Patrocinio Gamboa y Villareal (30 April 1865 – 24 November 1953) was a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
notable for her participation in the
Philippine Revolution. Gamboa is best known for making the
Philippine flag
The national flag of the Philippines ( tgl, Pambansang watawat ng Pilipinas; ilo, Nailian a bandera ti Filipinas; ceb, Nasudnong bandila ng Pilipinas; es, Bandera Nacional de Filipinas) is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicol ...
hoisted during the inauguration of the revolutionary government of the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...
in
Santa Barbara, Iloilo
Santa Barbara, officially the Municipality of Santa Barbara ( hil, Banwa sang Santa Barbara, tgl, Bayan ng Santa Barbara), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
.
[Women in the Philippine Revolution (1998)](_blank)
Ateneo de Manila University p.366
Early life
Patrocinio Gamboa was born on 30 April 1865 in
Jaro,
Iloilo
Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
to Fermín Gamboa and Leonila Villareal. She was baptized on 7 May 1865 at
Jaro Church by Francisco Agüería, and her godmother was Severina Gamboa.
Her wealthy parents provided private tutors for her education. Gamboa was an avid reader of
Spanish classics and newspapers. She was also deeply influenced by the literary works of the
Propaganda Movement
The Propaganda Movement encompassed the activities of a group of Filipinos who called for political reforms in their land in the late 19th century, and produced books, leaflets, and newspaper articles to educate others about their goals and is ...
. Being the daughter of a wealthy and prominent family, she was well known in the community. She was devoutly religious, independent-minded, and brave of heart.
[Patrocinio Gamboa(1865 - 1953) Revolutionary “Heroine of Jaro”](_blank)
Web Article
Philippine Revolution against Spain
Among the first to join the revolution, Tia Patron was one of the organizers of the ''Comite Central Revolucionario de Visayas'' ("Central Revolutionary Committee of the Visayas"), which formed the nucleus of what later became the Revolutionary Government of the Visayas. She nursed wounded and sick soldiers in the battlefield. She also collected war contributions from the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
in Iloilo and gathered food and medical supplies, arms, and ammunition for the revolutionary forces. For this, she was considered as the “Heroine of Jaro.”
[Ilonggo in History: Patrocinio Gamboa, Heroine of Jaro](_blank)
Web News Article
History mixes her story of heroism with comedy. On 17 November 1898, the revolutionary government of the Visayas was to be inaugurated. Such an occasion called for a flag. The women of Jaro prepared a replica of the flag made by
Marcela Agoncillo
Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo (née Mariño y Coronel; June 24, 1859 – May 30, 1946) was a Filipina who was the principal seamstress of the first and official flag of the Philippines, gaining her the title of "The Mother of the Philippine ...
for General
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The problem lay in its delivery to the Santa Barbara headquarters of General
Martin Delgado. Between the two towns were Spanish guards shooting anyone suspected as being in league with the revolutionary forces. They thoroughly inspected civilians passing along the roads. Gamboa and a young lieutenant, Honorio Solinap, volunteered for the task. Gamboa wrapped the revolutionary flag around her waist, concealing it within her garments. The two went off as a husband and wife delivering
hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
in a carriage. A
saber
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
, a gift of General Aguinaldo to General Delgado, lay concealed under the hay. The carriage came upon a roadblock and the two faced danger. To divert the attention of the guards, Gamboa staged a husband and wife quarrel with herself as a domineering wife, berating an unfortunate, weak husband. As she shouted and cursed the subdued man, she also pinched, bit and boxed him. They acted their parts so convincingly that the guards, overwhelmed with laughter, allowed them pass. They delivered the flag in time for the inaugural ceremonies.
[Philippine Heroines of the Revolution: Maria Clara they were not](_blank)
Yoder, Robert L.,FAPC. Web Article
Iloilo Nationalism. Research Center for Iloilo. Web Article
Later life and death
Offered a lifetime pension by the colonial government, Gamboa declined, saying, “I give my services because I love my country. I do not ask any compensation for these services.”
She died 24 November 1953 and was buried at the Balantang Veterans' Cemetery in Jaro. In her honor, a marker was installed in Jaro, Iloilo on 21 December 1980.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamboa, Patrocinio
People of the Philippine Revolution
People of Spanish colonial Philippines
Women in war in the Philippines
People from Iloilo City
1865 births
1953 deaths
Women in war 1900–1945
Visayan people