Graciano López y Jaena (December 18, 1856 – January 20, 1896), commonly known as Graciano López Jaena (), was a Filipino journalist, orator,

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

, and national

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

who is well known for his newspaper, '' La Solidaridad'' (December 13,1888. Philippine historians regard López Jaena, along with

Marcelo H. del Pilar Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (; ; August 30, 1850July 4, 1896), commonly known as Marcelo H. del Pilar and also known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Pláridel,.''Filipinos in History: Volume II'', National Historical Commission o ...

and

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

, as the

triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...

of Filipino propagandists. Of these three ''

ilustrados The Ilustrados (, "erudite", "learned" or "enlightened ones") constituted the Filipino people, Filipino intelligentsia (Education in the Philippines, educated class) during the History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish colonial period i ...

'', López Jaena was the first to arrive in Spain and may have begun the Propaganda Movement, which advocated the reform of the then-Spanish colony of the Philippines and which eventually led to the armed

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

that begun in Manila in 1896. The Propaganda Movement was a key step towards a Philippine national identity.

Biography

Graciano López Jaena was born in Jaro,

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

, in the

Captaincy General of the Philippines The Captaincy General of the Philippines was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire in Southeast Asia governed by a governor-general as a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain based in Mexico City until Mexican independence when i ...

in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

on December 18, 1856. His parents were Plácido López and María Jacoba Jaena. He was baptized as "Graciano López y Jaena" on December 20, 1856, at Jaro Church by Plácido de Isana, and his godfather was Rufino Justiniano. Agoncillo, Teodoro A. (1990). ''History of The Filipino People (8th ed.)'' GAROTECH publishing: Quezon City, PhilippinesYoder, Robert L. (August 7, 1999)
Graciano López Jaena
Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences,

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. Feeling that the priesthood was the most noble profession, his mother sent him to study at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Jaro. While there, he served as a secretary to his uncle, Claudio López, who was the honorary vice consul of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in Iloilo. Despite his mother wanting him to become a priest, López's true ambition was to become a physician. After convincing his parents, he sought enrollment at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

but was denied admission because the required ''Bachelor of Arts'' degree was not offered at the seminary in Jaro. Instead, he was appointed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital as an apprentice. Due to financial problems, he dropped out and returned to Iloilo to practice medicine. During this period, his visits with the poor began to stir feelings about the injustices that were common. At the age of 18 he wrote the satirical story ''Fray Botod,'' which depicted a fat and lecherous friar. Botod’s false piety "always had the Virgin and God on his lips no matter how unjust and underhanded his acts are." This incurred the fury of the

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s. Although the story was not published, a copy circulated in Iloilo but the friars could not prove that López was the author. He got into trouble for refusing to testify that certain prisoners died of natural causes when it was obvious that they had died at the hands of the mayor of Pototan. López continued to agitate for justice and finally went to Spain when threats were made on his life. López sailed for Spain in 1880. There he became a leading writer and speaker for Philippine reform. By this time, he attached his maternal surname permanently to his paternal one, becoming "López Jaena", in order to stick out from the many Lopezes. (If he had not done this, by modern Philippine naming conventions his name would now be interpreted as "Graciano Jaena Lopez" or "Graciano J. Lopez".) López Jaena pursued his medical studies at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

but did not finish. Once Rizal reproached Lopéz Jaena for not finishing his medical studies. Graciano replied, "On the shoulders of slaves should not rest a doctor's cape." Rizal countermanded, "The shoulders do not honor the doctor's cape, but the doctor's cape honors the shoulders." He then moved to the field of journalism. Losing interest in politics and academic life, he soon enjoyed his life in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. However, his friends forgave him these indiscretions due to his talent with words.

Mariano Ponce Mariano Ponce y Collantes (; March 22, 1863 – May 23, 1918) commonly known as just Mariano Ponce was a Filipino physician, writer, statesman, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of ''La Solidarid ...

who was another of the Filipino propagandists in Spain observed, "... a deafening ovation followed the close of the

peroration is the system used for the organization of arguments in the context of Western classical rhetoric. The word is Latin, and can be translated as "organization" or "arrangement". It is the second of five canons of classical rhetoric (the first be ...

, the ladies waved their kerchiefs wildly, and the men applauded frantically as they stood up from their seats in order to embrace the speaker." Rizal noted, "His great love is politics and literature. I do not know for sure whether he loves politics in order to deliver speeches or he loves literature to be a politician." In addition he is remembered by the Filipino people for his literary contributions to the propaganda movement. López Jaena founded the fortnightly newspaper, La Solidaridad. When the publication office moved from Barcelona to Madrid, the editorship was succeeded to Marcelo H. del Pilar. His talent can be seen in the publication ''Discursos y Artículos Varios'' (Speeches and Various Articles). López Jaena died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on January 20, 1896, in Barcelona, 11 months short of his 40th birthday. The following day, he was buried in a mass grave at the Montjuïc Cemetery of Barcelona. He died in poverty and his remains have not been brought back to the Philippines.Tuano, D. (March 11, 2013)
Graciano Lopez Jaena's remains still in Barcelona
''ABS-CBN News''.

Public Holiday

December 18, Lopez Jaena's birthday, is a public holiday every year in

Iloilo province Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regio ...

and

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

Legacy

Order of DeMolay chapter seal. In his honor, the Jaro Plaza was renamed the Graciano López Jaena Park, where there is also a statue of him. The Graciano Lopez Jaena Foundation Inc works to continue his legacy and supports various public recognition of his life and works, such as the Dr. Graciano Lopez Jaena Poetry Contest. The municipality of Lopez Jaena in

Misamis Occidental Misamis Occidental (; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Sindepan Mis'samis''; ; ), officially the Province of Misamis Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province located in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Northern Mindanao in th ...

is named after him. An Order of DeMolay Chapter, a youth fraternal group for young men originating in

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, was founded around 1965 in Jaro, and named Graciano Lopez-Jaena Chapter because Lopez Jaena was the first and foremost

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

from Jaro. Numerous streets throughout the Philippines are named after him in his honor.

Notable works

*''Fray Botod (Big-Bellied Friar)'' *''La Hija del Fraile'' (The Daughter of a Friar) *''Esperanzas'' (Hope)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Ricardo Cepeda in 1996 TV Series '' Bayani'', in episode Graciano López-Jaena: Fray Botod (1874)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Chapter History of the Graciano Lopez Jaena, Order of DeMolay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Jaena, Graciano 1856 births 1896 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Filipino journalists Tuberculosis deaths in Spain People of the Philippine Revolution People from Iloilo City Filipino Freemasons Spanish-language writers of the Philippines Filipino expatriates in Spain Filipino nationalists 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century male writers University of Valencia alumni Visayan people Filipino newspaper editors Filipino propagandists People from the Spanish East Indies