Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan

BY VEE ENTUSIASMO, MAT T JOSEPH JUTAR, KEITH LAGUARDIA,

CHESTER MENDOZA, CHRISTINE MENDOZA, KYLA ALLIAH ORTEGA
About the Author
Emilio Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869 in Cavite el
Viejo (present-day Kawit), in Cavite province, to Carlos Jamir Aguinaldo and
Trinidad Famy-Aguinaldo, a Tagalog Chinese mestizo couple who had eight
children, the seventh of whom was Emilio Sr.

Emilio became the "Cabeza de Barangay" of Binakayan, a chief barrio

of Cavite el Viejo, when he was only 17 years old to avoid conscription. In
1895 the Maura Law that called for the reorganization of local
governments was enacted. At the age of 25, Aguinaldo became Cavite el
Viejo's first "gobernadorcillo capitan municipal" (Municipal Governor-
Captain) while on a business trip in Mindoro.

He died at 94 of coronary thrombosis in Veterans Memorial Hospital (now

Veterans Memorial Medical Center) in Quezon City where he was confined
for 469 days before his death.
Content
“Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan” is divided into 3 parts:
(pp. 77-82)
The 1st part tells about Aguinaldo’s hasty arrival at Cavite el Viejo to report to
the Kura how he has failed to accomplish his mission in Kabite. After that, he
immediately went to his house in which he encountered his two counselors, G.
Candido Tria Tirona and Santiago Dano and told them what happened as well.
Then, they decided to apprehend the three guardia civils who are patrolling
their area. Aguinaldo planned to not use violence to convince the guards to
surrender their guns to them but one Cudrillero had stabbed one of the guards
near his heart.
Content
(pp. 95-100)
The 2nd part is about Aguinaldo meeting with G. Jose Tagle, the Balangay Pilar
and Capitan Municipal of Imus at the convent in Cavite el Viejo. Tagle and his
men asked Aguinaldo for assistance in attacking the Spaniards at Imus; the
latter decided to help them and then they marched on to Imus. Two fellow
rebels reported to Aguinaldo that the friars sought shelter inside the convent
while the Guardia Civils are in the tower of the convent. This event sparked
Aguinaldo to develop military strategies in order for them to win.
Content
(pp. 177- 188)
The 3rd part describes the differences between the Magdiwang and Magdalo
faction and the actions they took to save Rizal from being executed.
Learnings
Aguinaldo scribbled a lot in his old age. Between 1928 and 1946, he produced in
long hand the first volume of his memoirs, “Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan (1964),”
translated from the original Tagalog as “Memoirs of the Revolution” (1967). In
his preface Aguinaldo says the memoirs were based on a diary he kept,
documents he preserved, and family lore gathered from his elders.
Many details showed inconsistencies because not all sources were documented
for lack of reliable references.

His memoirs also showed us a glimpse of his emotions during the war and the
kind of events that encouraged Aguinaldo to grow and improve as a leader.