Epifanio de los Santos y Cristóbal, also known as Don Pañong or Don Panyong (April 7, 1871 – April 18, 1928), was a notable Filipino historian, journalist, and civil servant.Afan, Carolina L. Epifanio de los Santos y Cristobal. Filipiniana Division. National Library. Government Property. ISBN does not apply.Philippines Laws, Statutes and Code

accessed December 15, 2010 He was regarded by some as one of the best Filipino writers of his time. He also entered politics, serving as a member of the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (), also known as the Revolutionary Congress () and formally the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. From 1898 to 1899, prior to the Philippine Declaration of I ...

from 1898 to 1899 representing

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

and later as

governor of Nueva Ecija The governor of Nueva Ecija is the local chief executive of the Central Luzon Province of the Philippines, province of Nueva Ecija in the Luzon Island, Philippines. List The following are the holders of the position since the post's formal estab ...

from 1902 to 1906. As a lawyer, he was named the district attorney of

San Isidro, Nueva Ecija San Isidro, officially the Municipality of San Isidro (, Kapampangan: ''Balen ning San Isidro''), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,372 people. San Isidro bec ...

in 1900 and later as fiscal of the provinces of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

and

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. He was named as an assistant technical director of the Philippine Census in 1918. He was appointed Director of the Philippine Library and

Museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, List of colonial governors of Cuba, Military Governor of Cuba, ...

in 1925, serving until his death in 1928.

Early life and marriage

Epifanio de los Santos was born on April 7, 1871, in Potrero,

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north of the city of Manila, Malabon is ...

, Province of Manila to Escolastico de los Santos of

and musician Antonina Cristóbal y Tongco. He studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. He devoted some time to painting, but music became part of his daily life and he was even awarded a professorship in music. He finished his law studies 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 ...

and took the bar exams in 1898.

Rafael Palma Rafael Palma y Velásquez (: October 24, 1874 May 24, 1939) was a Filipino politician, Rizalian, writer, educator and a famous Freemason. He was a senator from 1916 to 1921 and was the fourth president of the University of the Philippines. ...

(1930) noted that during his college years, his collecting instinct was already evident when he dedicated himself to gathering plants and flowers in Nueva Ecija, where he also sought the company of and spent time with rural communities.Palma, Rafael. 1930. Epifanio de los Santos Cristobal.(English translation by Tiburcio Tumaneng from the Spanish Original). Manila. p.4. Archived from the original. Filipiniana Division. National Library-Government Property. (ISBN does not apply) According to Agoncillo, "Nobody suspected that he would someday become a literary man". As a young law student, his interest in Spanish literature developed through readings of Juan Valera's novel entitled "Pepita Jimenez" and other available works.Espino, Licsi F. Jr. 1977. A Historian with style: love of learning chiseled the man. Archipelago: International Magazine of the Philippines 1:37-38. He later developed a friendship with Valera after meeting him in Spain.The Manila Tribune. April 19, 1928. His home in

Intramuros Intramuros () 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. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

became a meeting place for literary figures including Cecilio Apóstol (Catulo),

Fernando María Guerrero Fernando María Guerrero Ramírez (May 30, 1873 – June 12, 1929) was a Filipinos, Filipino, poet, journalist, lawyer, politician, and Polyglot (person), polyglot who became a significant figure during the Philippines' golden period of Philippin ...

(Fulvio Gil),

José Palma José Palma y Velásquez (: June 3, 1876 February 12, 1903) was a Filipino poet and soldier. He was on the staff of ''La independencia'' at the time he wrote "Filipinas", a patriotic poem in Spanish. It was published for the first time in th ...

, Jaime C. de Veyra, Macario Pineda, Mariano V. del Rosario, Salvador V. del Rosario, Ysidro Paredes, Macario Adriatico,

Jose Clemente Zulueta José Clemente Zulueta y Estrada (November 23, 1876 – September 10, 1904) was a Filipino writer, Philippine Revolution historian and bibliographer. Together with General Mamerto Natividad, he wrote the proclamation entitled "To The Brave Sons o ...

and Jose G. Abreu. He painted an oil portrait of Rosa Sevilla and composed a melody dedicated to her. Epifanio's first wife was Doña Ursula Paez of Malabon; his second was Margarita Torralba of

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

. His son Jose, from his first wife, became a historian, biographer, and collector. His brother, Escolastico, became a pianist for

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s and contributed as a poet and realist story teller to Philippine magazines and newspapers. His son Socrates, from his second wife, became a leading

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

engineer. He has two lines of descendants with four children with his first wife Ursula Paez: Jose, Rosario, Escolastico and Antonio; and eight children with his second wife Margarita Torralba: Leticia, Fernando, Socrates, Federico, Hipatia Patria, Espacia Lydia, Glicera Ruth & Margarita.

