Balagtas, Bulacan  ', officially the ' (), is a in the province of , . According to the , it has a population of people. With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the municipality is now part of Manila's built up area which reaches San Ildefonso in its northernmost part. Balagtas is from Manila and is from Malolos City. Formerly known as Bigaa, it was renamed in honor of Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas. The MacArthur Highway bisects the municipality of Balagtas as this national road cuts northward to the Ilocos region. At the southern approach of the town from Manila is a concrete bridge that crosses the Balagtas River. The river, navigable by banca and motor boats, empties into Manila bay after snaking through the town of Bulacan to the West which provides Balagtas' townsfolk with fish, shrimp, and other fresh water food. At the foot of the bridge, along the highway towards the North, is the town hall. In front of the town hall is a park where the monument of its hero, Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar is located. The town hall is surrounded by Spanish colonial type houses. Two hundred meters from the municipal hall is the barrio of Panginay, the birthplace of Francisco Balagtas, for whom also "Balagtasan", a form of debate in versified Tagalog, was named. In 1946 the Historical Society of the Philippines placed a marker at the birthplace of Balagtas. In reverence to the hero's deeds, the official name of Bigaa was changed to Balagtas through the legislative act sponsored by then Congressman, Teodulo Natividad. Originally known as Caruya/Caluya as per as the history records regarding the early years of the establishment of Bulacan Province, Caruya was one of the Encomiendas of the vast region La Pampanga falls under the Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan. Encomienda de Caruya was Encomienda of the King of Spain which appeared in Miguel de Loarca's Relacion delas Isla Filipinas in 1582 and the Report of Governor- General Luis Perez de Dasmariñas of June 21, 1591 document. The propagation of catholic instructions in Caruya initially belongs to Bulakan Convent and it was directly administered by Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan but it was transferred to Malolos Convent at uncertain date.