Rizal and the Ilustrados in Spain*

Noel V. Teodoro
University of the Philippines

This article focuses on the experiences of the ilustrados as exiles in Spain.

Censorship was an important factor in the decision of several ilustrados to
leave the country. In addition to the notable propagandistas, Jaena, del Pilar,
and Rizal, the article also mentions others who were part of the Filipino
community in Spain. In their campaign for reforms, the ilustrados worked
hard to correct racist images drawn by Spanish writers about the Philippines
and the Filipinos. Together with progressive Spaniards, they presented their
demands for assimilation, good governance, and representation in the Corts. The newspaper La solidaridad and the founding of masonic organizations
were the venues for the reforms waged by the ilustrados. Rizal later concluded that they needed to return to the Motherland and to initiate change
from within.

At the outset, it is important to highlight the statement of Jose Rizal to

Mariano Ponce and the editorial staff of La solidaridad in his letter of April
18, 1889 regarding the events of 1872, particularly the execution of the three
priests, Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora who were
implicated in the uprising of the workers in the arsenal of Cavite:
If it were not for the events of 1872 there would not have been a
Plaridel, or a Jaena, or a Sancianco or the great and noble Filipino
society in Europe would have not been formed. If not for the events
of 1872, Rizal would have been a Jesuit and instead of writing the
Noli me tangere, he would have written the opposite of it. The reign

* Translated from Pilipino.

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of injustice and wickedness opened my mind and I vowed to

myself to someday avenge for the victims and the aggrieved
(Guerrero, 1969:508).
It is clear from the quotation that the year 1872 was significant to the
Filipinos who left, if not fled, to Spain to escape the conservatism of the
prevailing social order. The climate of persecution and oppression was not
conducive to the Filipino ilustrados who espoused patriotism and nationalism through progressive and liberal ideas. This development challenged
the monastic authority or frailocracia, the backbone of the reactionary
colonial government.
The prolonged colonization of Spain gave birth to a backward society.
Education was weak and stagnant, since, according to a Franciscan friar,
the Filipino Indio did not need it because it was not important for the
attainment of glory in heaven (Bustamante, 1996, 1885). It is not good for
the Indio, he said, to separate from his carabao in order to waste his time
studying in Manila (more so outside the country after the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869) because, when he returns to his place of origin, he
becomes a treacherous man, meaning an enemy of the state, of the church
and those in power.
Another obstacle to the progress of knowledge and education was the
Comisin permanente de censura (Permanent Commission of Censors) which
was established on October 7, 1856 (Agoncillo, 1974:13; Retana, 1965). All
printings and publications, newspapers and magazines, books, various
other forms of publications, shows, and even materials which contained
drawings and engravings, were subject to the scrutiny of the censors.
Often, the reason for censorship, especially texts which contained new and
dangerous ideas like pantheism and materialism, were shallow and
unjustified (Mojares,1983:110). Censorship inflicted great damage to the
intellectual freedom of writers and because of this, the Filipino ilustrados
campaigned to have it abolished in the soonest time possible (Agoncillo,
1974). In a report by W.E. Retana, a certain Georgel was quoted as saying:
the oppressed always demand the right to freedom of the press while the
oppressor and the unjust demand the right to censorship (Retana, 1965).
The author ended his report by saying that there was only one comment or
observation that can be made in relation to the senseless censorship in the
archipelago: that in the Philippines, works which are worthless and full of
stupidity are the ones which pass censorship like Fr. Casimiro Herreros
El Capitn Juan (Captain Juan) and Fr. Miguel Lucio Bustamantes Tandang
Basio Macunat (Miserly Old Basio), well known documents on racism
during the 19th century (Salazar, 1998). These works did nothing but speak

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

67

of negative values like sorrow, the lowliness and weaknesses of the Brown
(Filipino) race. As such, the Brown race will have to bow down to the
superiority of the white race to which the former is indebted for the logic,
morality and religion which saved the Indio during the dark ages (Salazar,
1983), when he was pictured as a cimarron (wild) and salvaje (barbaric), wild
and uncivilized in the minds of those from the west. Related to this, it can
be recalled that in 1889, on the occasion of the Paris Exposition (Schumacher,
1973), Rizal founded the Indios Bravos (The Noble Indios not wild nor
savages!), the primary objective of which was to uplift and promote the
esteem of the Filipinos by highlighting their positive traits, with the hope
that this would convince the Spaniards to correct their derogatory views of
the Indio and change their views of the colonized country.

