Graciano López Jaena
Encyclopedia
Graciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad
.
Philippine historians regard López Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar
and José Rizal
, as the triumvirate
of Filipino propagandists. Of these three ilustrados, López Jaena was the first to arrive and may have founded the genesis of the Propaganda Movement
.
which had been opened under the administration of Governor General Carlos María de la Torre
. While studying at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary
in Jaro, López Jaena served as a secretary to an uncle named Claudio López who was the honorary vice consul of Portugal
in Iloilo. His ambition of becoming a physician
, convinced his parents that this was the better course of action.
López Jaena sought enrollment at the University of Santo Tomas
but was denied admission because the required Bachiller en Artes
degree was not offered at the seminary in Jaro. However he was appointed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital as an apprentice. Unfortunately, due to financial problems, his parents could not afford to keep him in Manila. He returned to Iloilo and practiced medicine
in communities.
During this period, his visits with the poor and the common people 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 priest. Botod’s false piety "always had the Virgin and God on his lips no matter how unjust and underhanded his acts are." This naturally incurred the fury of the friars who knew that the story depicted them. Although it was not published a copy circulated in the region but the Friars could not prove that López Jaena 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 Jaena continued to agitate for justice and finally went to Spain when threats were made on his life. López Jaena sailed for Spain
in 1879. There he was to become a leading literary and oratorical spokesman for the Philippine reformal issues.
López Jaena pursued his medical studies at the University of Valencia but did not finish the course. 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
and Madrid
. However, his friends would forgive him these indiscretions due to his appeal with words and oratory. Mariano Ponce
who was another of the Filipino propagandists in Spain observed, "... a deafening ovation followed the close of the peroration, 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 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.
López Jaena died of tuberculosis
on January 20, 1896, eleven months short of his 40th birthday. The following day, he was buried in unmarked grave at the Cementerio del Sud-Oeste of Barcelona. His death was followed on July 4 by Marcelo H. del Pilar and on December 30 of José Rizal by firing squad, thus ending the great triumvirate
of propagandists. He died in poverty just shy of two and a half years before the declaration of independence
from Spain by Emilio Aguinaldo
. His remains were never brought back to the Philippines.
The Order of DeMolay Chapter, Graciano Lopez-Jaena Chapter, was founded in 1965 in Jaro
, Iloilo
city. The Order of DeMolay is sponsored by the Free and Accepted Masons. It is a youth fraternal organization where young men are taught to become better individuals. The Order of DeMolay was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, USA by a 33rd degree Scottish Rite
mason Frank S. Land. The chapter was named after Graciano Lopez Jaena, the first and foremost Freemason hailing from Jaro.
La solidaridad
La Solidaridad was an organization created in Spain on December 13, 1888. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines, and to propagate a closer...
.
Philippine historians regard López Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán , better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog and Spanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through...
and José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, as the triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
of Filipino propagandists. Of these three ilustrados, López Jaena was the first to arrive and may have founded the genesis of the Propaganda Movement
Propaganda Movement
The Propaganda Movement was a literary and cultural organization formed in 1872 by Filipino émigrés who had settled in Europe. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony,...
.
Biography
His parents sent López Jaena to JaroJaro
-Philippines:*Jaro, Leyte a municipality in the province of Leyte*Jaro, Iloilo City a district of Iloilo City-See also:*Jaro–Winkler distance*Jaro Medien a German music company*Jaro Records, a subsidiary of Rank Records...
which had been opened under the administration of Governor General Carlos María de la Torre
Carlos María de la Torre y Nava Cerrada
Carlos María de la Torre y Nava Cerrada is considered the most beloved of the Spanish Governors-General ever assigned in the Philippines . He was the assigned Governor-General after the Spanish Revolution of 1869....
. While studying at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary
St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary
The Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary is the first institution of Higher Education in Western Visayas, which was founded in 1869. It is the fifth oldest and the last seminary that was established during the Spanish colonial period.-The beginning:...
in Jaro, López Jaena served as a secretary to an uncle named Claudio López who was the honorary vice consul of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in Iloilo. His ambition of becoming a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, convinced his parents that this was the better course of action.
López Jaena sought enrollment at the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
but was denied admission because the required Bachiller en Artes
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree was not offered at the seminary in Jaro. However he was appointed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital as an apprentice. Unfortunately, due to financial problems, his parents could not afford to keep him in Manila. He returned to Iloilo and practiced medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in communities.
During this period, his visits with the poor and the common people 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 priest. Botod’s false piety "always had the Virgin and God on his lips no matter how unjust and underhanded his acts are." This naturally incurred the fury of the friars who knew that the story depicted them. Although it was not published a copy circulated in the region but the Friars could not prove that López Jaena 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 Jaena continued to agitate for justice and finally went to Spain when threats were made on his life. López Jaena sailed for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1879. There he was to become a leading literary and oratorical spokesman for the Philippine reformal issues.
López Jaena pursued his medical studies at the University of Valencia but did not finish the course. 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
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. Losing interest in politics and academic life, he soon enjoyed his life in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. However, his friends would forgive him these indiscretions due to his appeal with words and oratory. Mariano Ponce
Mariano Ponce
Mariano Ponce , was a Filipino physician, writer, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of La Solidaridad and Asociacion Hispano-Filipino...
who was another of the Filipino propagandists in Spain observed, "... a deafening ovation followed the close of the peroration, 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."
López Jaena died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on January 20, 1896, eleven months short of his 40th birthday. The following day, he was buried in unmarked grave at the Cementerio del Sud-Oeste of Barcelona. His death was followed on July 4 by Marcelo H. del Pilar and on December 30 of José Rizal by firing squad, thus ending the great triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
of propagandists. He died in poverty just shy of two and a half years before the declaration of independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
from Spain by Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...
. His remains were never brought back to the Philippines.
Legacy
Jaro
-Philippines:*Jaro, Leyte a municipality in the province of Leyte*Jaro, Iloilo City a district of Iloilo City-See also:*Jaro–Winkler distance*Jaro Medien a German music company*Jaro Records, a subsidiary of Rank Records...
, Iloilo
Iloilo
Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by Antique Province to the west and Capiz Province and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is Guimaras Province,...
city. The Order of DeMolay is sponsored by the Free and Accepted Masons. It is a youth fraternal organization where young men are taught to become better individuals. The Order of DeMolay was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, USA by a 33rd degree Scottish Rite
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...
mason Frank S. Land. The chapter was named after Graciano Lopez Jaena, the first and foremost Freemason hailing from Jaro.