is uncertainty as to how San Mateo acquired its name. According to one account, when the Spaniards made a reconnaissance of Manila's environs, they saw the San Mateo floodplains and were enamored by the natural beauty of the place. They decided to found a community there and one day, a Spanish scribe happened to stand on a mound with a book in one hand and a pen in the other. His statuesque pose prompted a companion to laugh and comment how the scribe resembled Saint Matthew, referring to the usual manner the evangelist is depicted in art. In the midst of their banter and merriment, they decided to call the place “San Mateo”. Another account says that San Mateo was named for its geographical resemblance to another town in Spain of the same name. As described by Paluzie in a geographical book, this small Spanish town is near a high mountain (and) has a river that flowed through its center, which often floods but quickly recedes. The town is also a grazing pasture for big animals and a fishing village. The present San Mateo is traversed by the Maly and Nangka rivers and its flood plains may have been a lush grazing area then. The Augustinian priests in San Mateo were later formally replaced (in 1689) by the Jesuits, who as early as 1637 included San Mateo among their missions, with the missions of San Isidro and Paynaan under it. The Jesuits brought with them an image of the Virgin Mary which came from the Spanish town of Arantzazu in Vizcaya. They were the ones responsible for building the church now located in the Población since the original chapel by the Augustinians beside the river was destroyed in a flood. The location of the present church is in Barangay Santa Ana and its patron saint is Our Lady of Aranzazu. The original image of Saint Matthew, which was housed in the destroyed Augustinian chapel, was translated to Barangay Dulongbayan (formerly llaya), where it was enshrined as patron of the village, which still keeps his feast on 21 September. In the following centuries, San Mateo had a colorful and distinguished history. In 1639, a pitched battle ensued between Chinese rebels on one side and combined Spanish and native troops on the other. The Chinese were defeated and retreated east to the Sierra Madre Mountains, but not before burning the town and