The Filipino Community in Spain

The Filipino ilustrados, who were not only Indios but also beasts in the eyes
of the arrogant Spanish colonizers, did not fight their battles in the
Philippines but instead went to Spain to ask for assimilation and campaigned to make the Philippines a province of Spain, which would establish
equality between the Spaniards and the Filipinos. It should be noted that
before Rizal, and the Indios Bravos association which he founded, there
were already Filipinos living in Europe. Among them were the Taveras of
Paris, the woman painter Pelagia Mendoza, who traveled to Europe during
the 1880s, the Regidors of Madrid and London (Joaquin, 1981:40), Pedro
Paterno (of Salamanca, and later of Madrid), Gregorio Sancianco (in
Madrid). Pedro Paterno was the son of Maximo Paterno, a rich businessman from Manila who was exiled to the Marianas in 1872. Pedro Paterno
studied philosophy and theology in Salamanca, and he continued to live in
Madrid after getting his doctorate in law in 1880 at the Universidad Central
de Madrid. His house was usually the venue of reunion artisticas, where
prominent persons in the field of letters and politics of Spain gathered
(Schumacher, 1973:21). On these occasions, Paterno read his poems which
he compiled in 1880 in a book entitled Sampaguitas, which became part of
the collection Biblioteca Filipina. The latter aimed to make known to the
Spanish audience the achievements of the Filipino youth. Paternos endeavors to make known the origins of the indigenous culture and prehispanic society were intended to show that the Filipinos had a certain level
of civilization which could equal if not surpass that of the Spaniards. These
works, published in Madrid, included the following: La antigua civilizacin
tagala (Ancient Tagalog Civilization,1887); Los itas (The Aetas, 1890);
El Cristianismo en la antigua civilizacin Tagalog (Christianity in the Ancient
Tagalog Civilization, 1892), which suggested that Christianity was al-

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ready in the Philippines in the form of bathalismo (worship of Bathala or

Supreme Creator) before the arrival of the Spaniards; La familia taglo en la
historia universal (The Tagalog Family in World History, 1892), which
discussed the high level of morality and marriage traditions of pre-hispanic
Filipinos; and El barangay (The Barangay, 1892), which dealt with prehispanic forms of government in the Tagalog kingdom based on principles
of democracy and bathalismo and some characteristics of monarchy
(Schumacher, 1973). Paterno was also recognized because of his novel
entitled, Ninay: Costumbres filipinas (Ninay: Filipino Traditions, Madrid,
1885), which described the way of life of a gentle race or Tagalog royalty,
regarded as a model of manners and an advanced culture from indigenous
as well as borrowed elements from other cultures.
Also highly esteemed was the lawyer Gregorio Sancianco y Goson, a
half Chinese from Malabon, because of his book El progreso de Filipinas
(The Progress of the Philippines, Madrid 1881) (Sancianco, 1975). In this
work, Sancianco explained (predating Rizals essay, Sobre la indolencia de los
Filipinos, La solidaridad, 1890) that indolence or laziness was the outright
response of the ordinary Filipino against the long period of oppression and
dominance not only of the Spaniards but also of their fellow citizens who
were close to those in power. From his point of view the progress of the
Philippines should be gauged by the freedom of the ordinary citizen from
the shackles of dominance and excessive taxes. His capability can only be
improved through education, technology, social programs, liberal laws
and economic development. According to one historian: Gregorio Sancianco paved the way for reforms when he published El progreso de
Filipinas which opposed the shortcomings of the colonial government in
economics, way of thinking and morality. Almost all the revenues collected by the government, according to Sancianco, went to the military and
other purposes which do not bring prosperity to the Philippines. On the
other hand, the money spent on the nautical academy, the academy of arts,
and the botanical garden was minimal, 208,475.32 pesos only, while the
amount for the military reached 3,677,534.49 pesos. Clearly, the colonial
government was spending money on matters which were not so important.
The data presented by Sancianco indeed showed that the military had a
bigger budget because the colonial government was afraid of the danger of
the rising discontent in the Philippines, hence the need for a larger force.
Other than this, there was a need to provide jobs to Spanish soldiers who
were neglected in Spain (Agoncillo, 1980:147). He also added that the
budget of the government before the revolution of 1896 erupted had the
same intention: the militarys budget was bigger than the other services
and branches of government. The militarys budget increased from more
than three million in 1880-81 to more than four million in 1896. Because of

