Name: Quiroga
Sex: M
Race: Chinese
Occupation: Businessman
Aliases: “Chinaman Quiroga”
Affiliations:
Background
In El Filibusterismo (El Fili), not much is known about Chinaman Quiroga’s past. It is implied he has a wife (senora) but she is only mentioned and never seen. It is unknown when Chinaman Quroga came to the Philippines, but since then he has become a successful businessman who owns a bazaar and several warehouses. He is a very prominent figure in Manila and is known by all other characters as being very wealthy and influential.
Story
Chapter 10: Chinaman Quiroga doesn’t appear in this chapter but is mentioned by name. While selling jewels at Cabesang Tales’ house, Simoun explains that Chinaman Quiroga offered 6,000 pesos for a green diamond to give to a matron.
Chapter 14: Chinaman Quiroga is mentioned by name by Macaraig, who is telling his fellow students what Padre Irene witnessed in Los Banos. According to Padre Irene, Chinaman Quiroga was there and against the petition for the Academy for Spanish. The students consider trying to influence Chinaman Quiroga but realize he would be too difficult so they choose a different person instead.
Chapter 16: Chinaman Quiroga first appears in this chapter and is the main focus. He hosts a dinner at the top floor of his bazaar. Chinaman Quiroga complains to Simoun and claims that he is having trouble. Simoun asks what happened to the bracelets Chinaman Quroga bought. Chinaman Quiroga and Simoun talk in a private room and Chinaman Quiroga says he showed the bracelets to his “Senora” to ask which one she liked best. She said she liked them all, even though Chinaman Quiroga was supposed to give them to a friend of a senor who would help his business. Chinaman Quiroga complains about everyone borrowing money from him.
Simoun tells Chinaman Quiroga he is helping him by being the one to lend money to other officials, and says he will collect money for Chinaman Quiroga from sailors and officials. Simoun offers to lower the cost of the bracelets from 9,000 to 7,000 pesos if Chinaman Quiroga does a favor for him: since he can bring anything through customs, Simoun asks him to keep crates of Simoun’s guns in his warehouses, since they can’t fit in Simoun’s house.
Chinaman Quiroga is scared but accepts because he needs the discount. They go back to the party.
Chapter 19: Chinaman Quiroga is mentioned because Placido Penitente passes his bazaar while on the way home. Priests can be seen leaving Chinaman Quiroga’s bazaar.
Chapter 21: Rumors are spread that Chinaman Quiroga was one of the people involved in getting the play’s permit approved.
Chapter 25: During the students’ dinner, while they are dedicating dishes to various people, Isagani wants to dedicate the pansit guisado (sautéed noodles) to Chinaman Quiroga, calling him “one of the four powers of the Filipino world”.
Chapter 28: After the poster incident, Chinaman Quiroga becomes paranoid and gets a veteran guard escort. He also does not allow Indios he doesn’t know to enter his bazaar. Friars stop going to his place. Chinaman Quiroga is afraid of being searched since Simoun’s guns are in his warehouse. Chinaman Quiroga tries to go to Simoun for help but Simoun doesn’t want to see him, and says to leave things as they are. Chinaman Quiroga tries to ask Don Custodio if he should arm his bazaar but Don Custodio also refuses to see him. Chinaman Quiroga goes to Ben Zayb, but sees him using revolvers as paperweights so he gets scared and locks himself in his house.
While speculating about who is responsible for the posters, one of the clerks suggests that it was Chinaman Quiroga because he is said to have a hundred thousand pesos in Mexican silver at the bay, and is trying to create a distraction so he can get the chests in.
Chapter 29: Chinaman Quiroga attends Capitan Tiago’s funeral. He gives Don Primitivo a cigar and says that when he himself dies, he will be his own contractor.
Chapter 33: Chinaman Quiroga is mentioned while Basilio and Simoun discuss Basilio’s role in the revolution. Simoun tells Basilio to lead the frightened people to Chinaman Quiroga’s warehouse, because that is where Simoun’s guns are.
Chapter 37: While wondering about who was involved in the bomb plot, the Orenda family suggests Chinaman Quiroga as one of the suspects.
Physical Description
Chinaman Quiroga’s physical appearance is not described.
Personality
Chinaman Quiroga is a successful businessman who is actually quite generous with his wealth. He often gives gifts to people, such as jewels (Chapter 10) and cigars (Chapter 29), and throws dinner parties at the top of his bazaar. He also is known for lending money (Chapter 16) and is friendly to everyone he talks to.
“He was afraid of firearms. In his desk he had an unloaded revolver which he never touched without turning his head and closing his eyes.” (Chapter 16)
However, because Chinaman Quiroga is easily worried (either about money or his own safety), he tends to complain about people’s debts to him. After the poster incident, Chinaman Quiroga becomes scared and no longer friendly. He bans Indio strangers from his bazaar (Chapter 28) and is so nervous he hires a bodyguard and asks his friends for help.
“But [Chinaman Quiroga] prides himself in being the incorruptible.” (Chapter 14)
Chinaman Quiroga is said to be someone who is not easily influenced, and is known not to side with anyone due to personal friendships or bribery. This is a quality he is apparently proud of. However, he still manages to be manipulated by Simoun into keeping guns into his warehouses (Chapter 16) just so he can get a better deal on jewels.
Skills
Business Sense
Chinaman Quiroga is considered so successful that the students even consider him to be “one of the four powers of the Filipino world” (Chapter 25). He often gives gifts to other wealthy people, knowing that maintaining good relationships with them would benefit his business. As a businessman, he is constantly shipping goods into the Philippines, to the point that it is said he can get anything through customs, which is something not even Simoun is capable of.
Relationships
See Relationships of Chinaman Quiroga
Beliefs
Trivia
- Whether Chinaman Quiroga was in Los Banos to attend Capitan General’s meeting is unknown, as he is not mentioned at all in the actual chapter. Padre Irene claims that Chinaman Quiroga was present, but may have been lying.
Quotes
