One of the longest streets in Iloilo City is named after him. The regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police for Western Visayas bears his name. His hometown - Santa Barbara, Iloilo has two streets and a barangay named after their most distinguished son.
A bronze monument stands in front of the Santa Barbara Municipal Hall and a historical marker has been installed at the place where he raised the Filipino’s flag for the first time in victory outside Luzon.
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| GMTD Monument in Santa Barbara, Iloilo |
All these help perpetuate the name of
Gen. Martin Teofilo Delgado (GMTD). And every year the people of Santa Barbara commemorate November 17 in order to recall his legacy of courage, devotion to duty, love of country and unselfish struggle for liberty...
When the Revolution broke out in Luzon in 1896, the Spanish thought that they could keep the Ilonggos loyal to Spain, thus they organized the Volunteer Militia in Iloilo to enlist Ilonggos to fight the Tagalog rebels. Being a “mestizo” and having occupied the highest office in Santa Barbara, Martin T. Delgado was appointed commander of the “voluntarios” in his town.
Unknown to the Spaniards, however, Delgado had already become a “revolucionario”. On October 28, 1898 he publicly declared himself for the Revolution and took over the municipal building, The Revolutionary Government of the Visayas was organized and on November 17, 1898, it was formally inaugurated at the town plaza of Santa Barbara. A large crowd of people gathered from many places in Iloilo to witness the historic occasion.
The Philippine flag was raised for the first time outside Luzon.
Santa Barbara became the base of the Revolutionary Forces and from here Gen. Delgado launched the campaign to liberate the whole province which culminated in the surrender of Iloilo City by Governor-General de los Rios on December 24, 1898.
Almost 120 years later, the heroism of GMTD lives on in a monument dedicated to the Ilonggo general. The statue depicts GMTD mounted on a horse with his right hand on the reins while his left holding his sword.
A dove is perched on Gen. Delgado’s arm symbolizing his quest for freedom, independence, and peace - to liberate his people from the Spanish and American invasion.
The monument stands almost 9 meters high (including the pedestal) and the statue weighs 3.5 tons The pedestal will be covered with granite stone that will include a metal plate with the biographical synopsis of Gen. Delgado.
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| Gines Serran together with Gen. Delgado's grandson - Martin Lucio |
The GMTD statue was made by award-winning Spanish sculptor
Gines Serran-Pagan. It will be the historic centerpiece of the Iloilo Business Park located in front of
Casa de Emperador (a museum for Iloilo culture and arts plus a showcase of the brandy-maker of the same name) just beside the Festive Walk Parade.
Born in Ceuta, Spain,
Ginés Serrán-Pagán has lived most of his life in New York where he graduated in Anthropology from New York University. Xinhua News (Beijing) and EFE News (Madrid) recently considered him as one of the most renowned international contemporary artists in the world today and the western artist who has had more exhibitions in Asia.
He has had in over 225 exhibitions in 20 countries (110 solo exhibitions). His paintings and sculptures are collected by major museums including the Guggenheim Museum of New York and by numerous institutions and private collectors.
He is the recipient of important international awards and acknowledgments. Amongst them, he has received the Medal of the City of Kanazawa, Japan, and the Gold Keys to the City of Miami for his artistic and humanitarian contributions to the world.
Designing and preparation of the statue took three years. Initial drawings were made in December 2012 in Spain. The artist researched the life of Gen. Delgado to reflect his personal character and physical attributes- his uniform and his face.
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| Gines at the Santa Barbara Centennial Museum with Museum Director/Tourism Officer Irene Magallon (left) |
In 2016, Serran started working on the statue which was first made in clay, then fiber glass, and eventually casted into bronze in China. The process took six months.
The combination process of metals is similar to the ones used by Greeks and Romans, guaranteeing the sculpture’s durability which can last up to 5,000 years and even beyond. Shipping of the statue took almost a month from China to the Philippines and the installation took seven days.
A formal inauguration is planned by November to coincide with GMTD's birth and death anniversaries (Nov 11 and 12, respectively) and the celebration of the 119th Commemoration of the Cry of Santa Barbara.
“Filipinos, beloved countrymen! Let us never destroy our precious rights because their loss will be our death and shame. Even if we do not have a single rifle, if all towns will refuse to surrender, with one mind and one heart, the Americans will be ashamed to subjugate or kill us. If this is the fate that will be ours, you will be greater, Filipinas, than all other nations!” - Gen. Martin Teofilo Delgado
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A dove is perched on Gen. Delgado’s arm symbolizing his quest for freedom, independence, and peace - to liberate his people from the Spanish and American invasion.
The monument stands almost 9 meters high (including the pedestal) and the statue weighs 3.5 tons The pedestal will be covered with granite stone that will include a metal plate with the biographical synopsis of Gen. Delgado.
