“Andres Bonifacio”
A segment from Talk of The Town’s Rewind, Season 2, Episode 2
Live streamed on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at 8pm EST/ 5pm PST
November 30 is a public holiday in the Philippines. It is celebrated as Bonifacio Day, in honor of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio, who was born on that date, in 1863.
Bonifacio, or Gat Andres, is the founder and Supremo of the Katipunan, short for Kataas-Taasang, Kagalang-Galangang, Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or in English, the highest, most honorable association of sons and daughters of the nation.
The Katipunan was the revolutionary organization that sought to overthrow the more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines and establish an independent Philippine republic.
In 1898, the Katipunan almost succeeded in liberating the whole Philippines, with Manila the only remaining stronghold of the Spanish colonizers. But before the Filipino revolutionaries could triumphantly enter Manila and officially declare independence from Spain, The United States entered the picture and became the new colonial masters of the Philippines. But that is a story for another episode.
Bonifacio lost the leadership of the Katipunan to the general from Cavite, Emilio Aguinaldo, in a controversial election during the Tejeros Convention in 1897.
The Tejeros Convention, held in Aguinaldo’s home province of Cavite and packed with delegates from Cavite, elected Aguinaldo, who was not even present at the convention, as president. Bonifacio was elected Director of Interior.
But an Aguinaldo supporter objected to the election of Bonifacio, saying that Bonifacio did not have the education to serve as Director of Interior. Bonifacio then invoked his position as chairman of the convention and the supreme president of the Katipunan, and declared all proceedings that day to be null and void, and left with his supporters.
Aguinaldo later ordered the arrest of Bonifacio. Andres and his brother Procopio, were charged with sedition and treason, found guilty of the charges, and of plotting to kill Aguinaldo, and were sentenced to death. The order to execute Bonifacio and his brothers was given and signed by Aguinaldo.
The Bonifacio brothers, Andres and Procopio, were killed in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite on May 10, 1897.
A tragic ending to the acknowledged father of the Philippine Revolution.
This presentataion ends with the song, Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa, (Love for the Motherland). It was based on the poem of the same title written by Andres Bonifacio himself.
It was set to music by Jose Luis Jorque while while languishing in a detention center in the 1970s. Weslu was one of the more than 70,000 political prisoners jailed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos during Martial Law.
About Rewind
Rewind is a regular segment of Talk of the Town. Hosted by Noel Pangilinan, Rewind provides an overview of Philippine and Filipino American history. Noel teaches Filipino language and Philippine history and literature at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and is a Senior Editor at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.
About The Host/Author:
References:
Immigration to the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States
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