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

69

this, the coffers of the country were almost empty, and instead of a surplus,
the country had to contend with deficits because it was always in deficit,
the Philippines was constantly wallowing in poverty (Agoncillo, 1980).
It is important to mention at this point the statement of Jaime C. de
Veyra that the Filipinos in Spain came from the different regions of the
archipelago (Jaena, 1974:xvi). Julio Llorente, a native of Cebu, finished his
doctorate in law in Madrid while writing for La solidaridad. Valentin
Ventura, who gave financial help to Rizal for the publication of his second
novel, El filibusterismo, was from Bacolor, Pampanga, and died in Barcelona
in 1935 (Quirino, 1995:201). Francisco Liongson, who also studied in
Madrid (Larkin, 1993:160-161), was Venturas townmate. Jose Maria
Panganiban was from Mambulao (now Jose Ma. Panganiban), Camarines
Norte. He also wrote for La solidaridad, and like Jaena and Ventura, died in
Barcelona on August 19, 1890 due to tuberculosis (Quirino, 1995:159-160).
From Vigan, Ilocos Sur came Isabelo de los Reyes, the founder of the
bilingual newspaper El Ilocano. He was exiled to Barcelona because of his
links with the Katipunan. His historical and anthropological works could
be compared with the works of Paterno and Rizal (specifically, the latters
annotation of Morgas Sucesos de las islas filipinas), wherein he discussed
that the ancient Philippine society had a culture and a civilization that he
could be proud of. Isabelo de los Reyes published from 1887 to 1909 the
following cultural studies: Filipinas: Articulos varios; Ilocandas: Varios trabajos
literarios; Las Visayas en la poca de la conquista; El folklore filipino; Historia de
Filipinas; Historia de Ilocos; and La religion antigua de los filipinos.
The brothers Manuel and Juan Luna y Novicio (who died of heart
attack in Hong Kong on December 7, 1899) were born in Badok, Ilocos
Norte. The latter was known for his painting called Spoliarium, which
was awarded the gold medal in the Exposicion de bellas artes, held in Madrid
in 1884. Jose Torres Bugallon of Salasa, Pangasinan, became a pensionado
and scholar in the Military Academy (Toledo) in 1892. Telesforo Sucgang
who came from Banga, Capiz (Banga is now part of Aklan), was a historical
painter, religious sculptor, and musical composer, who became a pensionado
for four years in Madrid (Manuel, 1955:437-440). Sucgang highlighted the
theme of Spain in the Philippines which was related to the program of
assimilation of the ilustrados through several paintings El desembarco de
Magallanes (1888), La llegada de Legazpi y Urdaneta, and La llegada del correo
espanol el la bahia de Manila (1887). Was there a deeper meaning in Sucgangs
use of the words desembarco (landing) and llegada (arrival)? Was this a form
of celebration of the landing or arrival of western civilization which
were symbolized by Magallanes, Legazpi and Urdaneta, the messengers
and emissaries of the forces of light which imposed itself on the oriental civilization, the indigenous society which Spain now refuses to embrace or assimilate?

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The absence of a representative from Mindanao is very apparent. It is

also notable that many came from the Tagalog region and Manila, which
was the center of the colonial power: Gregorio Sancianco (Malabon), Jose
Albert (Binondo), Pedro Paterno (Quiapo), Teodoro Sandiko (Pandacan),
Moises Salvador (San Sebastian, Quiapo), Antonio Luna (born in Binondo
although his ancestors were Ilocano), Rafael del Pan (Intramuros), Pablo
Rianzares (Bian), Manuel Araullo (Manila), Jose Maria Asuncion (Sta.
Cruz, Manila), Fernando Canon (Bian), Mariano V. del Rosario (Intramuros), Joaquin Gonzalez, (Baliwag, Bulacan), Edilberto Evangelista (Sta.
Cruz, Manila), and Mariano Ponce (born in Bulacan, died in Hong Kong in
1918). Ponce published in 1887 his Folklore Bulakeo, a series of articles in the
Spanish periodical, La oceania espaola (Zaide, 1968:62).
Maximo Viola, who helped Rizal in the printing of Noli me tangere, was
from San Miguel, Bulacan. He finished medicine at the University of
Barcelona (Zaide, 1968:203-204). Dominador Gomez (1868-1929) was born
and died in Manila. He wrote and used the pen name Ramiro Franco in
La solidaridad. Upon his return to Manila, he became a leader of the Union
Obrera Democratica de Filipinas (UODF), which was founded by Isabelo de
los Reyes. Joaquin Gonzalez, from Baliwag, Bulacan, obtained his licenciate
from the University of Villadolid, and the medical degree from the Universidad Central de Madrid. Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo (born in Binondo in
1853) also died in Barcelona (1913). He was known for his painting Virgenes
cristianas expuestas al populacho. Galicano Apacible, who became president
of the Barcelona-based organization, La solidaridad, the same name as the
newspaper of the Propaganda Movement, was born in Hacienda de
Nasugbu, Batangas. Jose Rizal came from the town of Calamba, Laguna,
the erstwhile hacienda of the Dominican priests where his parents served as
tenants.

Diego Laura, Dolores Manapat and Dimasalang

Among the three expatriates after Sancianco G.L. Jaena, M.H. del Pilar,
J. Rizal it was Jaena, the author of the provocative literary work entitled
Fray Botod (1874), who first arrived in Spain in 1880 to study medicine at
the University of Valencia but did not finish because he became busy with
journalism (Jaena, 1974:195-219). Jaena founded in Barcelona in February
1889 the newspaper La solidaridad whose program was, Aside from
being simple, our program is clear: fight the reaction, stop any effort that
hinders progress, encourage and strengthen liberal thinking, defend the
progressive movement. In short, to be a disseminator of democratic ideas
so that they will flourish here and in other countries It is the aim, in other
words, of La solidaridad to gather and publish liberal ideas which are

