José Triviño MERCADO (18xx –  ) was Socorro’s 2nd great grandfather.  He was also José Rizal’s first cousin.

José Triviño Mercado was born 18xx. His parents were Gregorio Fernando A. MERCADO and Eulalia TRIVIÑO. He married Dorotea Moxica QUIZON. Santos died xx.

Dorotea Moxica Quizon was born in 1857. Her parents were Vicente QUIZON and Gregoria MOXICA. Dorotea died 18 Feb 1929 San Juan, Calabarzon, Philippines.

Dorotea Moxica Quizon

Dorotea had two brothers and six sisters, named Regino, Juan Sr., Evarista, Urbana, Lutgarda, Estanislawa, Julia and Maxima. She was the youngest of the nine children. Married Jose when she was 13. Became a widow at 21. She died at the age of 72 on February 18th, 1929. Buried in San Juan, Batangas.

Children of José and Dorotea:

Three other children died of small pox.

Dorotea’s mother was Gregoria Moxica.  The Moxica family was one  of the earliest landlords in San Juan. “The Moxicas had a lot of land, properties said to have come from Fray Damaso Moxica, the friar who built the town’s (earlier) church.” (Martin Tinio Jr., Batangas Forged in Fire, p. 188). The Fray who came from his previous post in Imus, Cavite arrived in San Juan in 1847 and was the town parish priest for more than 30 years. Lore has it that four children whom the Fray brought with him from Cavite may have descended from the Fray. Later, another child born in San Juan was also said to be a descendant of the Fray. The Mojica children (interchangeable with Moxica) were however mostly female and thus the name is not found in San Juan today. The line however helped produced some of the oldest and wealthiest Angkan families in San Juan including the  Quizon, Mercado, Javier and Magtibay families. This Angkan’s ancestral lands are found in the  northeastern quadrant of the town and include areas of Quezon province close to the Malaking Ilog

Children

1. Maria MERCADO (See Santos LOPEZ‘s page)

2. Leon Quizon Mercado

Leon Quizon Mercado, also known as “Kapitan Leon”, was a Katipunero from San Juan who joined the Revolution at age seventeen. He studied in Letran and was fluent in Latin and Greek. He joined the Revolution at seventeen and was known as Kapitan Leon.

The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinosi in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night of July 7, when Filipino writer José Rizal was to be banished to Dapitan. Initially, the Katipunan was a secret organization until its discovery in 1896 that led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.

Flag of the Katipunan in 1897

The word “katipunan”, literally meaning ‘association’, comes from the root word “tipon”, a Tagalog word meaning “gather together” or society

Being a secret organization, its members were subjected to the utmost secrecy and were expected to abide with the rules established by the society.   Aspirant applicants were given standard initiation rites to become members of the society. At first, membership in the Katipunan was only open to male Filipinos; later, women were accepted in the society. The Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Liberty) that had its first and last print on March 1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within the society, and Philippine literature were expanded by some of its prominent members.

In planning the revolution, Bonifacio contacted Rizal for his full-fledged support for the Katipunan in exchange for a promise of rescuing Rizal from his detainment. On May 1896, a delegation was sent to the Emperor of Japan to solicit funds and military arms. The Katipunan’s existence was revealed to the Spanish authorities after a member named Teodoro Patiño confessed the Katipunan’s illegal activities to his sister, and finally to the mother portress of Mandaluyong Orphanage. Seven days after the Spanish authorities learned of the existence of the secret society, on August 26, 1896, Bonifacio and his men tore their cedúlas during the infamous Cry of Balintawak that started the Philippine Revolution.

(Wikipedia says – “Kapitan” Leon Quizon Mercado – Katipunero, Participated in the insurrection against the US, Farmer, “Coconut King of Batangas” till the early 1960’s)

After the revolution against Spain, Leon also participated in the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).

Leon Quizon Mercado was a young katipunero who served out his term as one of the appointed punong-bayan of San Juan Batangas between the revolutionary years 1892-1899.

