Ethnicity:
Patrocinio Tagaroma's mother was a Chinese mestiza.
Patrocinio Tagaroma was born on November 19, 1874, in Manila, Philippines. Her father, whose name is not remembered, was a sergeant in the Guardia Civil police force. Her mother was Juanita Panson.
Patrocinio Tagaroma's stage career began early. At a very young age, she began to appear singing in the carrillo or puppet shows performed along side-streets or in private yards where small fees were collected. Then she had appearances in small theaters, first at Teatro Popular on Crespo (now R. Hidalgo) Street, close to Plaza Miranda, where the young performers like Rosario (to become Mrs. Mozas later), Simeona Navoa, Candelaria Punsalan, Andres Ortiz, Manuel Ita, Tomas Earnshaw, and Leopoldo Tronqued were beginning to attract public attention under the name Compañia Lírico Infantil, a dramatic group of young people under the musical direction of Florencio Lerma. She joined this group when she was seven years old.
In 1882 when Francisco de P. Entrala's Cuadros Filipinos, a sainete, was staged in the Tondo Theater, she performed such roles as milkmaid and princess under the direction of the Spanish stage director Alejandro Cubero. She played in Las Amazonas del Tormes, El Barberillo de Lavapies, and others of a similar genre until 1884 when Cubero left for Hong Kong for a season. About the same period, she studied music under Pedro Castañeda and singing under Caria Caballini, an Italian teacher of voice culture. In 1885 she reappeared on the stage in Torear por lo Fino, Musica Clasica, and others until the year 1887 when she sailed for a tour of the south showing chiefly in Iloilo and Negros. With Fernandez, Suzara, Carvajal, she accepted a contract with the Compañia de Navarro Peralta appearing in La Gran Via, Cadiz, etc. , until the dissolution of the company in 1890.
In that year was born the FERSUTA company, an organization getting its name after its chief players - Fernandez, Suzara, and Tagaroma. This theatrical group included Ortiz, Ratia, Barbero, Martinez, Arrieta, and Tronqued. It toured the south for a year where it made a round of well-received engagements until Suzara separated upon being contracted by a Spanish company. Fernandez and Tagaroma, however, stuck together and upon their return to Manila hired the Teatro del Principe, in Binondo, where Tagaroma sang the tiple part in Bocaccio, and acted as Fiameta with Carvajal in La Mascota, A growing audience was becoming responsive to her singing and acting, enabling the production of these plays for a long time.
After appearing in the comedy El Secreto de un Medico by Camilo Millan on January 8, 1892, she joined the Fernandez troupe in September of the same year. This dramatic group then toured the south, made performances in Iloilo and Negros, where it sojourned for one and a half years. Becoming the leading soprano after the marriage of Fernandez in August 1894, Tagaroma performed the part of Antonelli in El Duo de la Africana Zorilla Theater with such public acclaim that she was offered later by the press and the public a popular banquet at the Casino Español in recognition. She joined in 1894 the Compañia de Zarzuela Carvajal which staged a number of plays in the Bikol region, this time as a leading soprano, with Elisea Raguer, the Spanish artist.
In the year 1896, Tagaroma joined Fernando Augusti's Compañia Española which produced short and long plays. Cut short by the Revolution, this company was again organized after the Pact of Biyak-na-bato, and it gave performances in Cebu and Iloilo. Together with Rosario Ogrero, Rosauro Morales, Teodoro Araullo, Faustino Maurat, and others, she joined the group of Carvajal in Malolos after the Filipino-American war started, performing short Spanish plays like Jose Zorilla's El Puñal del Godo and furnishing entertainment in the Revolutionary capital at Malolos. She sang in retreat with the group, following the seat of government as it was moved from town to town, province to province, sometimes performing with prisoners of war. She sojourned for some time in Bautista and Bayambang where the American forces caught up with her and other members of the troupe.
After her return to Manila, she reappeared in Bocaccio at Teatro Filipino, again with such artistic triumph that the press acclaimed that Bocaccio was exclusively written for her. In 1901 the Si-Chui-Chim impresario contracted her together with Suzara, Navoa, Candelaria del Prado, to stage Bocaccio and Las Mascota, besides Anillo de Hierro, Tempestad, Cadiz, etc., which plays were also shown in Cebu which she again visited in 1905 with Carvajal, now her husband.
Tagaroma's dramatic activities were continued until her fiftieth year when she appeared for the last time at the Manila Grand Opera House in La Viuda Alegre. Although she sang parts in Tagalog plays such as in Sumpaan, a zarzuela by Aurelio Tolentino and music by Teodoro Araullo and in Lakandula by Honorio Lopez, her only full appearance in a Tagalog play was in Walang Sugat by Severino Reyes. This attempt to adapt herself to the rising Tagalog drama was not exactly a failure, but it somehow dampened her courage to appear in Tagalog plays again.
Jose Carvajal was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is also known as a founder of his own company, the Compania de Zarzuela Carvajal.
