El Filibusterismo Character Analysis

Simoun (Ibarra)

Simoun is a mysterious jeweler. Though no one knows his exact origins, Simoun is fabulously wealthy and is the closest advisor to the captain-general, who he has known since they both lived in Cuba… read analysis of Simoun (Ibarra)

Isagani

Isagani is a Filipino student, poet, and leader of the movement for the Spanish-language academy. The nephew of Father Florentino, Isagani is deeply proud of his country and people and optimistic about their future… read analysis of Isagani

Basilio

Basilio is a Filipino medical student. A native of San Diego, Basilio’s mother died when he was a young boy as part of the events surrounding Ibarra’s downfall. The orphaned Basilio then traveled to… read analysis of Basilio

Don Custodio

Don Custodio is an influential Manila politician of Spanish descent. Traveling to the Philippines as a young man, Custodio quickly found business success, which he then translated into political capital. Custodio sits on numerous committees… read analysis of Don Custodio

Ben Zayb

Ben Zayb is a prolific Manila hack journalist. His pen name, an anagram of his real last name Ibáñez, indicates his flair for the dramatic and a writerly style that often runs afoul of the… read analysis of Ben Zayb

Father Irene

Father Irene is a Spanish priest and prominent leader in the colonial power structure. A close confidante of Captain Tiago’s, Irene enables his opium addiction, frustrating Basilio. Politically risk-averse, Irene refuses to take… read analysis of Father Irene

Doña Victorina

Doña Victorina is a wealthy mestiza socialite, the wife of Don Tiburcio and aunt of Paulita Gómez. Victorina is obsessed with Europeanizing herself and denying her indio heritage, and she treats Filipino culture and… read analysis of Doña Victorina

Paulita Gómez

Paulita Gómez is a beautiful young socialite and the niece of Doña Victorina. Though she is engaged to Isagani, Paulita rejects his romantic vision of Filipino nationalism, instead opting for the European outlook… read analysis of Paulita Gómez

Father Camorra

Father Camorra is a young priest in charge of the area around San Diego. Camorra is distinguished by his tactlessness and lechery, as he frequently engages in sexual escapades despite his position. Camorra is especially… read analysis of Father Camorra

Father Salví

Father Salví is an elderly Spanish priest and prominent leader in the colonial power structure. An important figure in Ibarra’s demise, Salví’s suppressed guilt is painfully brought to the surface by Mister Leeds’s… read analysis of Father Salví

Father Sibyla

Father Sibyla is a Spanish priest and prominent leader in the colonial power structure. The most conservative even of the priests, Sibyla strongly opposes the students’ plan for an independent Spanish-language academy, and he successfully… read analysis of Father Sibyla

Captain Tiago

Captain Tiago is wealthy landowner with a severe opium addiction. Tiago, who purchased the land formerly belonging to Ibarra, took Basilio under his wing, offering him work as a servant and supporting him through… read analysis of Captain Tiago

The Captain-General

The captain-general is the Spanish colonial commander of the Philippines. Previously stationed in Cuba, the captain-general grew close with Simoun, who is now his most trusted advisor. The captain-general is a capricious and arbitrary… read analysis of The Captain-General

The Chief of Staff

The chief of staff is a Spanish colonial officer and the captain-general’s deputy in the Philippines. A dedicated civil servant, the chief of staff advocates on behalf of reformist proposals as common sense, seeing… read analysis of The Chief of Staff

Father Florentino

Father Florentino is an indio priest and Isagani’s uncle. Florentino resides in the provinces, and he is a kindhearted man and firm believer in nonviolence and self-improvement. Florentino harbors both Don Tiburcio and, later… read analysis of Father Florentino

Cabesang Tales

Cabesang Tales is a farmer and the father of Julí and Tanó. Tales’s land is expropriated by the church, which demands rent since Tales cannot produce a title deed. His legal battle to reclaim… read analysis of Cabesang Tales

Julí

Julí is the daughter of Cabesang Tales and the fiancée of Basilio. Unable to raise enough money to pay her father’s ransom otherwise, Julí sells herself into servitude for Sister Penchang. When she… read analysis of Julí

Tandang Selo

Tandang Selo is Cabesang Tales’s father and Tanó and Julí’s grandfather. After Julí sells herself into servitude, Tandang Selo loses his ability to speak. Later, when Julí is killed visiting Father Camorra… read analysis of Tandang Selo

Father Fernández

Father Fernández is a Spanish priest distinguished by his sympathy for his Filipino students and engaged, active teaching style. Fernández unsuccessfully advocates on behalf of the Spanish-language academy. Before Isagani’s arrest, however, Fernández’s confrontation… read analysis of Father Fernández

