Name: Macaraig
Sex: M
Race: Indio
Occupation: Student (law)
Aliases:
Affiliations: Students’ Association
Background
Not much is known about Macaraig’s family or past other than the fact that he comes from a wealthy family, that has multiple large houses in the Philippines. At some point, Macaraig joined the Students’ Association and decided to help start a petition to establish an Academy for Spanish. Macaraig is currently studying law, taking it up for the sake of having a degree. He is in his final year of University.
Story
Chapter 2: Macaraig is first mentioned by Isagani as he explains to Capitan Basilio where they plan to get their funds for an Academy for Spanish. Isagani states that Macaraig plans to let them use one of his houses as a school.
Chapter 11: Macaraig is mentioned again, this time by Capitan General’s secretary while they discuss whether to approve the students’ petition for the Academy for Spanish. The secretary names Macaraig as one of the heads of the project, and says that he, Isagani and Basilio have been accused of radicalism. Padre Irene defends Macaraig’s character by saying that he is charming and rich.
Chapter 12: Placido Penitente mentions Macaraig when confronted by a student who wants him to sign a counter-petition against the Academy for Spanish. Placido Penitente refuses to sign it partly because he doesn’t want to go against Macaraig.
Chapter 14: Macaraig’s first appearance is in this chapter. He is in his house, with many students using it for various purposes. He is present during the meeting about the petition for the Academy for Spanish and tells his fellow students news that he heard from Padre Irene. Macaraig reveals to the other students what Padre Irene told him: that everyone was against the petition but Padre Irene proposed the revival of the Superior Commission of Primary Instruction, with Don Custodio being named its chairman. The students decide to have Isagani talk to Senor Pasta so he can convince Don Custodio to approve the petition.
Chapter 21: Macaraig arrives at the theater, ready to watch the play. He has invited Pecson, Sandoval, Isagani and Basilio to share his box but Basilio cannot make it. Macaraig invites both Tadeo and Tadeo’s townmate to join them and Tadeo accepts, while his townmate refuses.
Chapter 22: Macaraig watches the performance with his fellow students in the box he bought. His box is across Pepay’s, and she looks at them happily, making the students think she was successful in getting Don Custodio to approve the petition. Sandoval tells Macaraig and the rest that he asked around and heard that the Superior Commission approved it. The news pleases Macaraig.
After the first act ends, Macaraig leaves during the intermission so he can talk to Pepay. He returns with a bitter smile and gives a paper to Sandoval. It is a letter from Don Custodio to Pepay, saying she reached him too late and that he had already decided, but he believes he resolved the matter, granting the wishes of the students (whom he refers to as “her proteges”).
Macaraig explains that he met with Padre Irene, who congratulated him and said one of the religious corporations will be in charge of the Academy for Spanish in case the Dominicans won’t incorporate it into the University. The students are disappointed by this decision. Macaraig says that they have to collect money for the Academy and turn it over to a treasurer whom the corporation will choose.
Because Padre Irene advised them to celebrate with a banquet to thank those who helped them, the students decide to celebrate the sad news ironically at a panciteria. Macaraig and the rest of the students leave the theater as the second act of the play begins.
Chapter 23: Macaraig is mentioned as having claimed to see Simoun near the hospital at 8:00 pm, during the night of the performance.
Chapter 25: Macaraig is one of the fourteen young men who celebrate (with bitterness) the disappointing results of the petition at Panciteria Macanista de Buen Gusto. During dinner, the students are laughing and joking to cover up their feelings of anger. While dedicating various dishes to people and institutions that influenced the results of their petition, Macaraig says the pansit lang-lang tastes good and they should name it “proyecto de sopa” (project soup) in honor of Don Custodio. He also dedicates the pansit guisado to the government, saying it’s because the government is believed to be Chinese or Japanese but is actually Filipino.
After someone notices that it has gone quiet and people in the plaza are listening to them, Macaraig tells Tadeo to make a speech. Later, they notice they are being watched by a spy of Padre Sibyla, who leaves the pansiteria and enters the carriage of Simoun. Macaraig refers to the spy as “the slave of the Vice-Rector, served by the Master of the General.”
Chapter 26: The day after the dinner, Basilio visits Macaraig to ask for money, since he spent all his savings to free Juli. Basilio sees guards at Macaraig’s house and they tell him to wait for the corporal. The corporal comes down with Macaraig and they are talking calmly. The corporal says Basilio is under arrest as well. Macaraig laughs, and says he will explain the dinner to Basilio. They get into a carriage and Macaraig tells the driver to go to the Civil Government.
Basilio asks for money and Macaraig says it is no problem, and that they will invite the corporal and assisting officer to their graduation festivities.
Chapter 31: Macaraig is the first student freed from jail.
Chapter 32: Macaraig gets a passport and sails to Europe.
Chapter 37: While the Orenda family discusses the rumors about who was involved in the bomb plot, Macaraig is mentioned as a possible suspect.
Physical Description
Macaraig’s physical appearance is not described.
Personality
The most notable feature of Macaraig is that he is very wealthy. He occupies one of his houses by himself and has a servant, cochero, his own arana (vehicle) and horses. Since he grew up rich, it is also apparent in his behavior, as he is described as having “graceful countenance” and “fine manners” (Chapter 14). He is also said to be “elegant”. In Chapter 11, it is apparent that even priests are aware of Macaraig’s fortune, as Padre Irene defends him by calling him “charming and rich”.
“[Macaraig] did not, however, fall behind with respect to ideas and modern trends; his fortune supplied him with all the books and magazines that prior censorship had been able to restrain.” (Chapter 14)
Macaraig is aware of his reputation as a wealthy person and appears to enjoy it and use it to his advantage. He is said to have used his money to gain more knowledge and become more open-minded. He is also a “dialectician in the scholastic tradition” (Chapter 14) and perhaps his interest in languages is what causes him to be pro-Hispanization.
At the end of El Filibusterismo (El Fili), Macaraig again relies on his wealth, this time to get out of a bad situation: he bails himself out of jail and then uses his money to get a passport so he can go to Europe. This is difficult to do as Capitan General’s rule states that only those who can “spend and live with ease” in European cities are allowed to leave (Chapter 32).
Skills
Friendliness
Macaraig is nice to everyone he speaks to and does not seem to mind that students are almost always in his house. He invited his closest friends to share his box while watching the play, and even extends the invitation to Tadeo and Tadeo’s townmate despite not being as close to them. He also freely lends money to those who ask.
In Macaraig’s final appearance in Chapter 26, he is shown to be talking calmly (and even jokingly) with the corporal even while being arrested, and is pleasant toward Basilio, unlike the other students who did not pay much attention to Basilio after the poster incident.
Relationships
Beliefs
On Hispanization
Macaraig is very enthusiastic about supporting the petition for the Academy for Spanish. Though his reasons for doing so are never stated, he is even willing to allow one of his houses to be used as a school. He is considered one of the “heads” of the project and actively finds ways to help improve their chances of getting the petition approved.
Trivia
- It is unknown why Macaraig did not use his wealth to free his fellow students, though perhaps the government may have prevented him from doing so anyway.
