Advent of a national hero

• Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-

splendored genius who became the greatest
hero of a nation. Endowed by God with
versatile gifts, he truly ranked with the world’s
geniuses. Above and beyond all these, he was
a hero and political martyr, who consecrated
his life for the redemption of his oppressed
people. No wonder, he is acclaimed as the
national hero of the Philippines.
The Birth of a Hero
• Jose Rizal was born on the moonlit night of
Wednesday, June 19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of
Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines.
• His mother almost died during the delivery because
of his big head.
• He was baptized in the Catholic church of his town on
June 22, aged three days old, by the parish priest,
Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueno.
• His godfather (ninong) was Father Pedro Casanas,
native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family.
His name “Jose” was choosen by his mother who was
a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph).
Rizal’s Parents
• Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven children of
Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso
Realonda. The hero’s father, Francicso (1818-1898)
was born in Binan, Laguna, on May 11, 1818. he
studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San
Jose in Manila.
• In early manhood, following his parent’s death, he
moved to Calamba and became a tenant-farmer of
the Dominican-owned hacienda.
• He died in Manila on January 5, 1898, at the age of
80. In his student memoirs, Rizal affectionately called
him “a model of fathers”.
• Dona Teodora (1826-1911), the hero’s mother, was born
in Manila on November 8, 1826, and was educated at the
College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in
the city.
• She was a remarkable woman, possessing refined
culture, literary talent, business ability, and the fortitude
of Spartan women.
• Dona Teodora died in Manila on August 16, 1911, at the
age of 85. Shortly before her death, the Philippine
government offered her a life pension. She courteously
rejected it saying, “my family has never been patriotic for
money. If the government has plenty of funds and does
not know what to do with them, better reduce the
taxes.” Such remarks truly befitted her as a worthy
mother of a national hero.
The Rizal Children
• God blessed the marriage of Francisco and
Teodora with eleven children—two boys and
nine girls.
1. Saturnina-oldest
2. Paciano-confidant of Rizal
3. Narcisa-her pet name was Sisa
4. Olimpia-ypia was her pet name
5. Lucia
6. Maria- biang was her nickname
7. Jose
8. Concepcion- nickname concha and died of sickness at the age of 3, her death
was Rizal’s first sorrow in life.
9. Josefa- she died an old maid at the aged 80.
10. Trinidad- died also an old maid aged 83.
11. Soledad- youngest of the Rizal children.
Rizal’s Ancestry
• As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of the mixture
of races. In his veins flowed the blood of both East and
West– Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Japanese,
and Spanish.
• Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a magnificent
specimen of Asian manhood.
• Rizal’s great-great grandfather on his father’s side was
Domingo Lameo, a Chinese immigrant from the Fukien
city of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about 1690.
• He became a Christian, married a well-to-do Chinese
Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and
assumed in 1731 the surname Mercado which was
appropriate for him because he was a merchant.
• The Spanish term Mercado means “market” in English.
• Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a
son, Francisco Mercado, who resided in Binan,
elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of
the town.
• One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s
grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a
Chinese-Filipino mestiza.
• Like his father, he was elected gobernadorcillo
of Binan. Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had
thirteen children, the youngest being
Francisco Mercado, Rizal’s father.
• It is said that Dona Teodora’s family descended from
Lakan-Dula, the last native king of Tondo. Her great-
grandfather (Rizal’s maternal great-great-
grandfather) was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese
ancestry), who married a Filipina named Benigna
(surname unknown).
• Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos,
a Filipino-Chinese lawyer from Pangasinan.
• One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and Regina
was Brigida, who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a
prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Binan.
• Their children were Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal’s mother),
Gregorio, Manuel and Jose.
The Surname Rizal
• The real surname of the Rizal family was
Mercado, which was adopted in 1731 by
Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-
grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full-
blooded Chinese.
• Rizal’s family acquired a second surname–
Rizal– which was given by a Spanish alcalde
mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who was
a family friend.
A Good and Middle-Class Family
• The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town
aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It is one of the
distinguished families in Calamba.
• By dint of honest and hard work and frugal living,
Rizal’s parents were able to live well. From the farms,
which were rented from the Dominican Order, they
harvested rice, corn, and sugarcane.
• As evidence of their affluence, Rizal’s parents were
able to build a large stone house which was situated
near the town church and to buy another one.
• They owned a carriage, which was a status symbol of
the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines and a private
library (the largest in Calamba) which consisted of more
than, 1,000 volumes.
Home Life of the Rizal’s
• The Rizal family had a simple, contented,
and happy life. In consonance with Filipino
custom, family ties among the Rizal’s were
intimately close.
• Whenever the children, including Jose
Rizal, got into mischief, they were given a
sound spanking. Evidently, they believed
in the maxim: “Spare the rod and spoil the
child.”
Chapter 2: Childhood Years in Calamba
His natal town of Calamba, so named after a “big
native jar”.
CALAMBA, the Hero’s Town
Was a hacienda town which belonged to the
Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands
around it.
It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant or
green growing plants in a plain covered with irrigated
ricefields and sugar-lands.
A few kilometers to the south looms the legendary
Mount Makiling.
 In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student
in the Ateneo de Manila, he remembered his beloved
town.
 Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi
Pueblo (In Memory of my Town)
EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
 The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his
happy days in the family garden when he was three
years old.
 Because he was a frail, sickly, and undersized child,
he was given the tenderest care by his parents.
 His father built a little nipa cottage in the garden for
him to play in the day time.
 A kind old woman was employed as an “aya” (nurse
maid) to look after his comfort.
 Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus
prayer.
 By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the
children at the house to pray the Angelus.
THE HERO’S FIRST SORROW
 Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little Concha
(Concepcion).
 He was a year older than Concha.
 Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when
she was only 3 years old.
 The death of Concha brought him his first sorrow.
DEVOTED SON OF THE CHURCH

