Marcela Agoncillo
| Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Marcela Mariño y Coronel June 24, 1860 Taal, Batangas, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | May 30, 1946 (aged 85) Manila, Commonwealth of the Philippines |
| Resting place | La Loma Cemetery |
| Residence | Taal Batangas (ancestral home) and Malate Manila (family) |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Other names | Doña Marcela, Lola Celay |
| Known for | Her legacy as the principle seamstress of the first and official Philippine flag |
| Spouse(s) | Don Felipe Agoncillo |
| Children | Lorenza, Gregoria, Eugenia, Marcela, Adela and Maria |
| Parent(s) | Francisco Mariño and Eugenia Coronel |
Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo (née Mariño y Coronel; June 24, 1860 – May 30, 1946), also simply known as Marcela Agoncillo, was a Filipina renowned in Philippine history as the principal seamstress of the first and official flag of the Philippines, gaining her the title of Mother of the Philippine Flag.
Agoncillo was a daughter of a rich family in her hometown of Taal, Batangas. Finishing her studies at Santa Catalina College, she acquired her learning in music and feminine crafts. At the age of 30, Agoncillo married Filipino lawyer and jurist Don Felipe Agoncillo and bore him six children. Her marriage led to her important role in Philippine history. When her husband was exiled to Hong Kong during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Agoncillo and the rest of the family joined him and temporarily resided there to avoid the anti-Filipino hostility of some foreign countries. While in Hong Kong, General Emilio Aguinaldo requested her to sew a flag that would represent their country. Agoncillo, her eldest daughter and a friend manually sewed the flag in accordance with General Aguinaldo's design which later became the official flag of the Philippines.
While the flag itself is the perpetual legacy of 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.
Agoncillo was born on June 24, 1860 in Taal, Batangas, Philippines to Francisco Mariño and Eugenia Coronel. She grew up in their ancestral house in Batangas built in the 1770s by her grandfather, Andres Marino.
As a daughter of a rich and religious family, Agoncillo was referred to in their town as Roselang Hubog which means "a virgin 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.
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Wikipedia