Born in Zumarraga, Guipuzcoa, Spain around 500 years ago, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi went to Mexico in 1545 where he became clerk of the Cabildo or municipal government. He was appointed in 1561 to lead an expedition to discover the islands of the West called Islas Poniente. He formally colonized the Marianas and the Philippines in 1565 and established a settlement in Cebu, which was first name as the Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus. He founded the city of Manila in 1571.