Patricio Mariano

Patricio Mariano y Geronimo (17 March 1877 at Santa Cruz, Manila – 28 January 1935), son of Petronilo Mariano and Dionisia Geronimo, was a Filipino nationalist, revolutionary, pundit, poet, playwright, dramatist, short story writer, novelist, journalist, violinist, painter, and a Katipunan member.

Education

Mariano received his high school education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (now known as the Ateneo de Manila University) and at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He studied bookkeeping at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Liceo de Manila (now known as the Manila Central University).

Political career

Mariano was influenced by his employer José Dizon, a Katipunan leader and typography and stereography shop owner, to join the Katipunan. Mariano joined the Filipino revolution in 1896; however, he fought only at the end of the struggle. In 1898, he became a public servant during the First Philippine Republic, acting as the right-hand man of Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, who was the adviser to General Emilio Aguinaldo, the president of the First Philippine Republic. As a patriot, Mariano was one of the founders of the organization known as the Asociacion Pro Patria.

Literary career

At a time when the Tagalog Theater was beginning to evolve, Mariano pursued a career as a playwright by writing zarzuelas in Tagalog. He also wrote poetry, short stories, dramas, and operettas, focusing on romance, social conditions, and the hopes of the Filipino people and incorporating symbolism in his work. Some of his better known plays include Sampaguita ("Jazmine"), performed in 1901 at the Zorrilla Theater, the one-act drama Ang Silanganan ("The East" or "The Levant") at the Rizal Theater in Tondo, Manila on 30 December 1904, and Ang Pakakak ("The Tuba"), another one-act work, at the Manila Grand Opera House on 7 July 1913.,