Rizal

Rizal’s Birth

• Full Name: José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda

• Birth Date and Time: Wednesday, June 19, 1861, between 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM

• Birthplace: Calamba, Laguna

• Parents:

  • Father: Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (born in Biñan, Laguna, a farmer and tenant of a Dominican estate; ancestry traced to Fujian, China)

  • Mother: Teodora Mercado Rizal / Teodora Alonso Realonda y Quintos (a wealthy woman with Spanish ancestry who managed the family’s farm and finances;  She used her knowledge to grow the rice, corn, and sugarcane; Rizal's first teacher)

• Parents' Marriage: Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda were married on June 28, 1848.

• Siblings: Seventh of 11 children

• Baptism:

• Date: June 22, 1861 (three days after birth)

• Location: Saint John the Baptist Parish Church, Calamba

• Priest: Father Rufino Collantes

• Godfather: Father Pedro Casañas

• Baptismal Record: Written by Father Leoncio Lopez, a family friend and parish priest of Calamba

• Name Meaning:

• José: Named after St. Joseph, patron saint

• Protacio: From St. Gervacio y Protacio, whose feast day is June 19

• Rizal: Derived from the Spanish "ricial," meaning a green field or pasture (symbolizing growth and life)

• Mercado: Spanish for "market," adopted by his great-grandfather Domingo Lamco to represent his profession as a merchant

• Alonso: His mother’s surname, following Spanish customs of using both paternal and maternal family names.

• Realonda: His mother’s surname adopted due to the 1849 decree to choose new Spanish surnames.

Rizal’s Family

Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (May 11, 1818 – January 5, 1898)

• Father of Jose Rizal and considered the patriarch of the family., was a native of Biñan, Laguna.

• He was an educated and industrious farmer who studied Latin and Philosophy at Colegio de San Jose in Manila. Of Chinese ancestry, his great grandfather Domingo Lam-co was a native of Amoy (now Guanzhou), China who married the Filipina Ines dela Rosa.

• Both Francisco’s Father, Juan, and grandfather, became Capitanes or town mayors of Biñan. Upon the death of his mother, Francisco moved to Calamba where he became a tenant and farmer of a large Dominican estate.

• On June 28, 1848, he married Teodora Alonzo Realonda. In 1849, when Gov. Narciso Claveria issued the decree on the Hispanization of Filipino names; he chose the new surname Rizal, from the Latin word “ricial” meaning “rice field”.

• In 1850, he petitioned the court to change the family name to Rizal, with all their children being surnamed as such.

Teodora Alonzo Realonda y Quintos (November 9, 1827 – August 16, 1911)

• Mother of Jose Rizal, a Manileña, was a highly educated Filipina who graduated from the Colegio de Santa Rosa.

• Of Spanish and Japanese ancestry, Teodora was a talented woman whose interests lay in literature, culture, and business, and was well-versed in Spanish.

• She helped her husband in farming and in their business, She devoted herself to the children’s education and growth as morally-upright individuals.

• Teodora’s lineage can be traced to Lakandula, the greatest ruler of Tondo,. Her great grandfather, who was of Japanese blood, was Eugenio Ursua (Ochoa). Her maternal grandfather was Manuel de Quintos who was a popular lawyer in his time, while her paternal grandfather was Cipriano Alonzo who belonged to Biñan’s song list of Capitanes.

• Teodora was the second child of Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo, an engineer and a recipient of the sought decoration, the Knight of the Grand Order of Isabella and the Catholic Order of Carlos III; and Brigida de Quintos, a fair and well-educated lady.

• When Governor Claveria issued the decree for the revision and adoption of new names, the children of Alberto Alonzo adopted the surname Realonda. Thus, the name Teodora Alonzo became Teodora Alonzo Realonda.

The marriage of Francisco and Teodora was blessed with eleven children — two boys and nine girls.

Saturnina “Neneng”

• She is the eldest. She became the wife of Manuel Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas.