 Born of a Catholic clan.

 At the age of 3, he began to take part in the
family prayers.
 One of the men he esteemed and respected in
Calamba during his boyhood was the scholarly
Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest.
 He used to visit this learned Filipino priest and
listen to his stimulating opinions on current
events and sound philosophy of life.
PILGRIMAGE TO ANTIPOLO
 On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go
on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his
mother’s vow which was made when Jose was born.
 Doña Teodora could not accompany them because she
had given birth to Trinidad.
 It was his first trip across Laguna de Bay and his first
pilgrimage to Antipolo. He and his father rode in a
“casco” (barge).
 After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo,
Jose and his father went to Manila to visit Saturnina,
who was then a boarding student at La Concordia
College in Santa Ana.
THE STORY OF THE MOTH
 Of the stories told by Doña Teodora to her
favorite son, Jose, that of the young moth
made the profoundest impression on him.
 “the tragic fate of the young moth, which
“died a martyr to its illusions,” left deep
impress on Rizal’s mind. He justified such
noble death, asserting that “to sacrifice one’s
life for it,” meaning for an ideal, is
“worthwhile.” and, like that young moth, he
was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal.
Artistic Talents
 Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-
given talent for art.
 At the age of 5, he began to make sketches with
his pencil and to mould in clay and wax objects
which attracted his fancy.
 One interesting anecdote/interesting event
about Rizal was the incident about his clay and
wax images.
 His sisters laughed at him foe spending so much
time making those images rather than
participating in their games.
FIRST POEM
 Aside from sketching & sculpturing talent, Rizal
possessed a God-given gift for literature.
 At the age of 8, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native
language entitled “Sa aking mga kababata” (to my
fellow children)
 This poem reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist
sentiment. In poetic verses, he profoundly proclaimed
that a people who truly love their native language will
surely strive for liberty like “the bird which soars to
freer space above” and that Tagalog is the equal of
Latin, English, Spanish, and any other language.
First Drama by Rizal

 After writing the poem To My Fellow Children,

Rizal, who was then eight years old, wrote his
first dramatic work which was a “Tagalog
comedy”.
 it is said that it was staged in a Calamba
festival and was delightfully applauded by the
audience.
Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood

 in the lives of all men there are influences

which cause some to be great and others not.
 In the case of Rizal, he had all the favorable
influences, few other children in his time
enjoyed.
 These influences were the following:
1. Hereditary influence
2. Environmental influence
3. Aid of Divine Providence
1. Hereditary Influence
 According to biological science, there are inherent qualities
which a person inherits from his ancestors and parents.
 From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal, evidently, inherited his
love for freedom, his innate desire to travel, and his
indomitable courage.
 From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his serious nature,
frugality, patience, and love for children.
 From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing,
sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies.
 From his father, he inherited a profound sense of self-
respect, the love for work, and the habit of independent
thinking.
 From his mother, he inherited his religious nature, the spirit
of self-sacrifice, and the passion for arts & literature.
2. Environmental influence
 According to psychologists, environment, as well as heredity,
affects the nature of a person.
 Environmental influence includes places, associates, and
events.
 The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of
the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and literary
talents of Jose Rizal.
 The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious
nature.
 Paciano, instilled in his mind the love for freedom and justice.
 From his sisters, he learned to be courteous and kind to
women.
3. Aid of Divine Providence

 Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of

man is the aid of Divine Providence.
 A person may have everything in life– brains, wealth,
and power– but, without the aid of Divine
Providence, he cannot attain greatness.
 Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and
glory of his nation. God had endowed him with the
versatile gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of a
nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a
noble cause.
Chapter 3: Early Education in Calamba &
Biñan
 It was a typical schooling that a son of an
ilustrado family received during his time,
characterized by the 4R’s – reading, writing,
arithmetic, and religion.
 Instruction was rigid & strict.
 Knowledge was forced into the minds of the
pupils by means of the tedious (tiresome,
long) memory method aided by the teacher’s
whip.
The Hero’s First Teacher
 The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a
remarkable woman of good character and fine culture.
 On her lap, he learned at the age of 3 the alphabet and the
prayers.
 As he grew older, his parents employed private tutors to give
him lessons at home.
 The first was Maestro Celestino and second, Maestro Lucas
Padua.
 Later, an old man Leon Monroy, a former classmate of his
father, became the boy’s tutor.
 This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and instructed Jose in
Spanish and Latin.
 Unfortunately, he did not live long died five months later.
Jose Goes to Biñan
 He was accompanied by Paciano who acted as his second
father.
 The two rode in a carromata, reaching their destination after
one and half hours drive.
 Jose with his cousin Leandro went sightseeing in the town.
 Instead of enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed
because of homesickness.
FIRST DAY IN BIÑAN SCHOOL
 Paciano brought his brother to the school of Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
 The school was in the house of the teacher, which was a small
nipa hut about 30meters from the home of Jose’s aunt.
 Paciano knew the teacher quite well because
he had been a pupil under him before.
 He introduced Jose to the teacher, after which
he departed to return to Calamba.
 Immediately, Jose was assigned his seat in the
class. The teacher asked him:
“Do you know Spanish?”
“a Little, sir,”
Chapter 4: Scholastic Triumphs at Ateneo
de Manila (1872-1877)
• Four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za
and with Dona Teodora still in prison, Jose, who
had not yet celebrated his eleventh birthday, was
sent to Manila.
• He studied in the Ateneo Municipal, a college
under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits.
This college was a bitter rival of the Dominican-
owned College of San Juan de Letran.
• It was formerly the Escuela Pia (Charity School)
a school for poor boys in Manila which was
established by the city government in 1817.
• When the Jesuits, who had been expelled from
the Philippines in 1768, returned to Manila in
1859, they were given the management of the
Escuela Pia, whose name was changed to
Ateneo Municipal, and later became the Ateneo
de Manila. They were splendid educators, so
that Ateneo acquired prestige as an excellent
college for boys.
• June 10, 1872, Jose accompanied by Paciano,
went to Manila. He took the entrance
examinations on Christian doctrine, arithmetic,
and reading at the College of San Juan de
Letran, and passed them.
• Thus, upon his return to Manila, Jose, again
accompanied by Paciano, matriculated at the Ateneo
Municipal. At first, Father Magin Ferrando, who was the
college registrar, refused to admit him for two reasons:
1. He was late for registration, and
2. He was sickly and undersized for his age.
• Rizal was then eleven years old. However, upon the
intercession of Manuel Xerex Burgos, nephew of Father
Burgos, he was reluctantly admitted at the Ateneo.
• Jose was the first of his family to adopt the surname
“Rizal”. He registered under this name at the Ateneo
because their family name “Mercado” had come under
the suspicion of the Spanish authorities.
• Paciano had used “Mercado” as his surname at the
College of San Jose and he was known to the authorities
as Father Burgsos’ favourite student and confidant.
Jesuit System of Education
• The system of education given by the Jesuits in the
Ateneo was more advanced than that of other
colleges in that period.
• It trained the character of the student by rigid
discipline and religious instruction.
• It promoted physical culture, humanities, and
scientific studies.
• Aside from academic courses leading to the degree of
Bachelor of Arts, it offered vocational courses in
agriculture, commerce, mechanics, and surveying.
• The students heard Mass in the morning before the
beginning of the daily class. Classes in every subject
were opened and closed with prayers.
• Students were divided into two groups, namely:
1. The Roman Empire- consisting of the internos
(boarders)
2. The Carthaginian Empire- composed of the
externos (non-boarders).
• Each of these empires had its ranks.
