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About Santiago Barcelona

About the author: Santiago Barcelona y de los Reyes (May 23, 1863 — March 25, 1937). His great-grandson Gene Barcelona in a blog entry, reproduced the biographical information from which the following was gleaned: Born in  Pulilan, Bulacan; attended the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Bachelor of Arts); studied medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. In 1889, enrolled at the Universidad de Barcelona, earning his licentiate in medicine two years later. In 1894, returned to Manila, opening a clinic in Tondo, but in 1896, was arrested.

After being released, he moved to Singapore for six months. Returned to Manila after the city was taken over by the Americans in August ,1898. Represented Butuan as the appointed delegate to the Malolos Congress. Accompanied General Aguinaldo until his capture in March, 1901. In 1916 unsuccessfully ran as a candidate of the Nacionalista Party. Two sons. Jose S. Barcelona, who became a director of the Philippine General Hospital, and Jaime S. Barcelona.

The Filipinas Heritage Library notes that:

Barcelona was one of two doctors–the other being Simeon Villa–who joined Aguinaldo in his flight to Palanan, Isabela, in November 1899. He, too, was captured by the Americans in March 1901.,, It was in the house of Santos in Singapore that General Aguinaldo stayed during his exile… Aguinaldo gave the rank of brigadier general to Barcelona, but he never used it. A member of the Malolos Congress representing Butuan, he treated the wounded when hostilities broke out on Feb. 4, 1899. Basically an obstetrician, he also attended to Mrs. Aguinaldo during Aguinaldo”s flight in northern Luzon

About the diary: The version used here was published in Aguinaldo’s Odyssey: As Told in the Diaries of Col. Simeon Villa and Dr. Santiago Barcelona, Manila, Bureau of Public Libraries, 1963. A footnote at the beginning of the published version states that,

The texts for this part of the book were gathered and rearranged in chronological sequence, form three separate manuscripts, namely:
(1) Insurgent Records containing Dr. Barcelona’s entries for February 4 and 5, 1899, and his reports on the Paterno and Mabini cabinets and on the advance of the Americans north of Manila;
(2) Memorandum of Our Journey Since January 1900, which relates events that transpired between January 7 and March 3, 1900; and
(3) From Tarlac, which contains entries dated from November 2, 1899 to July, 1900. (This manuscript was translated into English from Mi Album, a diary of the author furnished by his son, Dr. José Barcelona, present Director of the Philippine General Hospital).
Manuscript carries year of 1900.