A 17-year-old descendant of Marcelo H. Del Pilar is drawing on personal letters and family stories to give younger Filipinos a more relatable view of the national hero through a pop-up exhibit in Makati City.

“This exhibit aims to try and reach the younger audiences through a method that isn’t a textbook, that isn’t shrouded behind historical facts, figures, and historical events,” the young curator told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“It tries to make him more relatable, make him more approachable, make him easier to learn about, and I really hope that that will be the case when young people visit this exhibit,” he added.

Mr. Del Pilar, who wrote under the pen name Plaridel, was known as a propagandist who laid the ideological groundwork for the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Together with José Rizal and other reformists, he belonged to the Propaganda Movement, which sought reforms in the Spanish colonial administration through writings rather than armed struggle. His pen name endures in Philippine media circles: the country’s premier award for journalism is called the Marcelo H. del Pilar Award, and several press organizations have used “Plaridel” in his honor.

The collection includes personal letters Mr. Del Pilar wrote to his daughters, Sofia and Anita, during his time in Spain between 1889 and 1895. According to the young curator, the hero’s “forward-thinking opinion” on women’s rights during an oppressive era stands out among the highlights of these letters.

“My exhibit is mainly about trying to emphasize the character behind the man and emphasize his devotion to his family as well as his devotion to his country,” Mr. Pineda said.

“He writes constantly about how women should be given more rights…and it’s really admirable that he stood up for his beliefs,” he added. “He stuck to his guns, and he was stubborn in the fact that he was willing to basically die on that hill and for the stuff he believed in.”

The exhibit also showcases the hero’s well-known works, Dasalan at Tocsohan and La Solidaridad, on loan from the Museo ni Marcelo H. del Pilar at Sitio Cupang, Bulacan.

Dasalan at Tocsohan is a satirical piece Mr. Del Pilar wrote under the pen name Plaridel in 1888, exposing the greed and corruption of the Spanish colonial period. La Solidaridad, the newspaper on which the Filipino propagandist served as editor-in-chief, published essays, exposés, poems, and speeches documenting the abuses of the Spanish friars in the country. The Madrid-based paper served as the principal organ of the Reformist Movement, giving Filipino expatriates a platform to air grievances against colonial rule.

“Having the privilege of being directly related to him means that my family has personal stories,” Mr. Pineda said. “I think that gives me an extra perspective, and it therefore strengthens my ability to curate exhibits and to try to spread my message to other people.”

The exhibit, titled Lolo Marcelo: The Man Behind the Hero (Reflections on the Legacy of Marcelo H. Del Pilar), will run until Oct. 17, 2026, at the 2F Lobby of Ayala Museum’s Diorama Experience Gallery in Makati City. — Almira Louise S. Martinez