Dasmariñas is a city in Cavite, at the crossroads of two major highways.
Dasmariñas is located approximately 27km south of Manila, and part of the sprawl south of Metro Manila; uncontrolled suburban developments led to the present crowding situations and cacophonous traffic.
The city originated from the barrio (present-day barangay) of Tampus, then part of Imus. The Spanish colonial administrators formed the present city from a merger of smaller barrios namely Malagasang, Malinta, Nancaan (Langkaan, since divided into two barangays), Paliparan, Salacay and Salitran. The original town was named Tampus in 1866, until it was renamed as Pérez Dasmariñas in honor of Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas at the same year. Dasmariñas was founded not by the petition of barrio dwellers, but by orders of the Spanish military and religious groups. A downtown area, or población is founded between the barrios of Salitran and Nancaan, and the parish church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception was built.
As the Philippine Revolution erupted, Spanish town administrators ordered the execution of suspected "Masons", and continued advances by Filipino revolutionaries led into the Battle of Pérez Dasmariñas, which led to 150 Filipino casualties, including generals Flaviano Yengco and Crispulo Aguinaldo. During the Philippine-American War, Pérez Dasmariñas was protected from American advances, but Americans eventually advanced and occupied the town. The new civil government renamed the town into the present name.
Dasmariñas also witnessed bloodshed during World War II, where advancing Japanese troops killed every men on each barangay. Since the Allied liberation in 1945 and Philippine independence in 1946, the town began to be swamped by migrants from Manila, leading into an economic boom. The Dasmariñas Bagong Bayan ("Dasmariñas New Town") relocation area, the largest socialized housing complex in the Philippines, further added the town's population during the Marcos regime. The city gained cityhood after repeated attempts, and it officially became a city in 2008, under Republic Act 9723.
- Museo De La Salle.
Museo De La Salle.
Golfing is the main pastime of both tourists and residents. It is available at the Orchard Golf and Country Club.
- Paruparo Festival (November 26) - A festival commemorating Dasmariñas' city charter, people wearing butterfly costumes dance on parades on the main thoroughfares of the city.
Paruparo Festival (November 26) - A festival commemorating Dasmariñas' city charter, people wearing butterfly costumes dance on parades on the main thoroughfares of the city.