Ilustrados in Madrid, c.1890; Standing clockwise from left: Vicente Francisco, Cajigas, José Abreu, Mariano Abella, Dominador Gómez, Francisco Tongio Liongson, Flaviano Cordecruz, a Tuazon from Malabon, Alejandro Yance de Lara, Lauro Dimayuga, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Gregorio Aguilera, José Rizal, José Alejandrino, Baldomero Roxas, Moises Salvador, Modesto Reyes, Gaudencio Juanengo, Pablo Rianzares Bautista; Seated from left: Dr. Santamaria, Candido Morada, Damaso Ponce, Ariston Bautista, Pedro Serrano Lactao, and Teodoro Sandiko
They were late Spanish-colonial-eramiddle to upper class Filipinos, many of whom were educated in Spain and exposed to Spanish liberal and European nationalist ideals. The ilustrado class was composed of Philippine-born and/or raised intellectuals and cut across ethnolinguistic and racial lines—mestizos(both de Sangleyes and de Español), insulares, and indios, among others—and sought reform through "a more equitable arrangement of both political and economic power" under Spanish tutelage.
^History of the Philippines, Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, PhilippineEmbassy-USA.org (undated, archived from the original on July 13, 2007), retrieved on: August 1, 2007