author
G. B. (Gabriel Beato) Francisco
A pioneering voice in early Tagalog literature, this Manila-born writer helped shape the Filipino novel at a time of political and cultural change. He is best remembered today for work that linked literature, journalism, and the revolutionary spirit of his era.
1 Audiobook
Ang Katipunan
by G. B. (Gabriel Beato) Francisco
About the author
Born in Sampaloc, Manila, in 1850, Gabriel Beato Francisco was a Filipino writer who worked in Tagalog and is remembered as a novelist, playwright, and journalist. Sources available here describe him as one of the early important figures in Tagalog prose, and note that he studied first in a parish school and later at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios.
He is often credited with writing Cababalaghan ni P. Bravo, which was serialized in Ang Kapatid ng Bayan in 1899 and is described by some sources as the first published Tagalog novel. He also wrote Ang Katipunan, a Tagalog dramatic work tied to the atmosphere of the Philippine Revolution and later preserved by Project Gutenberg.
Francisco died in Manila on December 19, 1935. Even from the small set of confirmed details, his place in literary history stands out: he belonged to the generation that helped move Tagalog writing into the modern age.