Espiridiona Bonifacio y de Castro (May 1, 1872 – May 26, 1956) was a Filipino Katipunera. She was one of the first female members of Confederation established by her older brother

Andres Bonifacio Andres or Andrés may refer to: * Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US * Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) Andres or Andrés is a male given name. It can also be a ...

. The others were her older brothers Ciriaco and Procopio Bonifacio.

Life

Bonifacio was born in Tondo,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Her father was Santiago Bonifacio of

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...

, a tailor who served as a teniente mayor of Tondo, Manila. Her mother was Catalina de Castro, a native of Cabangan, Zambales, a mestiza born of a Spanish father and a Filipino-Chinese mother who was a supervisor at a cigarette factory. She was the fourth of six children. Her siblings were Andrés, Ciriaco, Procopio, Troadio and Maxima. The Bonifacio siblings were orphaned at an early age and Andrés had to act as the family's breadwinner. Bonifacio, better known by her nickname, Nonay, was dependent on her brothers for guidance. Her three older brothers were all part of the armed struggle. She joined the revolution as a teenager, going with either the group or hers brothers wherever they went. Her older brothers were her ''de facto'' parents. She hid bullets in the pots she cooked rice in and hid guns under her skirt. She took care of the wounded and sick Katipuneros and cooked for them. The women's chapter of the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

was formed in July 1893. There were only around 30 women members of the Katipunan, limited to wives, daughters and close relatives of Katipuneros. In 1893, when she was seventeen years old, she married

Teodoro Plata Teodoro Plata (1866 – February 6, 1897) was a Filipino patriot, and a co-founder of the Katipunan, the secret society which sparked the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule in 1896. He met Andrés Bonifacio at a boarding house in Manila ...

, one of the founders of the Katipunan. She was widowed when Plata was executed in Bagumbayan in 1896 when the Spaniards discovered the Katipunan. She died on May 26, 1956, in

Paco, Manila Paco, formerly known as Dilao, is a district of Manila, Philippines, located south of the Pasig River and San Miguel, west of Santa Ana, southwest of Pandacan, north of Malate, northwest of San Andres Bukid, and east of Ermita. It had a pop ...

, and was interred at the

Manila South Cemetery The Manila South Cemetery is a cemetery in Metro Manila. It is an exclave of San Andres, Manila surrounded by land under the jurisdiction of the city of Makati. History The land which the cemetery occupies was previously part of the Hacie ...

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Isabel Oli Maria Olivia Daytia-Prats (born October 20, 1981), better known by the screen name Isabel Oli, is a Filipina model and actress. Background Oli is the youngest of seven children to a Filipino father of Chinese descent and a Filipina mother of S ...

in the 2014 film, '' Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonifacio, Espiridiona 1872 births 1956 deaths Burials at the Manila South Cemetery Filipino revolutionaries Filipino people of Chinese descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Katipunan members People from Tondo, Manila People of the Philippine Revolution Women in the Philippine Revolution

Life

In popular culture

See also

References