He enrolled in medicine at the University of Valencia but did not complete his studies, much to Rizal’s chagrin, and succumbed to
tuberculosis in his late thirties. Another leading propagandista, Mariano
Ponce, took his medical degree at Santo Tomás, moved to Spain, wrote incendiary
articles for La Solidaridad, and eagerly tried to supply the Filipino revolutionary
forces with weapons. In the early twentieth century, under the U.S.
regime, Ponce joined the National Party and established El Ideal.