Graciano Lopez Jaena' - On December 18, 1856, saw the birth of Graciano López Jaena in Jaro, Iloilo to Placido López and Maria Jacoba Jaena. His parents were poor, as his mother was a seamstress and his father, a general repairman. His father, however, had been to school and his mother was quite religious. At the age of six, young Graciano was placed under the watch of Father Francisco Jayme who noted his intellectual promise, especially his gift of speech.
His mother, feeling that the priesthood was the most noble of occupations and sent him to the Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer in Jaro which had been opened under the brief liberal administration of Governor General Carlos de la Torre. Here again, his talents were noted. While studying at this seminary, López Jaena served as a secretary to an uncle, Claudio López who was honorary vice consul of Portugal in Iloilo. He even took charge of some minor matters that were brought to that office.
Unfortunately, Lopez Jaena died of tuberculosis on January 20, 1896. His death was followed on July 4th by Marcelo H. del Pilar and on December 30th of José Rizal by firing squad, thus ending the great triumvirate of propagandists. He died in poverty just shy of his fortieth birthday and two and a half years before the declaration of independence from Spain by Emilio Aguinaldo.
Keep in Mind: propagandists are those who resided in Spain to write against the Spaniards. They tried to alert the King and Queen of Spain but not much read La Solidaridad for it had only been published in small areas due to the scarcity of money of the Filipinos. La Solidaridad was the voice of the Filipinos. The one that spoke for them to another nation.