Before the City of Manila became the bustling urban center it is today, the capital was the setting of many historical events dating back from trading with Chinese to the battles with Spanish, Japanese, and American forces.

This year marks the 450th founding anniversary of the City of Manila and yet so little is known about this settlement that expanded from the bounds of Manila Bay.

That’s why the Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts of Manila (DTCAM), in partnership with the National Quincentennial Committee, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), and Intramuros Administration, launched the “Araw ng Maynila” lecture series online this week.

The five-part series will explore topics that include the first resistance against Spanish invaders, the beginning of the walled city of Intramuros, and the various standing historic sites and structures that bore witness to the development of the Manila that we know today.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso and NHCP chair Rene Escalante unveiled the historical marker in memory of the heroes and martyrs of the Battle of Bangkusay, the locals’ last resistance against Spanish invaders on June 3, 1571. Photo by Hannah Magante, DTCAM

Starting today, June 3, Thursday, the series will be streamed online on DTCAM’s Facebook page as well as on various government agencies’ pages so everyone can watch the lectures for free.

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Among the lecturers are historians Ambeth Ocampo of the Ateneo de Manila University History department, Michael Charleston Chua and Jose Victor Torres of the De La Salle University History department, and Ian Christopher Alfonso and Gerwill Cruz of NHCP.

See lecture schedules below:

June 3, Thursday, 1 p.m.: “The First Resistance Against Spanish Invasion of Luzon” with Ian Christopher Alfonso of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
June 5, Saturday, 1 p.m.: “Ang Kamatayan ng Bayaning Walang Pangalan, ang Pagsibol ng Isang Lungsod” with Michael Charleston Chua of the De La Salle University History department
June 11, Friday, 1 p.m.: “Manila’s Historic Sites and Structures in the Survey Files of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines” with Gerwill Cruz of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
June 24, Thursday, 10 a.m.: “Manila: The Rise of Ciudad Murada from Lumang Maynila” with Jose Victor Torres of the De La Salle University History department
June 24, Thursday, 1 p.m.: “Manila in the Past Tense” with Ambeth Ocampo of the Ateneo de Manila University History Department

The series also coincides with the observance of the Year of Filipino Pre-Colonial Ancestors this 2021, which was declared through Proclamation No. 1128 s. 2021.