Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo (née Mariño y Coronel; June 24, 1859 – May 30, 1946)
was a
Filipina
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
who was the principal seamstress of the first and official
flag of the Philippines
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 bicolor flag with equal bands of roya ...
,
gaining her the title of "The Mother of the Philippine Flag."
Marcela Coronel Mariño was the daughter of Don Francisco Diokno Mariño and Doña Eugenia Coronel Mariño, a rich family in her hometown of Taal, Batangas. She finished her studies at Santa Catalina College, Marcela acquired her learning in music and feminine crafts. At the age of 30, Marcela Coronel Mariño married Felipe Encarnacion Agoncillo, a Filipino lawyer, and a jurist, and gave birth to six children. Her marriage led an important role in Philippine history. When her husband was exiled in Hong Kong during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Marcela Mariño Agoncillo and the rest of the family joined him and temporarily resided there to avoid the anti-Filipino hostilities of the occupying Spain. While in Hong Kong,
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 ...
requested her to sew the flag that would represent the Republic of the Philippines. Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo, with her eldest daughter Lorenza and a friend
Delfina Herbosa de Natividad
Delfina Rizal Herbosa de Natividad (December 20, 1879 – March 10, 1900) was a Filipino renowned for being one of the three women, together with Marcela Agoncillo and her daughter Lorenza, who seamed together the Philippine flag, and for being ...
, niece of
Dr. Jose Rizal
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
, manually sewed the flag in accordance with General Emilio Aguinaldo's design which later became the official flag of the Republic of the Philippines.
While the flag itself is the perpetual legacy of Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo,
she is also commemorated through museums and monuments: like the marker in Hong Kong (where her family temporarily sojourned), at her ancestral home in Taal, Batangas which has been turned into a museum, in paintings by notable painters as well as through other visual arts.
Early life
Marcela Coronel Mariño was born on June 24, 1859 in
Taal, Batangas
Taal (), officially the Municipality of Taal ( tgl, Bayan ng Taal), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,460 people.
Taal is famous for its old ances ...
, Philippines to Don Francisco Diokno Mariño and Doña Eugenia Coronel Mariño. She grew up in her ancestral Mariño house in Taal, Batangas built in the 1770s by her grandparents, Don Andres Sauza Mariño and Doña Eugenia Diokno Mariño.
As a daughter of a rich and religious family, Marcela Coronel Mariño was referred to in their town as ''Roselang Bubog'' which means "a
virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
enthroned in the town church". Stories told in the area related that people kept waiting patiently by the church patio for her appearance in the morning to attend mass accompanied either by a maid or an elder relative.
Marcela Coronel Mariño was sent to a convent after her education in Manila. The convent she was studying in was the Santa Catalina College of the
Dominican nuns, an exclusive school for girls,
established in the Walled City of
Intramuros
Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Present-day ...
where she finished her elementary and secondary education. In college, she learned Spanish,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, the feminine crafts and social graces. She spent her girlhood partly in their hometown and partly in the convent. Accordingly, Marcela was skilled in needlework.
Marriage and family
Marcela Coronel Mariño was married to Felipe Encarnacion Agoncillo, a Filipino lawyer, and a jurist, . They were both thirty and Felipe was already a judge when they finally married. The Agoncillo moved from Taal to Manila, where they lived together in a two-story house on M.H. del Pillar St.,
Malate
Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms (L ...
, near the Malate church.
Six daughters were born to them: Lorenza ("Enchang"), Gregoria ("Goring"), Eugenia ("Nene"), Marcela ("Celing", named after her mother because they thought she would be their last child), Adela (who died at the age of three) and the youngest, Maria ("Maring", who was their last surviving child and died on July 6, 1995). Most of her daughters became teachers. Gregoria Mariño Agoncillo was the first Filipina to graduate from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
After the graduation of the three elder daughters, they were offered to positions to teach. Lorenza was given an appointment to teach in Malate Catholic School. They so immersed themselves in the respective teaching careers that not one of them chose to be married. However, Maria Mariño Agoncillo married Leoncio Noble later on in life, with children: Anita Mariño Agoncillo Noble (Miss Philippines 1926), Froila Mariño Agoncillo Noble and Vicente Mariño Agoncillo Noble.
Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo cared for all of her daughters until they reached maturity. One of her favorite pieces of advice to them was to "live honestly and well, and to work hard and not depend on family property.
Besides the legal services rendered by Felipe to the impoverished,
Doña Marcela Mariño Agoncillo and her daughters observed every Thursday as a day of charity, when a queue of needy people seeking alms would form in the Agoncillo driveway. No one ever left their house empty-handed. Agoncillo would hand them a bag of rice in addition to the money she gave them. This practice lasted until the couple retired.
Exile in Hong Kong
After learning of the plans of the Governor-General of the Philippines (Basilio Augustin y Davila) to deport Don Felipe Encarnacion Agoncillo, he sailed to Yokohama, Japan, staying there only briefly until proceeding to Hong Kong where he joined other Filipino exiles who found asylum when the revolution broke out in 1896. Twenty-two months after the departure of Don Felipe Encarnacion Agoncillo for Hong Kong, the Agoncillos and the rest of the family (her last two daughters were not yet born) followed him into exile. They rented a house at 535 Morrison Hill in the
Wan Chai district
Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. Of the four on Hong Kong Island, it is north-central, and had 152,608 residents in 2011, a fall from 167,146 residents in 2001. The district has the second-highest educationally quali ...
. While in Hong Kong, Agoncillo gave birth to their last child on March 22, 1906.
Don Felipe Encarnacion Agoncillo, being an exile himself, received any Filipino who came into their house. Thereafter, the place became a sanctuary for other Filipino revolutionary exiles. They initiated meetings in the Agoncillo's residence, especially during the critical months of March and April 1898. Among these folks were Gen.
Antonio Luna
Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino army general who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination in 1899.
Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of hi ...
and General Emilio Aguinaldo. Also,
Josephine Bracken,
Jose Rizal
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
*Jose ben Abin
*Jose ben Akabya
* Jose the Ga ...
's fiancée, sought refuge in their house when the Spanish authorities threatened to torture her.
The Making of the Philippine flag
After the signing of the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato
The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 15, 1897, created a truce between Spanish colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo to end the Philippine Revolution. Aguinaldo and his fellow rev ...
on December 14, 1897, General Emilio Aguinaldo visited the Agoncillo residence in Hong Kong after their voluntary exile. After having met them, General Emilio Aguinaldo requested that Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo immediately hand-sew a flag according to his design which would embody the national aspirations of all Filipinos. After receiving the request, Doña Marcela Mariño Agoncillo delegated her eldest daughter, five-year-old Lorenza Mariño Agoncillo, and Mrs.
Delfina Herbosa Natividad
Delfina Rizal Herbosa de Natividad (December 20, 1879 – March 10, 1900) was a Filipino renowned for being one of the three women, together with Marcela Agoncillo and her daughter Lorenza, who seamed together the Philippine flag, and for being ...
, Dr.
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 considered the national h ...
's niece by his sister Lucia, to help her make the first Philippine flag.
The process took only a short time, but it was difficult. The three worked manually and with the aid of a
sewing machine
A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with Thread (yarn), thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. ...
. They had to redo the flag after the rays of the sun were not in the proper direction. Their eyes and hands suffered due to the prolonged work session. Made from 100% fine
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
which she bought in Hong Kong, the flag was embroidered in gold and contained stripes of blue and red and a white triangle with the sun and three stars on it.
The flag was finished in five days
and became known as "The Three Stars and a Sun flag".
On May 17, 1898, the flag was delivered personally by Agoncillo
and was packed among the things President Emilio Aguinaldo brought back to Manila. This flag was hoisted from the window of Aguinaldo's house in
Kawit
Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit ( tgl, Bayan ng Kawit), is a first-class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535. It is one of the notable places that had ...
,
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southw ...
, during the proclamation of
Philippine independence on June 12, 1898 accompanied by the Philippine National Anthem ''Marcha Filipina''.
However, she did not witness either this first public display of the flag or the time when the flag was unfurled during the
Malolos Congress
The Malolos Congress (also known as the Revolutionary Congress), formally known as the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Members were chosen in the elections held from June 23 to Septe ...
because her husband remained in Hong Kong and she remained with him.
