Rizal

The Man, The Myth, The

Legend

A Special Report on the man

we call hero and inspiration
for a revolution
Did Rizal’s family &
childhood shape
him to be the man
& patriot that he is?
Is the life of a hero,
philanthropist and Patriot
worth the freedom of
generations of Filipinos?
Rizal’s Parents Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda (1826-1911)
Don Francisco Mercado (1818-1898)
- Born in Manila November 8,
- Born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818
1826
- Studied Latin & Philosophy in College of
- Studied at College of Santa Rosa
San Jose Manila
- Remarkable for her refined
- Tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned
culture, literary talent, business
hacienda
ability, and fortitude of Spartan
- Known as a silent but hardworking man
- Fluent in Spanish
- Valiant in body and spirit
- Died in Manila on August 16,
- Died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at age 80
1911 at age 85
- Rizal regarded him as a “model father”
 Rizal’s Siblings
Saturnina Rizal - eldest sister, married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo
- Nicknamed “Neneng”
Paciano Rizal - Only brother and closest to Rizal
- Became a farmer and a general during the PH revolution
- Jose Rizal regarded him as the “most noble of Filipinos”
Narcisa Rizal - nicknamed as SIsa
- Married Antonio Lopez
Olympia Rizal - nicknamed Ypia
- Married Silvestre Ubaldo
Lucia Rizal - Married Matriano Herbosa, nephew to Rev Casañas
Maria Rizal - Nicknamed as Biang
- Married Daniel Faustino Cruz
 Rizal’s Siblings
Concepcion Rizal – nicknamed Concha
- died at age three
- Jose Rizal’s first greatest sorrow

Josefa Rizal – an epileptic

- died a spinster

Trinidad Rizal – last member of the family to die

Soledad Rizal – youngest child

- married Pantaleon Quintero
 Fast Facts

Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born in June

19, 1861 to parents Francisco Mercado & Teodora Alonso

Born in the town of CALAMBA, LAGUNA

Family consists of 9 sisters & 2 brothers

Lineage of Rizal’s father can be traced to Fujian

His mother’s lineage can be traced to Chinese and Japanese roots

 Rizal’s Childhood

● Called as Ute or Pepe/Pepito in his town. Although he hates it

when people emphasize on his height
● He spends most of his time in the garden because he was an
easily ill child so he wanted the fresh air
● His father built him a nipa cottage for him to play in the garden
● He prayed the Angelus often with his mother
● He took nocturnal walks with his maid
● At age five, he can haltingly read the Spanish bible
● He can also make exquisite sketches sculptures
● His wrote his first poem at eight years old entitled “Sa Aking
Mga Kababata”
 Rizal’s Childhood
● At the same age, he wrote his first dramatic work that was
reenacted in the Calamba festival
● He was interested in magic and read many books about it also
● He was picky in his food so the maid would threaten him that
the aswang, tikbalang and the like would haunt him
● Although an introverted child, he loved observing fruits and
flowers bloom as well as the clouds
● He loved listening to the water waves, birds chirping, and the
breeze murmuring
● He also loved carpentry and wood craft
● He would always collect and keep statues in his room
● His sisters would laugh at this foolishness, but he often replied
with “Someday, people will put up monuments in my honor”
 The Great Influencers
Tio Jose Alberto – helped develop the artistic ability of Rizal
Tio Manuel – guided Rizal in physical exercises
Tio Gregorio – enhanced Rizal’s voracious reading of good books
Father Leoncio Lopez – fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and intellectual honesty
- Rizal would take pilgrimages to Antipolo
Maestro Celestino – first private tutor
Maestro Lucas Padua – first science tutor
Leon Monroy – former classmate of his father that taught him his Spanish and Latin
Pedro – his classmate that challenged him into a fight
Juancho – an old painter, who was the father-in-law of his school teacher. Juancho
freely gave him drawing and painting lessons
Arturo Camos- French friend of Rizal’s father that took care of him on board
 Young at Injustice
June 1872 – Doña Teodora was suddenly arrested on malicious
charge that she and her brother Jose Alberto tried to poison the
latter’s wife

Antonio Vivencio del Rosario – Calamba’s gobernadorcillo who

helped arrest Rizal’s mother
- After arresting her, she was punished by
walking from Calamba to Santa Crus which was
50 km away
- She was incarcerated at the provincial prison
where she languished for two years
Francisco de Marcaida and Manuel Marzan – the most
renowned lawyers of Manila that helped Doñ Teodora.
 Rizal from the eyes of others
Rizal’s narratives and literary work is vast and precisely documented

However, due to Rizal’s habit of changing languages in his written work, many find it
difficult to understand

Had a long association with Leonor Rivera, who many people thought to be the
inspiration for Maria Clara

Rizal met Rivera in her teen years and had been apart due to Rizal’s departure to
Madrid

They had stayed in contact through letter, which accordingly made Rizal focused on his
studies

Rizal was initially forbidden to see Rivera by his father because of his subversive status

Rivera was wed to an englishman, who was favored by her mother. This devastated
Rizal, which draws similarities to Noli Me Tangere’s plot
 The Real Name of Jose Rizal
Rizal did not use Mercado, his father’s last name because of the political
baggage that Mercado had, he opted to use Rizal; his middle name to earn
the benefits of being illustrado and enjoy being part of the spanish elite

Jose came from the San Jose Festival, the same day he was born on

While protacio came from the saint of their times and

Rizal had the name Racial which points to their main occupation in the
green fields but was rejected

Mercado meant market and points to their chinese ancestry

The Alonzo name come from his mother and Realonda to an aunt
 The Real Name of Jose Rizal
A special law, present at that time, allowed filipinos to change their
last names. This resulted to the mercado family getting the unlisted
name: Rizal

The original name application was Ricial but was rejected for no
reason. This meant green of young growth or green fields

Rizal ended up with almost four names because it was common

practice to change names but still use the old one

The Alonsos got the name Realonda but still used Alonso

Rizal then had compounded names each from his father and
mother
 CLAVERIA LAW
●Pre 1849, Filipinos did not have individual surnames to distinguish one family to another.
Thousands then had the same name

●Because of this, government institution records had confusion in its document

administration

●These family names were not passed on to children and degrees of consanguinity were
to difficult to identify

●On Nov 21, 1849,Governor General Don Narciso Claveria y Zaldua to adopt spanish
names and indigenous names from Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos

●Adpotion to spanish names were not mandatory but showed the prevalent colonial
mentality

●Families would be exempted if their name was on the catalog or if 4 genereations had
already used it

●Special names like lakandula or mojica require legal rights to be used

 CRITICAL QUESTION

Did Rizal’s family & childhood shape him to be the man & patriot
that he is?

YES, his family became his inspiration. Nurtured & honed his
ideals, his philosophies and beliefs in life.

It was a starting point for the boy to build his opinions through his
experiences and what he grew up with.
QUIZ
●Who is the only brother of Rizal ?

●Aside from Pepe, what was Rizal’s nickname in his hometown?

●What was the work of Rizal’s father?

●Who is the last member of Rizal’s immediate family to die?

●What catholic prayer did Rizal usually with his mother?

●Who did Soledad Rizal marry?

●What did Rizal like to collect and keep in his room?

●Where did Rizal go to for a pilgrimage?

●Where was Rizal born?

●What is the title of Rizal’s first poem?