This is about all we know of Melchora Aquino. I do not mean to trivialize her life; my point is, rather, the opposite. These bare facts raise questions yet unanswered, such as: What drove Melchora, at the age of 84, to participate in the revolution? How id she develop her political consciousness? Did she study? What explains her resoluteness?

I ask these questions because Melchora presents an intriguing case of an unusual woman, for we know of no others in their eighties who also risked their lives for the cause of freedom.How can a woman so rare occupy such a miniscule space in our historic past?