Juan Alonso Zayas (1869 – October 8, 1898) was a Puerto Rican who served as a second lieutenant in the Spanish Army. He was the commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion stationed in Baler that fought in the Siege of Baler in the Philippines. Early years Zayas was born and raised in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. His father, born in Barcelona, Spain, was an officer in the Spanish Army stationed in the island. Zayas received the best education available as the son of a military official. His main interest was photography, and he became a professional photographer at a young age. In November 1888, when he was 19 years old, Zayas joined the Spanish Army in San Juan. Military career Zayas was first assigned to the Infantry Regiment of Luchana N 28. In May 1889, he was sent to Cuba and assigned to the Battalion of Isabel II and later to the Infantry Regiment of Cuba. Zayas was promoted to the rank of sergeant and sent to the School of Sergeants of the Getafe Civil Guard in Madrid, Spain, before the outbreak of the Cuban Revolt of 1895. By 1897, Zayas was already a second lieutenant, when he received orders to head for the Philippines as commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion stationed in Baler. He arrived in Manila, the capital of the Philippines in May 1897. In Manila, he took a vessel and headed for Baler, which is located on the island of Luzon. Siege of Baler The distance between Manila and Baler is 100 km (62 miles) and if traveled through the jungles and badly built roads, the actual distance would be 230 km (144 miles). At that time, a system of communication between Manila and Baler was almost non-existent. The only way Baler received news from Manila was by way of sea vessels. The Spanish colonial government was under constant attack from the local Filipino groups who wanted their independence from the Spanish Crown. Zayas's mission was to fortify Baler against any possible attack. Among his plans for the defense of Baler was to convert the local church of San Luis de Tolosa into a fort. The independence advocates, under the leadership of Col. Calixto Vilacorte, were called "insurgents" or "Tagalos" by the Spanish authorities. On June 28, 1898, they demanded the surrender of the Spanish Army. The Spanish political governor of the region,