Looking for Juan del Pilar

(A long thread on what records say about Gregorio del Pilar’s little known relative)

Disclaimer: Any opinions stated in this thread are based on my interpretation of the sources I found. If there are more decisive sources, do send them to my way

Very little is known about Juan del Pilar. In the movie Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, he was first introduced as the cousin who shot at Goyo’s group swimming in the river. While yes, some swimming and shooting did happen, the relative wasn’t named.

Which first led me to think that Juan may be fictional. I actually asked Direk Jerrold during a Q&A if Juan is fictional or not. To which he replied he’s an actual person and pointed us to Simeon Villa’s journals where he was mentioned. https://twitter.com/dettsuuu/status/1043437733148950530

But before we go to Villa’s memoirs, let’s start with the “Juan H. del Pilar” listed as the godfather of Goyo’s youngest brother Jacinto.

It’s not explicitly mentioned but given the name and date, this “Ninong Juan” was most likely an uncle. In fact, Marcelo and Fernando (Goyo’s father) actually had a brother named Juan. He was a lawyer and a stenographer of the tribunal (probably in Bulakan).

Indeed a “Juan H. del Pilar”, alongside other siblings of Marcelo del Pilar, are listed to have joined the Propaganda Movement. Take note of the Vicente Enriquez there who’s the father of the Vicente who became Goyo’s aide-de-camp.

Isaac Cruz in his Goyo biography names this “Tio Juan” as a captain who served on both revolutions against Spain and America. *gasp*

So does this mean the movie got it wrong in portraying Juan? I personally think not

Ok, so where did Tarog and co. get the idea that Juan is a younger cousin?

They probably got it from Jose Enriquez, a Tirad survivor and a younger brother of Vicente Enriquez m. He said it was him and “Juanchito del Pilar” (Goyo’s cousin) who informed Aguinaldo of Goyo’s death.

“But Juanchito can be someone else!” you might say. Vicente Enriquez actually mentioned a “Capt. Juan del Pilar” present in Tirad and was with the company of an “Emilio Garcia” who was also mentioned from Jose Enriquez’s account. These two were in charge of constructing trenches.

Unless there were two Juan del Pilars, then I am very inclined to think that “Capt. Juan H. del Pilar” and “Juanchito del Pilar” are the same. No info on who the father of this cousin is but if there are several Juans in the family, the nickname of “Juanchito” makes sense.

Also, Jose Enriquez’s statement (that it was him and Juanchito who told Aguinaldo about Goyo’s death) is somewhat supported by Simeon Villa’s memoirs. He mentioned there were two officers who informed Aguinaldo on what happened in Tirad.

And speaking of Simeon Villa’s memoirs he did mention “Captain Juan del Pilar” several times. But so did Telesforo Carrasco, the Spaniard, in his memoirs! For the next tweets, I’ll be combining entries from both Villa’s and Carrasco’s memoirs.

Villa explicitly mentioned a Capt. Juan H. del Pilar as part of the Sixth Company of the First Bulacan Battalion.

Do note that even if Juan wasn’t explicitly mentioned in some entries, he should’ve had the same perilous and arduous experience as everyone who was with Aguinaldo.

Dec. 16, 1899: Aguinaldo called for a council meeting and Juan was part of it. Interestingly, he didn’t seem to have an opinion of his own

By February 1900, after a grueling trek, Aguinaldo and his group set up camp somewhere in Isabela. There, they experienced relative peace and have settled into a routine which involved horse racing in the afternoons. And yes, Juan or rather his horse participated in these races.

March 16, 1900: (probably in preparation for Aguinaldo’s birthday), Juan and his soldiers were tasked to look meat and salt. They came back after 3 days, not only with inadequate meat but prisoners as well.

March 21, 1900: Carrasco talked about Aguinaldo’s birthday preparations. Juan was to deliver a speech

March 22, 1900: Aguinaldo’s birthday. Both Villa and Carrasco didn’t mention if Juan was able to deliver a speech but this should give you an idea what happened on this day.

Still during Aguinaldo’s birthday. Villa mentioned about the Bulacan Battalion getting emotional because Barcelona reminded them of Gregorio’s death. I think it’s safe to assume Juan became emotional most especially because he was a relative.

April 16, 1900: A memorial for Goyo was held. Juan was one of those who read elegies for the fallen general.

May 20/21, 1900: Aguinaldo’s group was on the run and had encountered American troops. Some soldiers belonging to the Sixth Company, of which Juan was part of, went missing. It is unsure if Juan went missing during this time as well.

May 22, 1900: The soldiers who went missing last May 20th were reunited with Aguinaldo’s group. However, they were confronted by Americans who didn’t immediately fire at them. They escaped to the woods.

July 6, 1900: Juan was part of the council of a trial for a deserter. The deserter was given a death penalty.

August 20/21, 1900: Juan was appointed by Aguinaldo as military commander/chief of guerilla of Isabela. Carrasco was put under Juan’s orders.

August 23-24, 1900: Carrasco and other soldiers spent nights chatting and jesting in Juan’s quarters. Sounds like a sleepover to me hehe.

August 27, 1900: After 2 months of spending time in the Tierra Virgen camp, it was decided that Juan and other soldiers would not go with Aguinaldo and operate as a guerrilla unit.

August 28 - September 16, 1900: Juan and his group move out from Tierra Virgen and have carried out as a guerrilla unit. Carrasco was ill with fever.

September 17, 1900: A still unwell Carrasco learned of what happened during the attack and the subsequent death of their “Commandant del Pilar.” An American war report confirms Juan’s death although listed under a different date (September 14 instead of September 17)

And there you have it. Whether or not Juan del Pilar is the uncle or cousin, this shows Goyo’s relative probably had the same level of grit and resilience as him. Although, I still think this Captain del Pilar is a cousin based on age. Tio Juan would’ve been 50+ years old by 1900

Sources: Teodoro Kalaw’s and Isaac Cruz’s biographies about Goyo; Telesforo Carrasco’s memoirs; Simeon Villa’s memoirs; Letters of Marcelo H. del Pilar; Annual reports of the War Department.

Thanks to @staennis and @cinema_cucumber for pointing me to some sources!

Hello! I actually published an updated and revised version of this thread in my Goyong blog. You can find it here:
https://goyongtrash.tumblr.com/post/627957282697822208/looking-for-juan-del-pilar