Our oldest cities were built following a specific plan, one that was enforced in all the colonies of Spain, from the Pacific to the Americas. This template was known as the Law of the Indies. As an instrument of colonization, and as a way of visually aligning new colonies into a homogenous Hispanic identity, the Laws of the Indies says much about the strategies of Spain in imposing its ordered view of the world upon its colonies. In Old Manila, we see how the colonizer shaped our own native culture and how our forefathers adapted to and survived the culture of the colonizers.

In this second episode of the season, scholars and historians takes us on a tour of sites outside the walls of Intramuros. A ghetto for the Chinese was the original vision of the Spanish colonizers for the urban center we now know today as Binondo, while Escolta was the very first major mall of Manila, a whole street where luxury goods, business and service centers, churches and offices nestled together. These two areas showcased the affluence and power of Manila in the turn of the 20th century.

Outside of Manila, there are many more heritage sites than you know of. In all these sites, the local historians and residents face the very same problems that Manila urban planners do. We visit the towns in Bulacan to examine their noble histories, particularly Malolos, San Miguel and Bulacan.

The towns of Biñan and Pila in Laguna reveal how the residents deal with their heritage in the face of rapid urbanization. Their concern and concerted efforts have resulted in a balance between heritage conservation and the urgent needs of living in the present. Beyond the picture-perfect vistas, there is always the delicate balancing act that needs to be addressed. What does it take to maintain that balance and how is this passion for preservation passed on from one generation to the next?

In the final episode for the season, we see how rivers and bodies of water are the original heritage sites that birth cities and towns, commerce, cuisine, entire cultures and rituals of faith. In Pateros and Malabon, the fluvial parades honoring their patrons are proof that great faith is borne on the waters of heritage.