We remember today Julio Nakpil, born on 22 May 1897. He was a composer and, as a general in the Philippine Revolution, belongs to the pantheon of giants of the Filipino nation. Nakpil adopted the clandestine name J. Giliw. He led a full and meaningful life serving his people. His letter, dated 28 September 1897, is most interesting. Nakpil wrote the letter as the head of the revolutionary movement’s High Council to raise funds for the Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan four months after assassins carried out the order of Emilio Aguinaldo to execute Andres Bonifacio. According to the historian Jim Richardson, “Nothing in Nakpil’s letter alludes to the ‘Republica Filipina’ of which Aguinaldo had been elected president at the Tejeros convention in March.” Just as interesting, Nakpil was writing from Sta. Ana, which, said RIchardson, was “even closer to the seat of Spanish power” compared to late 1896 when the Sanggunian was based in Pasig. Even more interesting, one might expect the recipient of Nakpil’s fundraising letter to be “a wealthy resident of Sta. Ana, or of another suburb or town nearby.” But the letter’s addressee was Cipriano Ortiz, “the parish priest of Paete, Laguna, a Franciscan friar and, presumably, a Spaniard.” *
Julio Nakpil would eventually marry the Katipunan’s Lakambini, Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of Andres Bonifacio. They had eight children. (Two died in their infancy.) Nakpil would write in his memoirs about Aguinaldo’s orders to assassinate not just Bonifacio but also Gen. Antonio Luna.
Readers are encouraged to listen to Nakpil’s compositions, which are available on Spotify and Apple Music. Just type “Julio Nakpil” and look for his albums. According to BahayNakpil.org, “Several of Nakpil’s compositions were inspired by the revolutionaries’ struggle to regain freedom for the country. An admirer of Jose Rizal . . .” Nakpil wrote Pahimakas (1897), “a funeral march commemorating Rizal’s execution” while the piece Pasig Pantayanin (1898), he dedicated to the revolutionary forces.” Nakpil also wrote Pamitinan (1897), a song for revolutionaries “who went into hiding because of persecution.” Nakpil enlarged his Himno Nacional later into a grand march “to be played at the Rizal Monument, and changed its name to Salve Patria (1896).” Nakpil died on November 2 1960.
(Main image of the hero is from BahayNakpil.org and the poster art and layout is by Rica Dominguez)
