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A Man of His Generation
rancisco Gregorio Billini belonged to a generation that pursued cultural development, aligning reflec-
tion with political action, as a way to get involved in public affairs. Like most of his peers from the San
Buenaventura school, he questioned conservative worldviews, arguing that the Dominican people
had achieved a national identity which entitled them to the right of self-determination.
From a young age, Billini was passionate about defending his principles and often wrote about them
in the press. He then became involved in nationalist initiatives, but not as a conventional leader. He was a
risk-taker, fighting alongside his brethren.
Despite being a member of high society, he developed a tendency to enjoy and identify with the activities
and simplicity of the poor. As indicated by Rufino Martínez, Goyito, as he was commonly known, was the
epitome of the
Criollo
who enjoyed partying, drinking, and even gambling, as these activities provided a pleas-
ant atmosphere for socialization.
Perhaps this identity, a blend of academic learning and popular cultivation, was molded by his accultur-
ation in Baní, his family’s hometown. The Billinis essentially comprised an entire social class among average
Banilejos,
spanning from Baní to Santo Domingo. Thus, he oscillated between urban and rural traditions, mo-
tivated to discover socially realistic solutions to contemporary issues.
His family tree was expansive and deeply rooted. The family name comes from a French soldier of Italian
origin, Juan
1
Antonio Bellini, who changed his last name to Billini when he, along with many others, decided
to remain in the country. His offspring were connected to the
criollo
branches of the family from the eigh-
teenth century, almost all of whom came from the Canary Islands. Goyito Billini was therefore a relative of
nearly every
banilejo
with urban roots
.
As a young man, he was influential in the Dominican War of Restoration, confronting conservative annex-
ationism. By the end of the 1870s, when this was no longer a threat, he commenced a lengthy career as Editor
in Chief of
El Eco de la Opinión
, one of the most influential Dominican newspapers of the last two decades of
the nineteenth century. Billini was first encouraged by his predecessor to the presidency, Fernando Arturo de
Meriño, to take a cabinet position in his administration and was later elected president of the Republic himself
in 1884. However, due to pressure from both Ulises Heureaux and Gregorio Luperón, he resigned from office.
Although—like many of his peers—he opposed Heureaux’s rise to dictatorship, he abandoned the political are-
na and began to focus on opinion journalism pieces. He also participated in educational activities, because he
believed that this was where salvation was found, and he became a renowned author of literary works, among
which
Baní o Engracia y Antoñita
was one of the most notable.
On November 28, 1898, Billini passed away at the young age of fifty-four. During the last decade of his life,
CHAPTER 12
Francisco Gregorio Billini,
President and Author
By Roberto Cassá
Director of the Archivo General de la Nación. Researcher at the Faculty
of Letters and Philosophy of the Universidad Autónoma of Santo Domingo
The following is an excerpt from the chapter entitled “Francisco Gregorio Billini”
in
Pensadores decimonónicos
by Roberto Cassá. (Santo Domingo: Archivo General
de la Nación and Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, 2019)
•