Don Tiburcio

Don Tiburcio is a Spanish gentleman and the husband of Doña Victorina. After hitting her during an argument, Tiburcio flees their unhappy marriage, hiding in the country as a guest of Father Florentino’s… read analysis of Don Tiburcio

Juanito Peláez

Juanito Peláez is a mestizo student and the son of Don Timoteo. A ruthless opportunist, Juanito joins the student movement only to quit as soon as the state crackdown begins. He successfully avoids punishment… read analysis of Juanito Peláez

Father Millón

Father Millón is a Dominican friar and Plácido Penitente’s physics instructor. A cruel and vindictive teacher, Millón enjoys embarrassing his students with difficult questions he has not taught them how to answer. Millón’s sense… read analysis of Father Millón

Makaraig

Makaraig is a wealthy Filipino student and one of the leaders of the movement for a Spanish-language academy. Makaraig’s house is used as a meeting place, and he generously supports the other students with loans… read analysis of Makaraig

Quiroga

Quiroga is a successful Chinese merchant with significant influence in Manilan business and society. Despite his power and wealth, Quiroga remains marginalized due to his Chinese background, and he strives to establish a Chinese consulate… read analysis of Quiroga

Don Timoteo

Don Timoteo Peláez, a prominent Manilan businessman, is the father of Juanito Peláez. Timoteo is a ruthless operator who uses his influence to mandate the demolition of houses so that he can sell their… read analysis of Don Timoteo

Mister Leeds

Mister Leeds is the mysterious American owner of an exhibit at the Kiapo Fair, which he claims is a talking head retrieved from Egypt. After the head and its tale of revenge—strikingly similar to Ibarra… read analysis of Mister Leeds

Sister Penchang

Sister Penchang is a deeply religious widow living in San Diego who agrees to loan Julí the ransom money for Cabesang Tales on the condition that Julí works for her as a live-in servant until… read analysis of Sister Penchang

María Clara

María Clara was the former fiancée of Ibarra. She was forcibly sent to a convent after his demise. Her father, Captain Tiago, gave her locket to Basilio, who then then gifted it… read analysis of María Clara

Minor Characters

Plácido Penitente

Plácido Penitente is a Filipino student. Already depressed and isolated in university, Father Millón’s abuses push Plácido to quit in protest, despite his mother’s misgivings. Plácido hopes to leave the Philippines for Hong Kong, but when he asks Simoun for help he is instead recruited into the revolutionary plot.

Señor Pasta

Señor Pasta is Quiroga’s lawyer. The students hope Pasta, a successful Filipino professional, will be amenable to their pleas for help influencing Don Custodio, but Pasta rebuffs Isagani and refuses to risk his position on the students’ behalf.

Sandoval

Sandoval is a Spanish student who joins the movement for a Spanish-language academy in solidarity with his Filipino peers. Sandoval is easily carried away by his own rhetoric and forgets that the law treats him very differently from his Indigenous peers.

Tanó

Tanó is Cabesang Tales’s only surviving son. Drafted into the army and sent to the Carolinas before his father’s kidnapping, Tanó is ignorant of what happens to his family until, during a firefight with bandits, he accidentally shoots his own grandfather, Tandang Selo.

Pecson

Pecson is a Filipino student and one of the leaders of the movement for a Spanish-language academy. He is distinguished by his pessimism, frequently prompting arguments between him and Sandoval.

Captain Basilio

Captain Basilio is a local notable in San Diego. In his eagerness to impress Simoun while purchasing jewels, Captain Basilio accidentally reveals his deep cultural and historical ignorance, a trait he shares with much of the colonial elite.

The Fireworks Maker

The fireworks maker is one of Simoun’s deputies in his planned revolution, set to begin during the operetta. After the plot falls through, the fireworks maker causes small-scale chaos across Manila, but a larger uprising never materializes.

Boiled Shrimp

Boiled Shrimp is a beggar of Spanish descent who roams the streets of Manila. Aware of developments in the capital that the government is too self-absorbed to notice, Boiled Shrimp catches on to Simoun’s plot during the operetta but decides to keep quiet.

The Coachman

The coachman who takes Basilio to San Diego frequently suffers at the hands of the colonial authorities. He later repays Basilio’s sympathetic listening by bringing him news in prison.

Pepay

Pepay is a dancer, prominent member of Manilan high society, and Quiroga’s on-and-off lover.

Tadeo

Tadeo is a braggadocious, ignorant student who joins the others at the operetta in Basilio’s place.