Literary and scholarly works

Epifanio was considered by some as one of the best Filipino writers in Spanish of his time.Cayco, Libardo D. Epifanio de los Santos Cristobal. Manila. National Heroes Day. Filipiniana Division. National Library. Government Property. Archived from the original. He was a member of the

Spanish Royal Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

of Language,

of Literature and

of History in

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 ...

. His writings were admired by

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (; 3 November 1856 – 19 May 1912) was a Spanish scholar, historian and literary critic. Even though his main interest was the history of ideas, and Hispanic philology in general, he also cultivated poetry, transl ...

. Epifanio was a young associate editor of the revolutionary paper "La Independencia" (1898), writing in prose under the pen name G. Solon and also a member of the

. He also co-founded other newspapers including ''La Libertad'', ''El Renaciemento'', ''La Democracia'', ''La Patria'' and ''Malaysia''. His publications include; ''Algo de Prosa'' (1909), ''Literatura Tagala'' (1911), ''El Teatro Tagala'' (1911) ''Nuestra Literatura'' (1913), ''El Proceso del Dr. José Rizal'' (1914), ''Folklore Musical de Filipinas'' (1920). He also authored ''Filipinos y filipinistas'' (Filipinos and Filipinists), ''Filipinas para los Filipinos'', ''Cuentos y paisajes Filipinos'' (Philippine Stories and Scenes) and ''Criminality in the Philippines'' (1903–1908). He was a member of ''Samahan ng mga Mananagalog'', initiated by

Felipe Calderon Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

in 1904, whose active members included

Lope K. Santos Lope K. Santos (born Lope Santos y Canseco, September 25, 1879 – May 1, 1963) was a Filipino people, Filipino Tagalog language, Tagalog-language writer and former List of Senators of the Philippines, senator of the Philippines. He is best kn ...

, Rosa Sevilla, Hermenegildo Cruz, Jaime C. de Veyra and Patricio Mariano. He was fluent in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, English, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, Ita, Tingian, and Ibalao. He translated Florante and Laura into Castilian.Bernardo, Fernando A. 2000. Silent storms: inspiring lives of 101 great Filipinos. Anvil Publishing, Inc. pp. 37–38. He was an honorary member of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española.

Collections

Epifanio de los Santos traveled extensively, searching for rare Philippine documents. He amassed a collection of nearly 200 paintings and sculptures, musical literature, opera records, printed materials, documents and manuscripts related to the revolution and historical pictures. His

Filipiniana Filipiniana, or originally Filipiñana, based on the definition by Isagani Medina from "Collection Building: Filipiniana", in his ''In Developing Special Library Collections, Filipiniana: Proceedings'' (November 1992), are Philippine-related boo ...

collection was highly regarded.Zaide, Gregorio F. 1965. Epifanio de los Santos: Great among the great Filipino scholars. In Great Filipinos in history. 88: 575–581. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, he was recognized as a

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

and biographer of Philippine subjects. Some documents and printed matter in his collection are considered unique. His Rizaliana collections were acknowledged by W. E. Retana, James A. Le-Roy, and Austin Craig. His collection includes 115 printed works and 213 documents related to the

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), ...

. After de los Santos's death, the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

, under the Philippine Clarin Act, purchased his collection and library for .

Other interests

He was also known as a skilled guitarist. There is an anecdote about de los Santos and Clemente Jose Zulueta having a disagreement, with Antonio Luna offering his guitar to whoever won the argument. De los Santos reportedly won and received Luna's guitar.

