Lunasona: Maria Adela Felisa Reyes y Tantoco (1879-1945)
All my life
I’ve been fighting a war
I can’t talk to you or your friends
It’s not only you
My heart jumps around when I’m alluded to
This will not do
Role: Lieutenant, then Colonel
House: Slytherin
Personality Type: ENTJ
Favorite food: Tinola, sapin-sapin, almost anything in sight she will eat LOL
Personality: outspoken, bright, intelligent, competitive
1879 – Adela is born to an affluent family in Bulacan, in Malolos during the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. She is the youngest of three siblings. Her family belongs to an ilustrado clan, related to the Reyes clan of Malolos.
1880 – The family moves to Bulakan, Bulacan. Fernando, the father, manages a sterner eye on the lands of the family located in the area.
Fernando makes the close acquaintance of the Enriquez family, who are landowners and live near them.
1881 – Despite being heavily pregnant, Adela’s mother, Philomena becomes Adela’s first teacher. She realizes her youngest is smart and heavily invests in her education.
1882-1887 – Adela is formally introduced to Anacleto and Vicente Enriquez. The three of them become playmates, with the Del Pilar brothers and Adela’s less financially fortunate cousin, Ybiang. Adela enjoys a close friendship with them, playing in the fields, climbing trees and playing hide and seek as well as bathing in the river.
In February 1882, Philomena dies in childbirth, leaving Fernando no choice but to seek a governess and maid and tutors to look after his daughter’s future. He teaches the girl and drills her in the game of chess throughout the years.
Meanwhile, Adela learns to fight for a place at the dinner table with two brothers and a strict father, with an older brother constantly bullying her.
1892 – At the age of 12, Adela is fiercely independent, outspoken, and highly competitive. To counter Adela’s willful nature, Fernando sends her to Manila to study, hoping she can channel her energy to her studies. This separates her from her childhood friends.
Aside from wanting to separate Adela from her male friends, Fernando sent her to Manila to be away of the growing political tension in Bulacan.
Around the same time, her brother, Manolo, welcomes her into their boarding house in Manila. While Adela begins her further studies in Colegio de San Isabel taking up the mantle of an education major, Manolo joins the Katipunan. He later pulls in Vito to be part of the organization. The two brother utilize Adela during meetings, using her as a courier to send messages.
1894 – Adela graduates from her Education major and volunteers for Katipunan Manila branch full-time. She fights for a place to join not just as a courier, but as a rightful member. After four months, she becomes a member under the nom de guerre “Kuneho” and works earnestly beyond what is required to hire and organize spy networks. She also meets Beata Luces and becomes close to her.
In Katipunan, Adela learns to hold a revolver. She trains to become a precise sharpshooter.
1895-1896 – Anacleto and Vicente and Jose Enriquez join Katipunan. Andres Bonifacio sends Adela with them to assist them in taking Katipunan in Bulakan. She assists the brothers in organizing the movement and notably orchestrates the whisper campaign.
The whisper campaign proves effective. Anacleto becomes the face of the movement in Bulakan.
The disappointments at Bulakan; Adela passes the signal to Vicente via a letter. Vicente carries it out, but at the end of the day, the Bulakenos give up. Adela retreats to Manila, leaving some command to him, in order to serve as a messenger between Bonifacio and Anacleto.
Five days later, Battle of San Juan Del Monte. Adela’s baptism by fire; she holds her own against the men. As the battle culminates in a loss, Adela rushes back to Bulakan to hide and continue the revolution and continue her duties.
After hearing about the legendary Miong, Manolo goes to Cavite to lend his strength and services to this figure of strength. Miong’s exploits inspire the Bulakenos to revolt. Dark days; Adela resents him for abandoning Bulakan.
She rises to the occasion to take his place as a commander, performing better than him. Due to her skills, she amasses a slight legend of her own as “Kuneho”. Wary for her life, Adela decides to seek temporary shelter in Kakarong de Sili.
Anacleto’s birthday; Adela gifts him with a handkerchief for his twentieth birthday, having developed feelings for him.
Adela opts not to tell Anacleto about her feelings. General Isidoro Torres, with General Anacleto, are impressed by her work ethic and efforts so she is given a promotion as lieutenant. Torres divides the group into two: one with him, and the other with General Enriquez.
General Enriquez, aided with Colonel Vicente, head to San Rafael instead of Baliuag. Adela opts to hold her ground in Kakarong de Sili, with her men, after being advised by General Enriquez to hold Kakarong. She has one last emotional parting with him before he goes to the mountains and San Rafael.
On the last day of November, Anacleto is killed with 800 of his men. Vicente, surviving the skirmish, regroups to Kakarong De Sili.
Adela welcomes him back with renewed fondness.
Dark days. Vicente suffers from malaria; Adela takes time off to nurse him. The two of them mourn Anacleto.
Goyo comes back in Adela’s life, as a new idol.
The Bonifacio brothers are captured. Manolo brings this news.
Dark days. Adela mourns the loss of the Supremo; she attempts to reach out to Ka Oriang, but her letters are unreceived. Manolo blocks her letters to her comrades.
Adela spends a month between mourning and her duties.
Training begins for the revolutionaries in Paombong.
Julio Nakpil writes to her; she exchanges letters with him to keep tabs on Ka Oriang.
