López Jaena Day in Iloilo Date in the current year: December 18, 2025

Graciano López Jaena was born in Jaro, Iloilo on December 18, 1856. His mother wanted her son to become a priest and sent him to study at the Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary. López Jaena, however, wanted to become a physician and convinced his parents to let him enroll at the University of Santo Tomas. After being denied admission because he did not have the required Bachelor of Arts degree, López Jaena became an apprentice at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay.

However, financial problems caused López Jaena to drop out of the program and return to Iloilo to practice medicine. While caring for the poor, López Jaena saw social injustice and realized he had to do something about it. He eventually got into trouble when he refused to certify that some prisoners died of natural causes because it was obvious to him that they had been tortured.

In 1880, López Jaena left the Philippines for Spain and continued to study medicine at the University of Valencia. But he soon realized that fighting for justice was more important to him. He dropped out again and devoted himself to journalism and advocacy for social reform. In 1888, López Jaena became one of the co-founders of La Solaridad, a patriotic organization that aimed to make the Spanish government aware of the needs of the Philippines.

La Solaridad issued a bi-weekly newspaper of the same name that covered social, economic, and cultural issues in the colonial Philippines. It was funded by the Propaganda Movement, a patriotic organization of Filipinos based in Spain that called for political reform in the Philippines. The position of editor was initially offered to José Rizal, but he declined due to other commitments. As a result, López Jaena became the first editor of La Solaridad. In December 1889, the publication was moved from Barcelona, where López Jaena was based, to Madrid, and Marcelo H. del Pilar took over as editor.

López Jaena succumbed to tuberculosis in 1896 at the age of 39. He died in poverty and was buried in a mass grave in Barcelona’s Montjuïc Cemetery. López Jaena’s remains have not been repatriated and reburied in the Philippines, but a statue of him was erected in Iloilo. Numerous streets and squares, as well as a municipality in Misamis Occidental, have been named after him.

López Jaena is considered by Philippine historians as one of the three leading members of the Philippine Propaganda Movement, along with José Rizal and Marcelo H. del Pilar. In 1970, López Jaena’s birthday was declared an official holiday in the city and province of Iloilo. The holiday is marked by a commemorative ceremony held at the Graciano López Jaena Shrine at Jaro Plaza in Iloilo City, which includes flag raising, wreath laying, speeches and a gun salute, and other activities to honor the legacy of López Jaena.