Rizal

Gom-Bur-Za

Fr. Mariano Gomes (Gomez), Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora, the three priests executed by garrote at Bagumbayan in 1872 on accusations of masterminding the Cavite Mutiny.

Cause of the Cavite Mutiny (January 20, 1872)

Workers at the Fort San Felipe arsenal in Cavite were outraged when Governor-General Izquierdo deducted their wages and removed their tax exemption and freedom from forced labor, granted since 1740.

Cavite Mutiny

An uprising of Filipino arsenal workers on the evening of January 20, 1872, that was quickly put down after about two days.

Terror of 1872

The period after the Cavite Mutiny in which participating Filipinos faced imprisonment, execution, or exile.

Fr. Mariano Gomes

Parish priest of Bacoor who improved pastoral services and church administration. He was accused of secretly supporting the Cavite Mutiny and labeled one of its "masterminds."

Fr. Jacinto Zamora

Parish priest accused of communicating with the mutineers. A misinterpreted letter about "powder" (actually fireworks) was used as evidence against him.

Fr. Jose Burgos

Professor and intellectual at the University of Santo Tomas who promoted education and reform. He was accused of organizing and leading the Cavite Mutiny.

Basis for the execution of the three priests

Mere accusations, with no sufficient evidence to prove their involvement. The execution sparked anger and resentment among Filipinos instead of silencing them.

Paciano Rizal

Rizal's brother and housemate of Fr. Burgos. He witnessed the garrote execution and told ten-year-old Rizal about it, inspiring Rizal to advocate for social justice.

El Filibusterismo (dedication)

Rizal's second novel, dedicated to the memory of Gom-Bur-Za.

Rizal's Ateneo admission problems

Fr. Magin Ferrando, the college registrar, first refused him for two reasons: he was a late registrant, and he was pale, thin, and undersized for his age.

Manuel Burgos

Nephew of Fr. Burgos whose help got Rizal accepted into Ateneo.

Why Rizal registered as "Jose Rizal" at Ateneo

His real surname, Mercado, could connect him to Paciano Mercado's relation with Fr. Burgos.

Bachiller en Artes

The six-year program Rizal enrolled in at Ateneo, run by the Jesuits with college-level rigor.

Five subject areas of the Ateneo program

Christian Doctrine; languages (Spanish, Latin, Greek, French); history and geography; mathematics and sciences; and classic disciplines (poetry, rhetoric, philosophy).

Ateneo's competitive system

Classes were divided into two groups that constantly competed, and members also competed for the top ranks, called dignitaries.

Roman Empire (Ateneo)

The group of internos (boarders) in Ateneo's competing class system.

Carthaginian Empire (Ateneo)

The group of externos (non-boarders) in Ateneo's competing class system. Rizal belonged to this group.

Rizal's first-year rank (1872-1873)

As a newcomer with little Spanish he started at the bottom as an externo. He was promoted within a week and became Emperor within a month.

Why Rizal slipped in his first year

In the latter half of the year he felt he did not put in enough effort, and his teacher's negative remarks demotivated him. He fell to second place but still earned "sobresaliente" (excellent) in all subjects.

Summer vacation of 1873

Rizal visited his mother, who was still imprisoned, in Santa Cruz jail. Their reunion was tearful.

Rizal's second year (1873-1874)

Disappointed with his rank, he resolved to change, regained the top spot as Emperor, and ended the year with excellent grades and a gold medal.

Summer vacation of 1874

Rizal interpreted his mother's dream and predicted she would be freed from prison in three months. She was released, as he predicted.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Rizal's favorite novel, about an unjustly imprisoned man who seeks revenge. It reminded him of his mother's imprisonment and his motherland's struggles.

Travels in the Philippines (Feodor Jagor)

A book Rizal admired because Jagor carefully observed the problems of Spanish colonization and predicted Spain would lose the Philippines and America would become the new colonizer.

Rizal's third year (1874-1875)

He still struggled with Spanish and only partially dedicated himself. He kept high grades but received only one medal, in Latin.

Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez

Rizal's favorite teacher, a Spanish Jesuit who taught him Rhetoric, Greek, and Geometry. He recognized Rizal's poetic talent and encouraged him to write.

Rizal's fourth year (1875-1876)

Rizal won five medals for his academic achievements.

Summer vacation of 1876

Rizal returned to Calamba in March, proudly presenting his parents with five medals. Fr. Sanchez gave him a translation task and a poem commission.

St. Eustachius, Martyr (task from Fr. Sanchez)

An Italian versified drama that Fr. Sanchez asked Rizal to translate into Spanish verse (his work is titled La Tragedia de San Eustaquio).

Rizal's fifth year (1876-1877)

He submitted the works Fr. Sanchez requested, which were approved, and graduated from Ateneo with a Bachelor of Arts.

Ateneo religious cofraternities

Sodality of Our Lady and Apostleship of Prayer, open only to students of the highest scholarship and leadership.

Ateneo elite organizations

Academy of Spanish Literature and Academy of Natural Sciences.

