A Take on Diego and Gabriela Silang's Tragic Love Story

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The fourth and last factor that I will be sharing would be the life that Gabriela had after Diego’s death. There was little information on how specifically Gabriela coped after Diego’s death but accounts on the many sieges that she has led would make a person realize that her way of coping is through continuing the revolution that Diego started. She was able to forge her own path (that is entirely different yet similar to Diego’s) by the people calling her as Henerala, or woman-general. She not only was able to win the battle in her hometown (which happens to be Santa), but was also able to win the hearts of Diego’s comrades and the tribe that her mother is a part of. Despite getting arrested in Vigan after their failed siege, she did not show any ounce of fear or regret of killing the guardia civil and instigating a revolution in her hometown when she was put into public hanging at the Central Plaza in Vigan. This shows us how Diego’s life and ideals have heavily influenced Gabriela and how she died without any ounce of regret.

These factors make up the fact that yes, there is indeed a connection between romanticism and heroism in both their love and historical stories. The fact that both first-hand experiences and a surge of emotions have pushed both Diego and Gabriela to fight for the freedom of the people in Ilocos (and other neighbouring places) would then make us realize that there is a touch of romanticism in their lives. Equipped with the love and understanding that they have for each other, they were a force to be reckoned with. It was their love for each other and for Ilocos (and other neighbouring places) that have led their story to war and death. It was love that made their dedication and principles intact, and somehow paved way to make fellow indios realize that they should love their country enough to fight for it.

The role of Diego and Gabriela Silang in Philippine history is rather vital in showing us an early version of Nationalism – of loving our country to the point of fighting for it to death. Diego was able to introduce to us how oppressive and abusive the Spaniards are to the indios (Filipinos during the Spanish Era). Gabriela then further expanded the early version of Nationalism, believing that strength alone wouldn’t make you the winner in the battles. Gabriela believes that it is also the love that you have; the love that you share with your people that would push you to greater leaps and bounds in fighting for your country – in this case, the Philippines, that would make you a winner.