• The best student in each empire was the
“Emperor”
• The second best “the Tribune”
• The third best “the Decurion”
• The fourth best “the Centurion”
• The fifth best “the Standard-bearer”
• Within the empire the students, fought for
positions. Any student could challenge any
officer in his empire to answer questions on the
day’s lesson.
• His opponent could lose his position if he
committed three mistakes.
• Any student might be at the end of the line, but if
he studied hard ad was brilliant, he could
depose the officers one after another and
become an emperor.
• The two groups were in constant competition for
supremacy in the class. They had their
distinctive banners: red for the Romans and blue
for the Carthaginians.
Rizal’s First Year in Ateneo (1872-73)
• Rizal’s first professor in the Ateneo was Fr. Jose
Bech.
• Being a newcomer and knowing a little Spanish, Rizal
was placed at the bottom of the class. He was an
externo, hence he was assigned to the Carthaginians,
occupying the end of the line.
• After the first week, the frail Calamba boy progressed
rapidly. At the end of the month, he became
“emperor”. He was the brightest pupil in the whole
class, and he was awarded a prize.
• “How pleased I was,” he said, “when I won my first
prize, a religious picture!” he was proud of it because
it was the first prize he ever won at the Ateneo.
• To improve his Spanish, Rizal took private lessons in
Santa Isabel College during the noon recesses, when
other Ateneo students playing or gossiping.
• Rizal received excellent grades in all subjects and a
gold medal during his second term in the Ateneo.
• Rizal lost no time in going to Santa Cruz in order to
visit his mother in the provincial jail. He cheered up
Dona Teodora’s lonely heart with the news of his
scholastic triumphs in Ateneo.
• In the course of their conversation, Dona Teodora
told her son of her dream the previous night. Rizal
interpreting the dream told his mother that she would
be released from prison in three month’s time.
• Rizal’s prophecy became true. Barely three months
passed, and suddenly Dona Teodora was set free.
Teenage Interest in Reading
• As a normal teenager, he became interested in love
stories and romantic tales.
• The first favourite novel of Rizal was “the Count of
Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas.
• Later Rizal read Travels in the Philippines by Dr.
Feodor Jagor, a German scientist-traveller who visited
the Philippines in 1859-1860.
• What impressed him in this book were:
1. Jagor’s keen observations of the defects of Spanish
colonization, and
2. His prophecy that someday Spain would lose the
Philippines and that America would come to succeed
her as colonizer.
• Rizal finished his last year at the Ateneo in a blaze of
glory. He obtained the highest grades in all subjects.
• On commencement day, March 23, 1877, Rizal, who
was 16 years old, received from his Alma Mater,
Ateneo Municipal, the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
with highest honors.
• Rizal, unsurpassed in academic triumphs, was not a
mere bookworm. He was also active in extra-
curricular activities.
• Rizal impressed also his Jesuits professors in the
Ateneo with his artistic skills. One day he carved an
image of the Virgin Mary on a piece of batikuling
(Philippine hardwood) with his pocket knife. The
Jesuit fathers were amazed at the beauty and grace
of the image.
Poems Written in Ateneo
• The first poem probably wrote during his days in
the Ateneo was “Mi Primera Inspiracion” (My
First Inspiration) which was dedicated to his
mother on her birthday.
• It is said that he wrote it before he was 14 years
old, that is, in the year 1874.
• In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez, he wrote
more poems.
• Another poem with a very high regard for
education. He believed in the significant role which
education plays in the progress and welfare of the
nation. Thus he stated this in his poem “Through
Education our Motherland receives Light”
• In another poem, “The Intimate Between
Religion and Good Education,” Rizal showed
the importance of religion in education. To him,
education without God is not true education.
• During his student days Rizal expressed his
devotion to his Catholic faith in melodious poetry.
• One of the religious poems he wrote was a brief
ode entitled “Al Nino Jesus” (To the Child
Jesus)
• Another religious poem which he wrote was
entitled “A La Virgen Maria” (To the Virgin
Mary). This poem is undated, so that we do not
know exactly when it was written. Probably, Rizal
wrote it after his ode to the Child Jesus.
First Romance of Rizal
• Shortly after hi graduation from the Ateneo,
Rizal, who was then sixteen years old,
experienced his first romance– “that painful
experience which comes to nearly all
adolescents”.
• The girl was Segunda Katigbak, a pretty
fourteen-year old Batanguena from Lipa.
• Theirs was indeed “a love at first sight”. But it
was hopeless since the very beginning because
Segunda was already engaged to be married to
her townmate, Manuel Luz.