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

71

present in the areas of politics, science, arts, literature, economy, agriculture and industry La solidaridad shall promote the just and legitimate
aspirations of Spanish provinces across the seas, proclaim their needs and
expose their problems needing solution Regarding the Philippines,
because these islands need full protection due to the absence of representation in the Corts, we shall give her special attention, and through this, we
can fulfill the patriotic duty in defending democratic principles in the
archipelago This province, which is inhabited by eight (8) million people,
should not remain as a land ruled or colonized by theocracy and traditionalism (Jaena, 1974:220-222; Agoncillo, 1980:150-151).
Jaena eventually left the work in La solidaridad. In his letter dated July
2, 1889 to Miguel Morayta Sagrario, a well known mason, leader of the
Anti-clerical League and a history professor at the Central Universidad de
Madrid, Jaena mentioned his plan to go to America. This did not push
through because of lack of funds and his active involvement with the
Progressive Republicans in Barcelona. One of the leaders of this organization, Juan Sol y Ortega, became a supporter of Jaena. Jaenas plan to go to
Cuba did not also push through when Manuel Becerra of the Ministerio de
Ultramar withdrew permission for Jaena to go to Spains colony in the
Caribbean. He continued his active participation in republican organizations in Barcelona and contributed to newspapers such as La publicidad
(where Rizal also wrote an article or two) and El ltigo nacional (which
firmly believed that human will and freedom are more powerful than a
hundred oppressions). Events in the Philippines were not given due
attention in these papers, and the editorial staff promised that they will
disseminate information on republican programs in the colonies, including
developments concerning citizenship rights in the Spanish empire.
Back then, Jaena (together with other Filipinos like Pedro Govantes y
Azcarraga and Tomas del Rosario) interacted with Spanish journalists like
Jesus Pando y Valle, editor of Los dos mundos, where he published an article
criticizing the defective system of taxation, forced labor and caciquismo. In
an article which came out on January 28, 1885 Jaena defended Govantes
and Eduardo de Lete, who previously published in the pro-republican El
globo (Madrid) articles which discussed the weaknesses of the government
and the church in the Philippines. Together with Rizal, Jaena also wrote in
the radical republican newspaper El progreso. He also debated with the
conservative editorial staff of La poca and La correspondencia de Espaa in the
newspaper El porvenir of Manuel Ruiz Zorilla, a progressive republican.
In July 1891, with the support of the Comit de propaganda (which
became Hermandad de San Patricio in Manila, headed by Pedro Serrano
Laktaw of Malolos, Bulacan), Jaena secretly returned to Manila for four
days, using the alias Diego Laura. Afraid of being caught, he escaped

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pretending to be a sailor to Barcelona. He relayed to Rizal the proposal

of Basilio Teodoro of Bulacan, a colleague of M.H. de Pilar in the newspaper
Diariong Tagalog, to continue the journey to Europe and America to know
the sentiments and views of other western countries regarding the situation in the Philippines (Schumacher, 1973:244-245). However, towards the
end of October 1891, he started to pour out his ill feelings towards M.H. del
Pilar and Mariano Ponce whom he called patrioteros or exaggerated or
overacting patriots, who according to him, were just using patriotism for
their own interests (Schumacher, 1973:260). Since then, he slowly withdrew
from his group and focused his time pursuing his ambition to be elected as
a representative to the Corts, with the help of Filipinos and pro-republican
Spaniards in Barcelona. Jaena unabashedly stated, Undoubtedly, only
personal interest pushed me to aspire to be a representative in the Corts,
nothing more. If it is realized, I can no longer fight for the attainment of
independence and rights of the Filipinos. The Philippines has to secure
these, including independence, through blood If I want to become a
representative, my only aim is to be able to say proudly that a Filipino was
elected by the Spaniards in a Spanish district. However, the launching of
his candidacy did not push through. He was also unable to go back to Jaro
(Iloilo). On January 20, 1896, Jaena died of tuberculosis in Barcelona, where
the Discursos y articulos varios containing his speeches and articles was
published in 1891. General Jose Alejandro, a Kapampangan, who studied
chemical and industrial engineering in Ghent, Belgium, and who also
wrote in the La solidaridad, allotted a few pages in his book La senda del
sacrificio, for Graciano Lpez Jaena, orator of the Propaganda Movement
(Alejandrino, 1949).
Considered as the most effective propagandist, Marcelo H. del Pilar
was born in Bulacan, Bulacan, on August 30, 1850, but also died in
Barcelona on July 4, 1896. Other than his nom de plume Plaridel, he also
used the pen names Dolores Manapat and Piping Dilat. It was practical
and useful for the Filipino ilustrados in Spain to use pen names in order to
protect their families and relatives in the Philippines from reprisals that
could be launched by those in power, who were the objects of criticism in
La solidaridad.1
Before going to Spain in October 1888 to escape persecution, M.H. del
Pilar was already known as the foremost leader of the Propaganda
Movement in the Philippines. He co-founded, with Basilio Teodoro y
Moran, the bilingual (Tagalog-Spanish) Diariong Tagalog, in 1882. Among
1.
Other writers for La solidaridad also used pen names: Jose Rizal (Dimasalang/Laon Laan),
Antonio Luna (Taga-Ilog), Jose Ma. Panganiban (Jomapa), Dominador Gomez (Ramiro Franco),
Mariano Ponce (Kalipulako/Tikbalang) (Zaide, 1968:32).

