LEÓN KILAT – Visayan Hero In The Philippine Revolution
LEÓN KILAT – In this topic, we will now know some interesting and amazing facts about the Visayan hero in the Philippine Revolution: León Kilat.
Kilat, also known as his real name Pantaleón Villegas y Soldi, was born in the municipality of Bacong, Negros Oriental. His parents are Don Policarpio Villegas and Doña Úrsula Soldi. Let us now know some interesting facts about the hero.
Interesting Facts
1. He works at a drugstore
Villegas travelled to Cebu to work in a drugstore called Botica Antigua, which was located in the corner of Calle del Palacio and Calle Legaspi, now called Burgos and Legaspi, respectively. He worked with Ciriaco Murillo and Eulogio Duque.
2. How he got his name.
While working in the drugstore, Villegas used the name “Eulogio”. however, the store already has another employee called “Eulogio” and would cause a confusion if there are two “Eulogios” so the owner decided to call Villegas “León” from his name Panteleón which in Cebuano means “lion”. He was added another name “Kilat” (Cebuano for lightning) because of this next following facts.
3. His recruit in Katipunan and the occult
He was reportedly recruited in the secret council of Katipunan via a circus owned by Tagalogs on their way to Manila, which is involved in the occult, sciences, magic, and other enigmatic practices.
4. His myth
In relation to the third fact, he was told to have a special amulet (anting-anting) which renders him invincible. Villegas was also rumored to teleport.
5. His revolution
Kilat led a revolutionary group in Panay, Negros Island, and Cebu. On April 1, 1898, he began the uprising against the Spanish garrison in the city of Talisay, Cebu. He started the revolution on April 3 that is now known as “Tres de Abril” under the name “Heneral León Kilat”.
6. His death
On April 8, 1898 not long after the revolution, he was killed by his comrade Apolinario Alcuitas (other accounts call him Reinaryo or Renario) by stabbing him to death. The myths told that Apolinario tried to see if Kilat’s amulet will protect him from getting killed.
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