Rizal's other Ateneo training

Gymnastics and fencing; Spanish lessons at Santa Isabel College; painting under Agustin Saez; and sculpture under Teodoro Romualdo de Jesus.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Rizal's sculpture)

Carved by Rizal after the Jesuit professors were impressed by his sculpture of the Virgin Mary. It was requested by Fr. Lieonart.

Mi Primera Inspiracion

Rizal's Ateneo poem dedicated to his mother.

Un Recuerdo de Mi Pueblo

Rizal's Ateneo poem paying homage to his hometown, Calamba.

Al Nino Jesus

Rizal's Ateneo poem expressing his devotion to Catholicism.

Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria

Rizal's Ateneo piece holding that prudent education has three components: truth and knowledge, refinement, and love of country.

La Alianza Intima Sobre Religion y la Buena Education

Rizal's Ateneo work stressing the importance of religion as a guide and nourishment to true education.

Rizal's lighthouse poem on education

A poem comparing education to a lighthouse that illuminates the path of people's behavior and actions. Rizal saw education as vital to society's progress.

Segunda Katigbak

Rizal's first love, a 14-year-old Batanguena from Lipa whom he met after graduating from Ateneo at sixteen.

University of Santo Tomas (UST)

A Dominican school established in 1611 where Rizal studied after Ateneo.

Why Doña Teodora opposed Rizal studying at UST

She surprised Rizal by forbidding him from studying at the university.

Rizal's first UST course

Philosophy and Letters, which his father wanted so Rizal would have a solid liberal arts foundation for a possible law career.

Why Rizal shifted to Medicine

His mother was going blind from cataracts and he hoped to cure her. He shifted after one year of Philosophy and Letters.

Rizal's surveying course

Taken at Ateneo at the same time as his UST studies. He finished in 1877 and passed the licensing exam in 1878, but was underage and had to wait for his license.

Gregorio Zaide's reasons for Rizal's unhappiness at UST

1) The Dominican professors were hostile to him. 2) Filipino students suffered discrimination. 3) The method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.

Leon Ma. Guerrero's reasons for Rizal's struggling grades

1) Rizal was dissatisfied with the university's education system. 2) A young man in his prime had many distractions. 3) Medicine was not his true vocation.

Unidentified woman in Calamba ("Miss L")

Fair with seductive eyes, courted by Rizal after Segunda Katigbak. The romance ended abruptly because of lingering memories of Segunda and parental objection.

Leonor Valenzuela

Daughter of Rizal's neighbors near Doña Concha Leyva's boarding house in Intramuros. Rizal sent her love notes in invisible ink but stopped short of proposing.

Leonor Rivera

Rizal's landlord's daughter and cousin from Camiling, Tarlac, met at Casa Tomasina in 1879. He used the pen name "Taimis" in their letters to hide the romance.

A la Juventud Filipina

Rizal's prize-winning poem asserting that the Philippines, not Spain, is the Filipinos' motherland.

The Council of the Other Gods

Rizal's allegory that won first prize in a contest honoring Cervantes, entered under an assumed name. The Spanish judges reversed the award to a Spaniard upon learning the author was Filipino.

Other Rizal works at UST

Abd-el-Azis Mahoma, Junto Al Pasig, A Filipinas, and Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon, Recto del Ateneo, en Sus Dias.

Discrimination against Filipino students at UST

Filipino students were called "indio" or "chongo," while Rizal and friends retaliated by calling Spanish and mestizo classmates "Kastila" or "bangus." This led to frequent fights.

Compañerismo

The secret society Rizal founded for Filipino students in response to discrimination at UST.

Rizal's criticisms of UST

He condemned the humiliation of Filipino students by Dominican mentors, ridiculed outdated teaching (e.g., physics taught without lab experiments), and believed grades were based on favoritism and skin color.

The Nostalgic Thomasian myth-vs-fact post

A Facebook post that countered claims about Rizal's UST life, drawing on Fidel Villarroel's book José Rizal and the University of Santo Tomas.

Myth: Rizal experienced discrimination at UST

Fact (per the Nostalgic Thomasian): Rizal was given the unusual privilege of taking pre-Med with Med proper, with the endorsement of the Spanish Rector, a friar, and the Governor General.

Myth: Filipino students were racially discriminated

Fact (per the Nostalgic Thomasian): Of 24 first-year students only 7 remained in the fourth year. The top 4 were Filipinos and the bottom 3 were Spaniards.

Myth: Rizal got low grades from UST

Fact (per the Nostalgic Thomasian): Rizal's grades were excellent for his level, he ranked 2nd in his 4th-year class (behind Filipino Cornelio Mapa), and he never complained about his UST grades.

Regalado Trota Jose's view

The UST archivist said most biographers paint a bleak picture of Rizal's UST stay and pointed to Fidel Villarroel's book for more context. The book argues Rizal's grades were not excellent but above average.

Lito Zulueta's view

A UST faculty member who wrote "Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas: The Misunderstood Years," arguing that no period of Rizal's life is as misunderstood as his five Thomasian years. He said Rizal left UST because he was "a young man in search of himself."