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

73

others, the said newspaper published Jose Rizals article, El Amor Patrio
(Patriotism), which del Pilar translated into Tagalog. In 1870, while a
student of law at the University of Santo Tomas (he finished in 1880), he
fought with the parish priest of San Miguel, Manila over the exorbitant
baptismal fees charged by the Spanish friar. This was perhaps his first ever
personal encounter with the frailocracia and colonial power, the same ones
who were behind the deportation of his older brother, the secular priest Fr.
Toribio H. del Pilar (Schumacher, 1981:24), to Guam due to his alleged
involvement in the Cavite uprising in 1872 (Schumacher, 1973). Plaridel
criticized and attacked the monastic authority, which he considered
harmful and a real obstacle to good governance, in literary works in
Tagalog or Spanish. Some of them were written as poems such as Pasiong
Dapat Ipag-alab ng Puso ng Taong Baba sa Kalupitan ng Fraile (Passion that
Should Burn in the Hearts of the Lowly People Oppressed by the Friar)
Dupluhan, Sagot nang Espaa sa Hibik ng Pilipinas (Spains Reply to the Cry
of the Philippines,); some were parodies, for example, Dasalan at Toksohan
(Prayer and Jest), Caiigat Cayo (Beware); and others were manifestos
and pamphlets like Viva Espaa, Viva el ejercito, !Fuera los frailes! and
Manifiesto que a la noble nacion espaola dirigen los leales filipinos.
In 1885, del Pilar urged the cabezas de barangay of Malolos to oppose the
order which gave the friars the power to change the list of taxpayers. In
1887, he was able to persuade the governor of Malolos to criticize Fr. Felipe
Garcia for violating the directive of the government which prohibited the
viewing of the dead in the church (Zaide, 1968:52). In the same year, he
sided with the people of Binondo against their parish priest who assigned
high positions in the church to the mestizos, to the disadvantage of the
natives whose progress was always suppressed and prevented by discrimination and corruption. Together with Doroteo Corts and Jose Ramos,
del Pilar was active in launching the demonstration of March 1, 1888, which
was participated in by about 800 people who demanded for the removal of
the friars, including the dismissal of their archbishop.
In Barcelona, the Imprenta Ibrica de Francisco Fossas published two
analytical essays of Mh. Plaridel, namely, La soberania monacal en Filipinas
(1888) and La frailocracia filipina (1889), which provided convincing arguments of the economic, political and religious dimensions of church
management, not unlike the management of business corporations. The
colony was portrayed as relentlessly burdened by excessive taxes, other
expenses, and the voluntary services rendered by the converts/believers of
the missionaries and friars, who became rich to the detriment of the
Filipinos. About the tributes and impuestos, del Pilar (Del Pilar, 1974:194195) said that the Filipinos paid direct taxes which consisted of residence
certificates, municipal, city and provincial taxes, and indirect taxes levied

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on markets and stores, vehicles, horses, stamps and fines, slaughter of

cows, usage of the river, and others. In addition, duties were also levied
during the celebration of religious festivities. The feast/birthday of a
patron saint was celebrated lavishly and large amounts were collected for
the novena, mass, sermon, procession, music, band, choir, acolytes, bell
ringer, curtain, altar, silver candle stands, hanging chandelier, candles, and
others. In these celebrations, people used up their saving to spend on things
like fireworks. Also to be added to the list are the payments for religious
items like rosaries, scapulars, and miraculous objects, which ended up in
the pockets of the fat and overweight friars. Therefore, Filipinos were
contributing thousands of pesos to the monastic fund or treasury. If Christ
whipped the traders in the temple in the land of miracles, according to del
Pilar, those who are whipped (in the Philippines) are those who refuse to
buy the traded goods in the temple (Del Pilar, 1974:194-195). As editor of
La solidaridad, a responsibility which Jaena was not able to carry out fully
(and which was removed from him in December 1889), del Pilar reiterated
the demands of the Filipino ilustrados: that the Philippine islands should be
governed well while at the same time pushing for Hispanization and
assimilation. Included in the principal demands were the expulsion of the
friars and the secularization of the parishes, more rights and social and
political freedoms, participation in government, and representation in the
Corts.
Like other ilustrados in Spain, del Pilar actively participated in masonry
and masonic lodges, which soon after developed as the vehicle or center of
liberal thinking supporting anti-clerical and progressive movements
(Schumacher, 1991:156-177). The very names of these masonic organizations were indicative of the stance they took against reactionary governance and traditional authority. Among these were the Hijos del progreso
(Sons of Progress) of Miguel Morayta, Solidaridad (Solidarity), founded by
two Filipinos (Rafael del Pan and Ricardo Ayllon), and Revolucin (Revolution), whose membership was largely Filipino. It appears that Celso Mir
Deas, a former official of the Spanish Forces in the Philippines who married
a Filipina, spearheaded the founding in Barcelona of the organization,
Revolucin. Other than Mir Deas, who became the editor of El pueblo
soberano, a republican newspaper in Barcelona, original members included
Graciano Lopez Jaena, M.H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Jose Ma. Panganiban,
and two Cubans Justo Argudin and Juan Jose Caarte (who were
members of Solidaridad in 1886). Caarte also helped in the newspaper La
solidaridad. In 1889, Santiago Icasiano, Ariston Bautista, Galicano Apacible,
Damaso Ponce, Ramon Imperial, Agustin Blanco, Domingo Marcelo Cortes
and Teodoro Sandiko became new members of Revolucin. Masonry
became very important to Ponce and Del Pilar, who regarded it as a

