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The Municipality of Zaragoza was originally a barrio of the Municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija. Because of the presence of a big mango tree in the center of the town, then considered as the pobLacion, intrepid Ilocanos who cleared the area of thick cogon grasses called the place as Mangga a Lakay, an Ilocano phrase meaning “Old Mango Tree”. In 1864, the place was referred to as “San Vicente,” in honor of its patron, St. Vincent Ferrer. It was actually converted into a town in 1878 through the efforts of Don Francisco Mas, a visiting Spaniard, who named the place “Zaragoza,” after his home city in Spain.
The territorial jurisdiction of Zaragoza covers a land area of 11,760 has. spread out in 19 barangays, where Sta. Lucia (Y) is the biggest barangay, while Pantoc is the smallest.
The Municipality, located in the south-west portion of the Province of Nueva Ecija, is some 140 kms. away from Manila. It is bounded on the north by the Municipality of Licab, on the north-east by Aliaga, on the south by Sta. Rosa, on the south-east by Jaen, and on the south by San Antonio. On the western portion, it is bounded by the Municipality of Lapaz in the Province of Tarlac. The town serves as an alternate route to vehicles commuting from central Nueva Ecija, to the City of Tarlac, in turn Luzon’s gateway to the Ilocos Region.
Zaragoza belongs to the first congressional district of Nueva Ecija, along with the Municipalities of Aliaga, Cuyapo, Guimba, Nampicuan, Quezon, Talavera, Sto. Domingo, and Talugtug. Barangays del Pilár, San isidro, San Rafael, and San Vicente constitute what may be considered the poblacion area.