The Raid of Paombong; Goyong asks for her help. She says yes, to keep her mind off her personal grief. This is a success; Goyong asks her to think about being his aide. His interest in her is purely work-related – or so that’s what Adela tells herself. She asks Vicente not to encourage Goyong’s interest.
Adela enrolls in Academia Militar aside from sending her poetry and stories to magazines. She trains under the colonel’s course, despite preliminary doubts about her ability due to her gender and position as a lieutenant. Despite some difficulties, Adela overcomes them.
The training for the revolutionaries end. Adela hears from Julio that Oryang has opted for marriage with him; she sends a belated wedding gift, with her worry and affection.
Goyo and Vicente go overseas; the former to Hong Kong, the latter in Singapore. Adela writes to Vicente; frequent letter-writing.
During one of their letters, he confesses his feelings for her. Adela refuses to reply for a few days; after this, she spurns his advances, due to not being emotionally ready for a relationship. Enteng’s first heartbreak.
During Christmas Eve, Fernando Reyes succumbs to stroke, leaving Adela an orphan in Christmas Day. A lonely Christmas. She turns to her pen to keep holding on.
January
The Academia is forced to close due to the outbreak of war. Adela presents herself to service, bearing her good grades in the colonel course. (Addie: BITCH, I DID THAT).
Due to her track record, good grades and a small amount of nepotism, General Del Pilar takes her in as an aide and promotes her to colonel.
In spite of the romantic rejection, Adela finds herself gravitating towards Vicente more and more.
Adela asks Beata to fight once more, in a visit to Majayjay. She visits often Ilyong and Beata with Vicente. Beata starts suspecting she and Vicente are becoming more than friends.
“Kayo na ba nina Enteng?”
Insert interactions here with Lunasonas LOL
The war effort continues. Adela does her best. But sometimes it’s not enough.
Battle of Quinga, followed by the Battle of Calumpit. Adela shines at her best, as a commander. She worries the revolutionary forces may eventually be forced to go to the mountains and resort to trench warfare at best.
While back in Bulacan during a weekend, a Mr. Ysaciano takes an interest in her work as a writer and due to her orphaned status. He sponsors her living, as Vito and Manolo have abandoned her to go their separate ways in the revolution.
General Luna is killed. Adela investigates in Cabanatuan, and heads to Bamban to catch up to General Del Pilar. She suspects foul play so she investigates into the liquidation of the Bernal camp.
The Del Pilar retinue go to Dagupan. Her first quarrel with Vicente due to the Bernal affair.
Adela meets a challenger for her hand, in the form of Alejandro, an officer, with scholarly leanings. He begins to unofficially court her.
Julian leaves. One less hatchetman to worry about. Adela predicts they will eventually need to go up the mountains since the Del Pilar retinue cannot continue holding San Fabian.
Alejandro proposes marriage to her. Adela keeps the ring, but chooses to prioritize her service to the military.
(Deep in her heart, she knows it’s Enteng she will want to die for, not Alejandro.)
“Sina Ilyong namundok na.”
“Sabi ko, may nauna nang namundok. Hindi tayo ang mauunang mamundok.”
A tiring Odyssey. No food, barely even water. Adela remembers almost dying from the elements but like a good soldier, she keeps her head high.
God bless Vicente, she thinks, as they keep walking.
Tirad Pass. More losses. Adela and Vicente survive.
Adela mourns Goyong, wary of his name being lionized, in her return to Bulacan. Everytime she closes her eyes, she hears the bullets, the shouting and the yelling.
She welcomes comfort in the form of Vicente; the two of them turn to each other for emotional support and comfort as well as friendship.
(And the start of something more).
A new era. Adela turns to her writing and cooking for comfort. She enters the new era with a new identity, under the name Josefa Ysaciano, for protection.
But while she waits, she works. And despite all the odds, she succeeds.
Adela marries. Beata and Ybiang and Julian are invited, among others.
The first two years of marriage are the closest years she has to euphoria. The years of waiting have paid off.
Adela welcomes her first child. Nine more follow, across the years.
(She doesn’t mind a large brood. She’d been lonely, growing up. God, she loved her husband so much.)
Vicente makes a run for a seat representing Bulacan. Despite her worries, she supports him in his bid. During the campaign, she worries about his illness. They try for a cure, with San Miguel but it doesn’t work.
In the end, they opt for treatment in Vienna. In the end, it is an exercise in futility. Adela accepts the end; she spends the last days with him filled with a sense of contentment and longing and so much more. The last day is bittersweet.
Hanggang sa muli, he tells her.
After Vicente’s death, Adela joins Beata in Manila following a period of mourning. There, she rotates between Manila and Bulacan looking after her children until Death knocks at her door.
(But the pain is there, and despite everything, she will endure. For while there is life, there is hope.)
The Women of Malolos by Nicanor Tiongson
An Acceptable Holocaust: The Life and death of a Boy-general by Teodoro Kalaw
The Philippine Revolution of 1896: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times by Florentino Rodao and Felice Noelle Rodriguez
the Goyo and Heneral Luna: The History Behind the Movie books
Elites and Ilustrados in Philippine Culture by Caroline Hau
Updated Addie’s list from this trainwreck
Elora Espano is her face claim whew.
I don’t like bending canon too much :^)
Sorry po sa long wall of text
lyrics are from Lorde, my Lord and Savior
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