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75

political instrument which can greatly help in destroying frailocracia and

monastic power in the Philippines, and as a vehicle in their campaign
against censorship and deportation, and for pressing for Filipino representation in the Corts.
For Mariano Ponce, education was the fundamental aim of masonry,
particularly in propagating the importance of cooperation and collective or
organized efforts. The association, in the spirit of brotherhood, promoted
the expression of common aspirations which are important for the achievement of unity. It was deemed important to educate Filipinos so that they
would be able to understand anti-clerical ideas, nationalism and the
progressive program of the Propaganda Movement. For del Pilar, there
was a need to focus the direction of the masonry to the study of problems
related to economic, political and military organization of the country,
while giving due attention to the development of new municipal governments. The masonic fraternities were conceived as think tanks, which
would be at forefront of identifying practical solutions and reforms to
improve the general conditions of the country. According to del Pilar, there
was a need for a multi-sectoral discussion of problems and potential
solutions through conferences to be participated in by experts in their own
fields, e.g., businessmen would discuss business or commerce, farmers
would discuss agricultural matters, soldiers would give their views on
military issues, and so forth. Through these various studies, masonry could
become an effective instrument of progress. This framework, however,
would not serve as an effective instrument for a revolutionary or separatist
movement, which would require a different strategy.
Rizal had a different view of masonry. He did not want to delegate to
anyone the task of attaining development and peace in the Philippines,
other than through self-reliance or efforts emanating from the people
themselves. However, del Pilar persisted and in the end he decided to
transfer to Madrid, where he revived Solidaridad on December 10, 1889.
This was the fraternity he headed but which was also participated in by
Rizal and Pedro Serrano Laktaw beginning in December 1890. Under the
guidance of del Pilar, the organization actively pursued reforms and the
formation of a democratic government in the Philippines through a petition
signed by thousands of people and presented to the Corts in 1895. Del Pilar
also tried to propagate masonry in the Philippines through the founding
of branches like Nilad and Balagtas of Pedro Serrano Laktaw, Moises
Salvador, Timoteo Paez, and Jose Ramos. These organizations in the Philippines closely coordinated with the masonic fraternities of the ilustrados in
Spain. The organization Walana was founded in Manila on July 18, 1893,
and among its women members were Marina Dizon, Rosario Villaruel,
Romualda Lanuza, Sixta Fajardo, Valeriana Legazpi, Purificacion Leyva,

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Trinidad Rizal, and Josefa Rizal (who became the leader of the womens
chapter of the Katipunan).
It was not easy to unite the ilustrados, as was the dream of del Pilar,
Ponce and Rizal. There were times when the unity of Filipinos in Spain was
like fragile glass. For example, the conflict between del Pilar and Rizal was
a major hindrance in the community or colony, dividing the Filipinos
into two camps, the Pilaristas (pro-del Pilar) versus the Rizalistas (proRizal). The conflict may have started when Rizal criticized the Filipino
students for their lack of commitment. He was hurt that they were not
giving due attention to their studies and to the nationalist campaign led by
the editorial staff of La solidaridad. Instead, Rizal noted that they were busy
with fashion, gambling and womanizing. Ariston Bautista Lim, for example, was known to have an amulet that was supposed to ensure that no
woman would reject him (Joaquin, 1981:48). Leading the playboys was one
named Zacarias Robles (Joaquin, 1981:48). Rizal was not remiss in reminding, if not admonishing, the Filipinos in Barcelona and Madrid. He thought
that through his example as a model ilustrado, he could give moral and
intellectual leadership to his compatriots which he attempted to actualize
through the organization Indios Bravos.
However, on December 31, 1890, in the midst of celebrating new years
eve, Rizal came out as a boastful person when he refused to offer his copatriots free champagne, followed by his observations of the Filipino
students lack of enthusiasm in their studies. The following day, the Filipinos proposed to unite the colony under one elected president, Rizal or
del Pilar. Rizal won, although he was already harboring ill feelings towards
del Pilar because of the alleged attempt of his supporters to disown or
topple Rizal down from power as the legitimate leader of the Filipino
community in Spain. In the end, del Pilar had to lead when his opponent resigned and ultimately left Madrid for Hong Kong and eventually
the Philippines. Rizal refused the attempts by del Pilar and his friend
Ferdinand Blumentritt to write again for La solidaridad. According to Rizal,
he did not want to waste his time in a project that had no relevance to cure
the cancer which was destroying Filipino society, as he depicted and
analyzed in his novels, Noli me tangere (Berlin, Germany, 1887) and El
filibusterismo (Ghent, Belgium, 1891). Rizal said the remedy or medicine
must be brought to the patient (Schumacher, 1973:233). The remedy was
not in Madrid, which was what La solidaridad asserted, but in our own
country, the real arena of battle. Despite everything, del Pilar still hoped for
Rizals support who, perhaps because he was steeped in books (Schumacher,
1973:234), seemed to lack the capacity to understand the different ways and
temperaments of human beings. For del Pilar, what was important was
unity and consensus deriving shared sentiments and aspirations. There

