The Hong Kong-based Filipino curator reframes the national hero’s legacy through family, sacrifice, and the personal cost of patriotism

Exhibition curator Pax Pineda at the Marcelo: The Man Behind The Hero press con/opening held last Friday, Sept 4, 2026, at the Ayala Museum Ground Floor

 At 17, Pax Pineda takes an introspective approach to Philippine history, looking beyond the socio-political contributions of his great-great-great-grandfather, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, to understand the man who made extraordinary sacrifices for his family and country.

Through his debut exhibit, MARCELO: THE MAN BEHIND THE HERO (Reflections on the Legacy of Marcelo H. Del Pilar), Pineda turns his attention to the human cost of Del Pilar’s patriotism. The exhibition runs from September 4 to October 17, 2026, at the 2F Lobby of Ayala Museum’s Diorama Experience Gallery.

According to Pineda, the project was conceived to examine Del Pilar outside of his legacy in the history books. “Often, history books shroud our heroes behind a dense wall of specific publications, dates, and political actions,” he says. By examining Del Pilar through family, personal loss, and sacrifice, Pineda hopes visitors can understand the humanity behind the historical figure.

Pineda’s perspective is informed by his unusual position as both descendant and researcher. While his family connection gives him a personal stake in the story, he approached the curation as an objective historical inquiry, balancing familial passion with rigorous research to keep the exhibition historically sound and grounded in facts.

“In traditional classrooms, Lolo Marcelo might at times appear as a static figure on a page—someone who did good things for his country but lacked qualities we can relate to,” Pineda explains. “This exhibition aims to strip away that historical mystery and introduce the actual character of the man. I want visitors to see that, despite his profound, enduring love for his wife and daughters, he was willing to sacrifice his happiness. He sacrificed the comforts of family life for a slim chance at building something beautiful: the very nation we inherit today.”

Beyond foundational materials such as Dasalan at Tocsohan and La Solidaridad, the exhibit also features personal letters that reveal Del Pilar as a loving, involved father to Sofia and Anita despite the thousands of miles separating them. For Pineda, these documents challenge the idea that his absence represented a lack of love. Instead, they present a loving man who endured poverty, isolation, and homesickness in the hope of securing a better future for his children and homeland.

The exhibition also places Del Pilar’s sacrifices in a more extensive contemporary context. As a Filipino growing up in Hong Kong, Pineda sees parallels between his ancestor’s life abroad and the experiences of Filipinos in the diaspora today—people who live far from their families while working toward better lives for those at home.

Ultimately, Pineda hopes the exhibition encourages younger Filipinos to see history through sympathy rather than memorization. “Young people might not relate to editing a reformist newspaper, but they absolutely understand love, homesickness, and standing up for what is right,” he says.

MARCELO: THE MAN BEHIND THE HERO (Reflections on the Legacy of Marcelo H. Del Pilar) is co-presented by the Ayala Museum and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

About the curator

Pax Pineda is a 17-year-old Filipino high school senior at the ESF South Island School in Hong Kong. He has been deeply interested in history, particularly American history, from an early age. His interest first came when he and his family traveled to the U.S. for a vacation and spent 24 hours in Washington, D.C. Over the last few years, he has become increasingly interested in Philippine history, especially in the life and work of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, who is his direct great-great-great-grandfather.

Pax has nurtured his love for history for more than a decade, be it through writing about it in his spare time, reading numerous history books, or, currently, through a passion project with the Ayala Museum—a pop-up exhibit on Marcelo H. Del Pilar. College plans include majoring in history at a university in the US. In his free time, he is an avid footballer and has played for years in Hong Kong’s highest youth football division. He also enjoys running, watching sports, video games, and spending time with friends and family.