In response to the message written by General Emilio Aguinaldo, Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo wrote the following statement when she was interviewed:
Post-exile and death
Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo and her daughters stayed in Hong Kong from 1895 to 1906. She took care of their house, which became an asylum. Their funds had run out because of the heavy expenses incurred by Don Felipe for his diplomatic activities in France and in the United States. She once had to sell the children's pinafores
and their jewels
to support her family and to pay for their voyage back to Manila. The other money was also used to help boost the revolutionary funds. Their support for the revolution made them an impoverished family; however, they gained it back when Felipe resumed his legal practice.
After the fall of the
first Philippine Republic
The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...
and the establishment of the American regime, Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo and her family ended their exile and went back to Manila as soon as they were fetched by Don Felipe after his diplomatic activities abroad had ended. The Agoncillos settled in their family house in Malate. After the death of Don Felipe, Agoncillo's remaining family suffered from starvation due to their meager supply of food, water and other needs. The
Japanese conquerors also contributed to their anguish during the period of the Japanese invasion.
Taking this all in stride, Marcela remained pragmatic and a source of inspiration. After their house was incinerated during the Japanese occupation, all she said to her remaining daughters was "We will then have to go to Taal."
Though she endured the 1945
Battle of Manila, the health of Doña Marcela Mariño de
Agoncillo, who was alternatively called Marcela and "Lola Celay" during her old age,
was steadily deteriorating. She continued to mourn her deceased husband to such an extent that her daughters found it necessary to hide all his remaining photographs. On May 30, 1946, she quietly died in Taal at the age of 86. Her remains were brought from Taal to Manila and interred alongside her husband in the
Catholic cemetery of La Loma according to the wishes of her last will. Their remains were later transferred to
Santuario del Santo Cristo in
San Juan, Metro Manila
San Juan, officially the City of San Juan ( fil, Lungsod ng San Juan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 126,347 people. It is geographica ...
.
Commemoration
Several commemorative
figures
Figure may refer to:
General
*A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration
* Figure (wood), wood appearance
*Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif
* Noise figure, in telecommunication
* Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...
were created in remembrance of Agoncillo's historic family. On November 27, 1955, a marker was erected by the National Historical Institute of the Philippines and a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...
was established in Taal, Batangas in accordance with her last wish and was named Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo Museum and Monument. The museum is Mariño-Agoncillo ancestral house.
The house-turned-museum permanently exhibits flags and a diorama depicting the sewing of the first flag. A bronze statue of her holding the flag was erected outside the house in its garden. In Hong Kong, a historical marker was created by the Hong Kong Antiquities Council at Morrison Hill Park to commemorate the site where the first Philippine flag was sewn. However, the place where the Agoncillos resided, the location of the
Hong Kong Junta, and other locations of historical importance to Filipinos remain unmarked.
Doña Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo's legacy is remembered through the
visual art
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...
s as well. In 1996, Filipino National Artist
Napoleon Abueva created the concrete and marble sculpture ''Three Women Weaving the Filipino Flag'' at the
UP Diliman
, image = University of The Philippines seal.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman
, motto = Honor and Excellence
, established = February 12, 194 ...
to commemorate Agoncillo and the other two women who assisted her in their important task.Moreover, The Marcela Agoncillo Elementary School is made to honor her.
Renowned Filipino painter
Fernando Amorsolo
Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (born Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto; May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972) was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a N ...
painted the historical sewing and is nationally known as ''The Making of the Philippine flag''.
In popular culture
*Portrayed by
Iza Calzado
Maria Izadora Ussher Calzado-Wintle (born August 12, 1982), known professionally as Iza Calzado (), is a Filipino actress, television host, dancer and model. She is dubbed as the "''Goddess of Horror Films''" by local media for her acting prowe ...
in 2010 official music video GMA Lupang Hinirang
*Portrayed by Maita Ejercito in the 2012 film, ''
El Presidente''.
See also
*
Lorenza Agoncillo
Lorenza Mariño Agoncillo (September 5, 1890 – September 2, 1972) was the daughter of Don Felipe Agoncillo and Marcela Agoncillo who became the daughter of the principle seamstress of the first and official Philippine flag.
Early life
Born ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agoncillo, Marcela de
People from Taal, Batangas
People from Malate, Manila
1859 births
1946 deaths
Flag designers
Artists from Batangas
Katipunan members
People of the Philippine Revolution
Burials at La Loma Cemetery
Female revolutionaries