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

77

were two things to aspire for the elimination of all obstacles to freedom
in the Philippines and the ultimate removal of the Spanish flag (Schumacher,
1973; Del Pilar, 1955; 1958).
It may be recalled that it was del Pilar who proposed that Rizal write
a letter in Tagalog to the women of Malolos, the townmates of del Pilar (22
February 1889), where the author emphasized the important role played
by women in the progress of the country, society, and family (Rizal,
1961:64-73). Despite the opposition and refusal of the friars, the women of
Malolos persisted in fighting for the right to have an education. And this
was through studying Spanish first, the colonial language, and the means
to acquire knowledge and awareness about contemporary events. The
latter can be read in the smuggled literature of the Propaganda Movement
whose distribution was strictly prohibited by the Comisin permanente de
censura. This did not prevent the dissemination of subversive readings.
In 1892, the constabulary confiscated some copies of El filibusterismo in a
simultaneous raid of houses in Bulacan, Pampanga, and Tarlac (Guerrero,
1969:339), which had just recently been visited by Governor Eulogio
Despujol.
Busy with his research in London, where he composed the famous
letter, Rizal (Fischer, 1970) was occupied in detailing his annotations to the
chronicle Sucesos de las islas filipinas (Mexico, 1609) of Antonio de Morga,
doctor of canonical and civil law (Morga, 1964). Rizal planned to smuggle
the book with the help of Jose Maria Basa from Hong Kong to Manila
through Manuel Arias Rodriguez, a Spanish mason who owned Agencia
editorial. The book had an introduction by the Filipinologist Blumentritt
(Sichrovsky, 1987), El historiador de Filipinas (Schumacher, 1973:72), a
scholar from Austria who became a confidant and close friend of Rizal. The
latter undertook research from 1888 in the library of the British Museum in
order to discover the important historical sources which would be an
effective weapon of the nationalist discourse against the deluge of attacks
and insults disseminated by Francisco Gainza, O.P., Vicente Barrantes,
Pablo Feced y Temprano alias Quioquiap, Miguel Lucio Bustamante,
Casimiro Herrero, Gaspar de San Agustin, Francisco Caamaque and
other anti-Filipino Spanish writers whose mental frameworks derived
from the popular ideology of racism of the 19th century.
For example, Francisco Gainza, O.P., the bishop assigned to the diocese
of Nueva Caceres in 1863, proclaimed that the Bicol region owed their
natural culture and civilization to the Spanish missionaries who lifted them
from their lowly material and moral situation. Because of this, they no
longer live in sordid conditions and indignity, which was a far cry from the
way of life of their savage ancestors, whose uncivilized state was made
worse by ignorance, worship of idols, cruel sacrifices which required that

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blood be spilled, cursed dances, noisy and indecent celebrations (Schumacher, 1973:192-193). It was Fr. Cura Gaspar de San Agustin who said
that the Filipino who descended from the apes, had only half a soul (Schumacher, 1973:64). Author of Recuerdos de Filipinas: Cosas, casos y usos de
aquellas islas (Madrid, 1877), Caamaque wrote that the indolence of the
indio/native was beyond remedy; he regarded the indolence of the
natives as the primary characteristic of the local population which he
chastised and loathed. Rizal had a radical reaction to this in his annotation
of Morga, and to the two long essays which were published in La solidaridad,
Filipinas dentro de cien aos (The Philippines a Century Hence, 1889) and
Sobre la indolencia de los filipinos (On the Indolence of the Filipinos, 1890). In
the first essay, he reminded the colonizing country that the natives had
their own government, religion, laws, customs, characteristics, ways of
writing, literature and music which would slowly disappear with the
advent of the new age (of terror and disorder) when the Philippines came
under the Spanish crown. In the second essay, Rizal told the mocking
Spaniards that, in truth, the Spaniards were the hardheaded and lazy ones.
To the question, how do they live in a tropical land? Rizal provided the
answer: They are surrounded by many helpers, they never walk, instead
they always ride in their carriages, and they always need helpers, not only
to remove their boots or shoes but to fan them! they live and eat
abundantly, work for themselves alone in order to become rich, with hope
in the future, free and respected, while the lowly subjects, the lazy subjects
are not eating well, they are without hope, they work for others, and are
forced to work and are even raped! (Rizal, 1961:264). Rizal also said that
if there is laziness/indolence on the part of the natives, this resulted from
an unprogressive quality of life, and was made worse by oppressive
governance.
The efforts of Rizal to deepen and enhance knowledge about Philippine
history and civilization, including its relation to the Malayan-Polynesian
world, led to his founding of the Association Internationale des Philippinistes
(International Association of Filipinologists), in Paris in 1889, which was
composed of scholars from different countries who were interested in the
Philippines as a field of expertise (Zaide, 1968:34-35; Schumacher, 1973:208212; Guerrero, 1969:221-222). The primary objective of the group was the
study of the Philippines from a scientific and historical perspective. Among
the planned activities were regular conferences and lectures, public contests about topics related to the Archipelago, and to try to put up a museum
and library whose contents will focus on the Philippines.
Rizal planned to call for an international congress in August 1889,
simultaneous with the Paris Exposition, where well-known experts and
scholars would discuss the following topics: (1) pre-Hispanic times (before

