Chapter 2

CHILDHOOD DAYS IN CALAMBA

Calamba the Hero’s Town:
•A verdant plain covered with irrigated rice fields
and sugar lands., in the South lies the Mount
Makiling and beyond is the province of Batangas..
East of the town is the Laguna de Bay and in the
middle of the lake is the Talim Island beyond it is
Antipolo.
•In 1876, when he was 15 years old , he wrote Un
Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
Earliest Childhood Memory:
•Young Jose was frail, sickly and undersize he was
given the tenderest care by his parents. His father
built a small Nipa cottage in the garden and an old
woman was employed as an aya.
•They played at the azotea and the aya related
many stories about fairies, tales of buried treasures
and trees blooming with diamonds and other
fabulous stories, which aroused in him an enduring
interest in legends and folklore.
The Hero’s first Sorrow:
•The death of his little sister brought him his first
sorrow
Devoted Son of Church:
•At three his mother taught him the Catholic
prayers and at five he was able to read haltingly
the Spanish family bible.
•He loved to go to church and join in religious
processions. Was laughingly called Manong Jose
by Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.
Fr. Leoncio Lopez, the town priest whom Rizal
used to visit and listen to his stimulating opinions
on current events and sound philosophy of life.
Pilgrimage to Antipolo:
•June 6, 1868, Jose and his father go on a pilgrimage
to Antipolo in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which
was made when he was born.
The Story of the Moth
•The tragic death of the Moth which “died a
martyr to its illusions” left a deep impress on
Rizal’s mind. He justified such noble death,
asserting that “to sacrifice one’s life for it is
worthwhile”. And like the young Moth he was
fated to die as martyr for a noble ideal.
Story of the Moth
The taught of dying as long as what you
believed in is worth it. Lived with his faith,
He never up gave and never turned down
his won beliefs and points of view, like the
young moth he sacrifice his own life
standing by his decision and to what he
strong in.
Artistic Talent:
•At the age of five he begun to make sketches with
his pencil and mold in clay and wax objects which
attracted his fancy.
•A religious banner used during fiesta was made by
Rizal and it was better than the original one.
•He love to ride on a pony and take long walks in
meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named
Usman.
First Poem of Rizal:
•Rizal possessed a God-given gift for literature.
His mother encouraged him to write poetry.
•At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his 1st poem in
the native language entitled “Sa Aking mga
Kababata” (To My Fellow Children)
which reveals his earliest nationalist sentiment.
First Drama by Rizal:
•At eight he wrote his first dramatic work which
was a Tagalog comedy, which was staged in
Calamba town fiesta and the gobernadorcillo of
Paete who happened to witness the comedy
purchase the manuscript for two pesetas
Sa Aking Mga Kababata
ni José Rizal 
Kapagka ang baya'y sadyang umiibig 
Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit, 
Sanglang kalayaan nasa ring masapit 
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan 

Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharian, 
At ang isang tao'y katulad, kabagay 
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.
 
Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita 
Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda, 
Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa 
Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.
 
Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin 
Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel, 
Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingin 
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.
 
Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba 
Na may alfabeto at sariling letra, 
Na kaya nawala'y dinatnan ng sigwa 
Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una. 
Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood:
1.Hereditary Influence:
•These are the qualities which a person inherits
from his ancestors
What are the things does young Jose inherited
from his:
1.Malayan ancestors –
2.Chinese ancestors –
3. Spanish ancestors –
4. From his father –
5.From his mother –
6.Have an enumeration also on the traits which you have inherited
from your ancestors.
2. Environmental Influence:
The scenic beauty of Calamba and the beautiful
garden of the Rizal’s family stimulated the inborn
artistic and literary talents of young Jose. The
religious atmosphere at his home fortified his
religious nature. His brother Paciano instilled in
his mind the love for freedom and justice and
from his sisters he learned to be courteous and
kind to women.
.
The fairly tales told by his aya awakened his
interest in folklore and legends. His three Uncles
Tio Jose Albert, inspired him to develop his artistic
ability, Tio Manuel a husky and athletic man,
encouraged him to develop his frail body by means
of physical exercises, including horse riding, walking
and wrestling and Tio Gregorio, a book lover,
intensified his voracious reading of good books.
And Fr. Leoncio Lopez, the learned priest of
Calamba, fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and
intellectual honesty.
3. Aid of Divine Providence:
A person may have everything in life- brains,
wealth and power but, without the Aid of God
he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the
nation.
Activity # 2
1. Make a timeline of your educational
attainment/achievement/extra curricular
activities.
2. Make a timeline of events, early education
and childhood of JPR.
3. Compare your timetable to Rizal.