In each province where there were Katipunan members, a provincial council called Sangguniang Bayan was established and in each town was an organized popular council called Sangguniang Balangay. Each Bayan and Balangay had its own set of elected officials: Pangulo (president); Kalihim (secretary); Tagausig (fiscal); Tagaingat-yaman (treasurer); Pangalawang Pangulo (vice president); Pangalawang Kalihim (vice secretary); mga kasanguni (councilors); Mabalasig (terrible brother);  Taliba (guard); Maniningil (collector/auditor); Tagapamahala ng Basahan ng Bayan(custodian of the People’s Library);   Tagapangasiwa (administrator);   Manunulat (clerk);   Tagatulong sa Pagsulat (assistant clerk); Tagalaan (warden); and Tagalibot (patroller).   Each Balangay were given a chance to expand their own spheres of influence, through a triangle system in order to elevate their status to Sangguniang Bayan.    Every Balangay that did not gain Sanggunian Bayan status were dissolved and annexed by greater provincial or popular councils.

During the war it is said that Leon captured an American soldier and spared his life. In exchange, the American soldier taught Leon how to speak English.

“Among the other towns in the province of Batangas, San Juan fought harder against the
Americans that it necessitated an order from Gen. Franklin Bell to activate the repressive zona system in the town. This caused hardship to San Juan where perhaps in the whole Tagalog  region, San Juan lost the most number of people (from disease, if not from battle wounds).”  In an account of the Philippine-American war  it was written that “one (zona) camp 2 miles wide by one mile long housed 8,000 Filipinos and sometimes over 200 were confined to one building. In camps in Lobo and San  Juan, over 20% of the population died.”

The 1903 census declared mortality rates in Batangas  Province as follows:

An account of the Philippine-American War in 1899-1902 in the province of Batangas. Glenn Anthony May, an Oregon History Professor fuels controversy in this examination of the Philippine-American War. He rejects  previously accepted explanations , popularized by Teodoro Agoncillo, that the Philippine Revolution was a revolt of the masses. Instead, he argues that the experience of Batangas was unique because it was the political and economic elite of the province who became the backbone of local resistance, serving as military leaders and extending financial and other forms of assistance to the revolutionary troops.
(Yale University Press, 1991.).

Once the war with the Americans was over, Leon became a successful farmer and was known as the “Coconut King of Batangas”.  Like the Triviño and Marasigan families, Leon Mercado also invested in more coconut plantations in Naga City after the war. Leon Mercado and his wife Emiliana Sales built the Mercado heritage house Casa Leon along Burgos Street in the north side of town. Leon died in the 1960s.

The Bahay na bato, the colonial Filipino house, followed the nipa hut’s arrangements such as open ventilation and elevated apartments. The most obvious difference between the two houses would be the materials that was used to build them. The bahay na bato was constructed out of brick and stone rather than the traditional bamboo materials. It is a mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences.

He had twelve children including Dominador Mercado who developed Corinthian Gardens and Tahanan Village, and Leon Antonio Mercado, architect of Legaspi Towers.

(Wikipedia says: Architect Leon Sales Mercado Jr. – Philippine Architect. Founder/Principal Architect/President of LAS Mercado and Associates from the 1960’s to the 90’s, a firm that specialized/pioneered in the design of large residential development/condominium complexes and private residences in the greater Manila area and suburbs (First to break the 20 floor barrier for high-rise construction in the Philippines). Designer of various higher education facilities (UP). President and founder of “Rainbow Philippines” a citizen’s band radio organization in the 70’s. Youngest son of “Kapitan” Leon Quizon Mercado)

Leon’s children include Angie Marasigan (the grandmother of the famous talented jeweler Ciara Marasigan), Rosing Mayo (f), Dedes (f), Mameng Manalo (f), Ines Gonzales, Pepe Meracdo, Daddy Mercado, Goring Mercado, Bandok Mercado, Loring Mercado and Tony Mercado (the architect who built Legaspi Towers).

Sources:

http://www.geni.com/people/Jose-Trivino-Mercado/6000000010532388296?through=6000000010532142795

For more on San Juan, click here for The San Juan Batangas Legacy.pdf  by Leon Mayo.