Public service

Epifanio de los Santos Monument in Cabanatuan City 2

Epifanio de los Santos was elected to the

in September 1898, serving as one of three representatives from

until November 1899. In 1900, he was appointed district attorney of

. He was later elected

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in 1902 and again in 1904, serving until 1906. This made him the first democratically elected provincial

of Nueva Ecija and head of the Federal Party there. As a member of the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

, he was selected to represent the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904. He was later appointed provincial fiscal of

and

provinces. He wrote "

Electoral Fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

and its Remedies" (''Fraudes Electorales y Sus Remedios'') in 1907 for the

Philippine Assembly The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly ...

. He also dedicated time to research in Philippine history and literature. Some of his collection was destroyed by fires at his house in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. According to Agoncillo and Palma, his primary interest was not in politics. In 1918, he was appointed assistant technical director of the Philippine Census by

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American-Filipino Politics of the United States, statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed Governor-General of the Philippines ...

. In 1925, de los Santos was appointed Director of the Philippine Library and

by Governor General

, succeeding

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (13 April 1857 – 26 March 1925) was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the First ...

. He was also elected as the third President of the Philippine Library Association (now Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.), the first Filipino of native parentage to hold this position. As director of the Philippine Library, he reportedly dedicated himself to his work, giving up "all his other avocations except music and bibliophily," according to Gabriel Bernardo.

Death and legacy

de los Santos died in office on April 18, 1928.

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA (), is a major circumferential road around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, namel ...

(EDSA), the main road through

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, is named after him. Several schools, streets, a college, a hospital, a printing press and an auditorium in the

National Library of the Philippines The National Library of the Philippines ( or , abbreviated NLP, ) is the Philippines' official national library, repository of information on cultural heritage and other literary resources. It is located in the district of Ermita, Manila, Ermit ...

are also named in his honor.

References

Bibliography

* CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Vol IX. Philippine Literature. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1994 * Agoncillo, Teodoro A. 2002 ed. The revolt of the masses- the story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan. University of the Philippines Press. E. de los Santos St., UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City. * Epifanio de los Santos (Great among the great Filipino scholars). 1982. Printed by Merriam School & Office. Supplies Corporation, Manila. * The Delos Santos family descendants memorabilia, historical pictures and clippings. * Philippine Free Press. Manila. April 28, 1928. * The Manila Tribune. April 19, 1928 * National Historical Institute (NHI). 1990. Filipinos in history. Vol. II. Manila. * Bacallan, Joyce. 1988. Hero of the month- Epifanio delos Santos- a great Filipino academician. The youngster. p. 7. * Bernardo, Fernando A. 2000. Silent storms: inspiring lives of 101 great Filipinos. Anvil Publishing, Inc. pp. 37–38. * Bantug, Jose P. Epifanio de los Santos Cristobal. pp. 215–223. * Baylon, Gloria J. EDSA: Country's Avenue of History. The Philippine Post Nation: Leading to the Next Millennium. February 23, 1998. * Buencamino, Felipe; De los Santos, Epifanio. Census of the Philippine Islands: taken under the direction of Philippine legislature in the year 1918. A Government Publication. Manila: Bureau Printing. (1921?) * Carson, Taylor; De los Santos, Epifanio. 1927. History of the Philippine Press. Manila. 61 pp. * Cayco, Librado D. (1934) Epifanio de los Santos Cristobal. Manila. National Heroes Day. University of the Philippines. * Churchill, Bernadette R. Epifanio de los Santos, pioneer historian. In History & Culture, Language & Literature: Selected Essays of Teodoro A. Agoncillo. pp. 239–245. * Cullinane, Michael. 2003. Illustrado politics: Filipino elite responses to American rule, 1989–1908. Ateneo de Manila University. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1909. Algo de prosa. Madrid Fortanet. 70 pp. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1909. Cinco notas al Capitulo octavo de los "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas" del Dr. Antonio de Morga (en su nueva edición de W.E. Retana). Madrid Fortanet. 24 pp. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1909. Literatura tagala : Conferencia leída en el Liceo de Manila ante el "Samahan ng mananagálog". Madrid Fortanet.25 pp. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1911. Informe acerca de una obra sobre los orígenes de la imprenta filipina. Madrid Imprenta de Fortanet. 52 pp. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1913. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera. Cultura Filipina 4 (1): 1-49. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1913. Ignacio Villamor: El funcionario y el hombre. Cultura Filipina 4 (3): 351–359. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1915. Ignacio Villamor: El funcionario y el hombre. Cultura Filipina 5 (4): 275–294. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1916. Rafael del Pan: The Philippine Review 1 (May): 41–44. * De los Santos, Epifanio.1957.Marcelo H. del Pilar; Andres Bonifacio; Emilio Jacinto. Kapisanang Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas. English and Tagalog. Translated from Spanish. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1973. The revolutionists: Aguinaldo, Bonifacio, Jacinto. Translated and edited by Teodoro A. Agoncillo. Manila: National Historical Commission. * De los Santos, Epifanio. 1909. Epifanía Wenceslao E. Retana, ensayo crítico acerca de este ilustre filipinista. Establecimiento Tipográfico de Fortanet, Madrid. * Dungo, Dolores T. Epifanio de los Santos. Epifanio de los Santos College, Malabon, Rizal. * Espino, Licsi F. Jr. 1977. A Historian with style: love of learning chiseled the man. Archipelago: International Magazine of the Philippines 1:37-38. * Fermin, Jose D. 2004. 1904 World's Fair: the Filipino experience. E. de los Santos St., UP Campus, Diliman Quezon City. p. 73. * Gwekoh, Sol H. Biographical Sketch: Epifanio de los Santos. Variety. p 13. * Hardtendorp, A. V. H. Don Pañong – genius. Philippine Magazine 26 (Sept.) 210–11, 234–235. * Hernandez, Vicente S. 1996. History of books and libraries in the Philippines 1521-1900: A study of the sources and chronology of events pertaining to Philippine library history from the sixteenth to the end of the nineteenth century. National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila. * Mella, Cesar. 1974. Directory of Filipino Writers: Past and Present. Manila. CTM enterprises. * Mojares, Resil B. 2006. Brains of the nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes and the production of modern knowledge. Ateneo de Manila University Press. Bellarmine Hall, Katipunan Avenue Loyola Heights, Quezon City. p. 477. * Nieva, Gregorio, ed. 1880- Manila, P.I.: G. Nieva

