaldo and General McArthur Avenues. Some old movie theaters are repurposed and now rented by some local companies such as Puregold, Rex Bookstore, Savemore Market, the AIA Philippines, and others.

Also, Cubao Expo (or Cubao X) is also known for young artists' haven, galleries, bars, cafes and even curio shop which was established in 2000. Before it became Cubao Expo, it is known as Marikina Shoe Expo.[15] Also, Ali Mal features Sining Kamalig, also young artists' expo which was originally established in 1972 but transferred in Cubao in 2000.[15] Also, Fiesta Carnival was launched in 1970s, with its closure in 1990s, which returned by 2023.[16]

Araneta City Cyberpark

Office towers and tech hubs

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Many office towers erected in Cubao, one of those is 22-storey Aurora Tower which is a mixed-use tower comprising retail, office, penthouse spaces and a rooftop helipad. The first seven floors of Aurora Tower are occupied by Isetann Department Store and Supermarket, and other floors by the Honorary Consulate of Colombia.[17] Gateway Office is located Aurora Boulevard and General Aguinaldo Avenue, which connects Gateway Mall 1 on ground level and the LRT 2 Gateway Mall Concourse on second floor.[18]

The 31-storey mixed-use tower Gateway Tower serves as the headquarters of the Araneta Group and other Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies. It was directly connected to the Gateway Mall.[19] Also, a cyberpark is located which serves as hub for both international and local companies, primarily Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies which has five towers.[20][21]

Recreation

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Araneta Coliseum, one of the biggest indoor arenas in the Philippines is located at Araneta City. In the same business district, New Frontier Theater is also located and being used for concerts.[22]

Residential

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The New Frontier Theater, along with the Manhattan Parkway and the Manhattan Parkview.

Many condominium complex are located at Cubao, such as Manhattan Gardens, the first transit-oriented residential development in the country. Another residential area within Cubao is the Euro Towers International Inc. owned Vivaldi Residences Cubao, a 40-storey mixed-use tower, located along the corners of EDSA and Aurora Boulevard. Also, Ibis Styles Araneta City is known for being a budget hotel near Gateway Mall 2.[23]

Education

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Several educational institutions which are part of Cubao are Stella Maris College Quezon City,[5] Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) Quezon City Campus established in 1983, the Samson College of Science and Technology (only moved to Cubao in 1983), the Jesus Christ Saves Global Outreach Christian Academy (1996), the Starland International School (Cubao campus in 2006), the Pail and Shovel Integrated School, PHINMA-Republican College, and the STI Academic Center.

Known public schools in the area are Ponciano Bernardo Elementary School (near P. Tuazon Boulevard), Emilio Aguinaldo Elementary School, E. Rodriguez Sr. Elementary School, Carlos Garcia High School, Cubao Elementary School, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo High School, Fort Aguinaldo Elementary School, Ponciano Bernardo High School, Ramon Magsaysay (Cubao) High School, Juan Sumulong High School, 15th Avenue Elementary School, E. Rodriguez Sr. Elementary School (est. 1968), and Carlos Garcia High School.

Transportation

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EDSA-Cubao near NY Avenue

Cubao is the hub of major national bus transportation carriers.[7] Among the bus companies in Cubao with their terminal are: Baliwag Transit, Five Star, Superlines, Victory Liner, HM Transport, Apls, Viron Transit, Cisco, Dagupan Bus, DLTBCo, GV Florida, Pangasinan Solid North Transit, and other southern Luzon buses. Also a busport is located inside Araneta City.

Cubao is served by two train stations: the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) follows EDSA with a station named Anonas (located between Barangays Project 3 and 4), and Araneta Center–Cubao, while the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) follows Aurora Avenue and has a station with the same name of their MRT counterpart.

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Cubao is featured in the lyrics of the Filipino song Ale (Nasa Langit Na Ba Ako?). The song's version by The Bloomfields released in 2007 become trending in TikTok by February 2026 by an uploader who did a "Cubao Expo 'fit-check dance".[24]

Notable residents

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References

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  1. ↑ Marie, Vixey (August 20, 2024). "[WATCH] #KomyuterDiaries: The duality of Cubao as a transport hub". RAPPLER. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  2. ↑ Poter, Jean-Paul G. (2013). Arabic and Persian Loanwords in Tagalog. Lulu.com, 278.
  3. ↑ Sotto, Gian (May 7, 2021). "#QCTRIVIAS Quezon City's facts and trivia "THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME CUBAO"". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  4. ↑ Pante, Michael D. (February 2017). "Quezon's City: Corruption and contradiction in Manila's prewar suburbia, 1935–1941" (PDF). Cambridge.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Navarro, Nelson A. (January 13, 2013). "Cubao's brief shining moment". Philstar.com. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  6. ↑ Lim Uy, Sasha (May 5, 2020). "Old Cubao Restaurants That Your Parents Keep Talking About". Esquire.com.
  7. 1 2 3 Medina, Marielle (September 30, 2023). "Cubao: The country's pioneer in commercial center operations". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  8. ↑ Enriquez, Jeffrey; Martinez, Denny. "Ali Mall". www.aranetacity.com.
  9. ↑ Reyes, Rizal Raoul (February 26, 2020). "New Gateway to enhance malling in Quezon City". BusinessMirror. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Gateway Mall 2". gatewaysquare.com.ph.
  11. ↑ Martinez, Denny; Enriquez, Jeffrey. "Farmers Plaza". www.aranetacity.com.
  12. ↑ "City of Firsts welcomes rebranding of SM Cubao to SM Araneta City - BusinessMirror". October 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ "It's palengke day for Margarita Fores - Bilyonaryo Business News". bilyonaryo.com. January 15, 2019.
  14. ↑ Rosales, Clara (March 30, 2024). "Araneta City: Then and Now". SPOT.PH. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  15. 1 2 Dy, Philbert (March 31, 2024). "A Love Letter to Cubao". SPOT.PH. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ de Castro Jr., Isagani (December 12, 2023). "'Mini-Disneyland': Araneta Group reopens Fiesta Carnival in time for Christmas 2023". RAPPLER. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ City, Araneta. "Araneta City". www.aranetacity.com.
  18. ↑ "Gateway Office". gatewaysquare.com.ph.
  19. ↑ "Gateway Tower". gatewaysquare.com.ph.
  20. ↑ "Araneta unit to open P4-B third tower of Cyberpark in 2025". BusinessWorld Online. February 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Araneta City holds concrete pouring ceremony for Cyberpark 3".
  22. ↑ Enriquez, Jeffrey; Martinez, Denny. "Live, Shop Work & Dine". Araneta City.
  23. ↑ "French brand ibis Styles opens its first hotel in Philippines – with a Filipino touch". RAPPLER. March 13, 2024.
  24. ↑ Baltasar, Cecile (February 6, 2026). "TRENDING: How did the 'Ale' trend start?". Philstar Life. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
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Category:Quezon City

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