Exhibit on Marcelo del Pilar attempts to humanize hero
MANILA, Philippines – There’s a free exhibit at the second floor of the Ayala Museum in Makati that people might not be aware of. It occupies a tiny area just before the museum’s dioramas, which is a paid exhibit, and provides a peek into the private life and musings of a Filipino hero.
Curated by his 17-year-old descendant Pax Pineda, “Marcelo: The Man Behind the Hero (Reflections on the Legacy of Marcelo H. del Pilar)” is an attempt to humanize the lawyer and writer credited for establishing La Solidaridad.
Pineda is Del Pilar’s great-great-great-grandson, a high school senior at the ESF Island School in Hong Kong who only knew his forebear as Lolo Marcelo. He is aware that Del Pilar might be seen by many as “an intelligent lawyer who used pen and words as weapon… [which is why] I felt a deep responsibility to bridge the gap between the history book and personal heritage,” Pineda said at the exhibit opening held September 4.
As a descendant, he was granted access to items and memorabilia on display at the museum dedicated to Del Pilar in his hometown of Bulacan. These items displayed at the Ayala Museum are on view until Octeber 17.
Aside from a bronze bust and a miniature bas relief depicting one of Del Pilar’s daughters pining by a capiz window, there are copies of foundational materials, such as “Dasalan at Tocsohan” and La Solidaridad.
Look down at the floor to read snippets from letters that a lonely Del Pilar wrote to his wife Tsanay and daughters Sofia and Anita while he was in exile in Spain.
“I always dream that I have Anita on my lap and Sofia by her side, that I kiss them by turns and that both tell me: Remain with us Papa, and don’t return to Madrid. I awake soaked in tears,” one of them reads.
“If it were not for lack of the money I need for the voyage, I would be there already,” reads another.
While most Filipinos might imagine their heroes as stony-faced and unyielding, Pineda presents a man who longs to return to his family. “This exhibit is not about a distant monument but about a human character,” he said.
Del Pilar’s journey as a leader of the late 19th-century Philippine anti-friar movement began with ordinary human choices. In 1869, he was imprisoned for 30 days after quarreling with a parish priest over exorbitant baptismal fees. Following his brother’s deportation in 1872, Del Pilar dedicated his life to limiting the friars’ control over Philippine institutions.
Pineda described “Dasalan at Tocsohan” as biting satire Del Pilar authored to expose colonial hypocrisy. “In the 19th century, this brilliant satire was the equivalent of a viral internet sensation,” Pineda said. “It was funny, cutting, and incredibly dangerous.”
Writing and distributing these underground pamphlets demanded tremendous bravery and financial sacrifice. “Ultimately, it was this very work that forced a turning point in Del Pilar’s life, fleeing to Spain in 1888 to escape persecution, completely separating himself from his homeland and those he cherished most,” Pineda said.
There is a small table at the exhibit where visitors can write a letter to Del Pilar and pin it to a board. For younger visitors, putting pen to paper is a way for them to connect to this distant hero.
“If there’s one thing I hope visitors take away with them, it’s how much Lolo Marcelo loved his family… just as much as any other father would. I think we should all remember just how great of a father he managed to be despite the difficulties,” Pineda said.
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