RIZAL AND THE ILUSTRADOS IN SPAIN

79

1521), (2) from the time of discovery to the loss of Filipino independence
(1521-1808), (3) from the loss of independence to the Rebellion in Cavite
(1808-1872), and (4) Linguistics (Tagalog, Visaya, Iloko, Ibanag, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, and others).
The leadership of the association was composed of Ferdinand Blumentritt (President), Edmund Plauchut (French, Vice President), Antonio
Regidor and Reinhold Rost (the latter was an English born in Germany) as
advisers, and Rizal (as Secretary). Through Blumentritt, Rizal also met
Adolf B. Meyer (Director of the Ethnographic Museum of Dresden), Rudolf
Virchow (an anthrolopologist who was active in the liberal movement in
Germany), Feodor Jagor (he was in the Philippines in 1859-1860 and author
of Reisen in den Philippinen, 1873), and Wilhelm Joest (an expert in ethnography). Rizal also became a member of Gesellschaft fr Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, with the help of Virchow, president of the organization. In April 1887, he read a paper in front of the assembly regarding the
art of Tagalog poetry. He also published, with the help of Rost, articles
which featured the folklore of the Tagalogs in Trbners Record, a field
which interested Hendrik Kern, professor of Sanskrit and Javanese in the
University of Leiden (Holland) and an expert in Malayan-Polynesian
languages. Kern was born in Java in 1883 and died in Utrecht in 1917 at the
age of 84 (Kern, 1998:10). He studied Tagalog closely and he read a paper
about its use in the national literature in an international conference of
orientalists held in Stockholm, Sweden (Schumacher, 1973:211). Rizal
heard of Kern from Blumentritt but he was not sure whether they will meet
in person.
The international conference did not push through because the French
government limited the number of conferences related to the Paris Exposition in 1889. The association did not also last long because Rizal was also
busy in his work annotating Morga. Also, the financial support from the
Philippines, which Rizal expected in April 1890, did not arrive because his
family was seriously involved in an agrarian dispute in Calamba, which
resulted in his familys dismissal from the hacienda owned by the Dominican order.
Rizal went back to the Philippines to found the reformist La liga filipina
in Tondo on July 3, 1892. The following were the objectives of the new
organization which were embodied in the constitution prepared by Rizal
in Hong Kong: (1) unite the whole Archipelago into a strong, stable, and
common group of citizens, (2) support one another in times of need, (3) put
up a defense against all kinds of oppression/violence, (4) revitalize education, agriculture, and commerce, and (5) study and implement the planned
reforms (Agoncillo, 1980:154). La liga was short-lived. The authorities
considered it subversive. On July 7, 1892, Rizal was arrested and exiled to

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Dapitan, Zamboanga, in northwestern Mindanao, where he stayed for four

years.
It was in 1896 when Rizal was sentenced to death by firing squad for
the crime of rebellion, sedition, and founding an illegal association. This
was according to the military court that tried him. He was shot in
Bagumbayan (now Luneta) on December 30, 1896 because of his being an
ecrivain engag (committed writer), and his political ideas which criticized
or exposed the graft and corruption in the government. However, before
his death, Rizal wrote Mi ultimo adios (My Last Farewell) (de Veyra,
1946:87-92), a poem written in Spanish. The text of the poem seems to
suggest that his return to the Philippines was just physical or external. It
appears that his will, essence and soul were still connected to the western
idea of patria (which he repeated five times), not in Inang Bayan (Motherland) but rather in patria adorada, in querida patria, in patria idolatrada, left
behind if not forgotten in his father Spain, which for a long time was the
adopted nation of the Filipino ilustrados. It seems that Rizal did not consider
or was not conscious that the reason for returning to the Philippines
(Querida Filipinas in the 13th stanza of Mi Ultimo Adios), was the more
fundamental return to Bayan (people, country), and not to the patria or
nacin of the west.

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