tc. TC, T.C., Tc, Tc, tc, tC, or .tc may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Theodore "T.C." Calvin, a character on the TV series '' Magnum, P.I.'' and its reboot * Tom Caron, American television host for New England Sports Netw ...

2005. The Philippine review (Revista filipina) ol. 2, no. 1 More about Jose Rizal by Epifanio de los Santos. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library. p. 22. * Palma, Rafael. 1930. Epifanio de los Santos Cristobal.(English translation by Tiburcio Tumaneng from the Spanish Original). Manila. 14 pp. * Qurino, Carlos. 1995. Who's who in the Philippine history. Manila. Tahanan Books. * San Juan, E. Jr. Social Consciousness and Revolt in Modern Philippine Poetry. pp. 394–399. * Santos, Ramon Pagayon. 2007. Tunugan: four essays on Filipino Music. The University of The Philippines Press. 216 pp. * Villareal, Hector K. et al. 1965. Eminent Filipinos. Manila: National Historical Commission. * Zaide, Gregorio F. 1930. Epifanio de los Santos, his collection and library. The Tribune Magazine. pp. 4–5 * Zaide, Gregorio F. 1965. Epifanio de los Santos: Great among the great Filipino scholars. In Great Filipinos in history. 88: 575–581.

External links

* *
Who is EDSA?
* at www.geocities.com
The North American Filipino Star - great composers and the success of the Kundiman
at www.filipinostar.org

at www.myweb.wvnet.edu
Viva La Independencia! -->
at www.pia.gov.ph

Epifanio Delos Santos: The historian who became part of history
at https://news.google.com/newspapers

at http://www.malaya.com.ph {{DEFAULTSORT:de los Santos, Epifanio 1871 births 1928 deaths University of Santo Tomas alumni Ateneo de Manila University alumni Filipino Roman Catholics Filipino artists Filipino male composers Linguists from the Philippines 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino journalists People of the Philippine Revolution Filipino educators 20th-century Filipino historians Spanish-language writers of the Philippines Nonviolence advocates Members of the Royal Spanish Academy People from Malabon People from Nueva Ecija Burials at the Manila North Cemetery Filipino male poets Members of the Malolos Congress Governors of Nueva Ecija People from the Spanish East Indies