Paciano

• He was the family caretaker.

• After his younger brother’s execution, he joined the Philippine Revolution.

• He retired to his farm in Los Baños where he lived as a farmer.

• He had 2 children by his common-law life (Severina Decena) – a boy and a girl.

• Immortalized him in Rizal’s first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio

• Rizal regarded him as the “most noble of Filipinos”

Narcisa “Sisa”

• She was married to Antonio Lopez, a school teacher of Morong, Rizal.

Olimpia “Ipiang”

• She became the wife of Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator of Manila.

• She died in 1887 from childbirth.

Lucia

• She became the wife of Mariano Herbosa, a town mate from Calamba, and nephew of Father Casanas

• Herbosa died of cholera and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr. Jose Rizal.
  

Maria “Biang”

• She became the wife of Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

Jose Protacio “Pepe”

• The seventh child in the family

• He was married to a Scottish girl named Josephine Bracken.

• had a son but this baby-boy died a few hours after birth; Rizal named him “Francisco” after his father and buried him in Dapitan 

Concepcion “Concha” (1862 - 1865)

• She died at the age of three (3) due to illness.

• Her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life

Josefa “Panggoy”

• She was an epileptic and died at the age of 80 as a spinster.

Trinidad “Trining”

• She was also a spinster.

• She died at the age of 83.

• She inherited much of Rizal’s property in Dapitan.

Soledad “Loleng”

• She was the youngest in the family.

• She became the wife of Pantaleon Quintero also from Calamba, Laguna.

• Rizal always called her sisters Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single)  

• Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda married on June 28, 1848, after which they settled down in Calamba .

• 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 

Rizal’s Significant Childhood Experience 

In Calamba, Laguna

19 June 1861 

• JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna. 

22 June 1861

• He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba  

• by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes

• with Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor/godfather.

28 September 1862

• The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizal’s baptismal records were entered, were burned.

1864

• Barely 3 years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.

1865

• When he was 4 years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the age of three.  

• It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time. 

• The Story of the Moth- made the profoundest impression on Rizal -“died a martyr to its illusions”    

1865 – 1867 

• At the age of five, Rizal began to make sketches with his pencil and to mold in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy  

• During this time his mother taught him how to read and write (5 years old).  

• His father hired a classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin.

• At about this time two of his mother’s cousin frequented Calamba.  

  • Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of nature,  

  • while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything."

6 June 1868 

• With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mother’s life.

• From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.

1869

• At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was written in tagalog and had for its theme "Love of One’s Language."

Rizal’s Educational Background

. 

1. Philosophy Studies in University of Santo Tomas

• In April 1877, Rizal who was 16, matriculated at UST, taking the course on Philosophy and Letters. 

• Two reasons for taking the course: 

  • his father liked it 

  • he was “still uncertain as to what career to pursue” 

2. Medical Studies in University of Santo Tomas

• After finishing the first year of course in Philosophy and letters (1877-78), he transferred to the medical course

3. Vocational Course in Ateneo (1878)

• during the 1st term in UST, he also studied in Ateneo and took up  vocational course leading to the title of Perito Agrimensor (Expert Surveyor) 

• At age 17, he passed the final examination in the surveying course, but could not be granted title because he was below age. 

4. Studied Abroad (Spain)

• He no longer endure the rampant bigotry, discrimination, and hostility of UST 

Philippines (Primary and Secondary Education)

• 1869 (8 years old) - Binan, Laguna

• Rizal was sent to Biñan to study under the tutelage of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz, his first formal teacher. He studied basic Latin and Spanish.

• 1872-1877 (11-16 years old) - Ateneo Municipal de Manila

• Enrolled in Ateneo Municipal de Manila (now Ateneo de Manila University). Rizal consistently ranked as one of the top students, and he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with the highest honors at the age of 16.

• 1878-1882 (17-21 years old) - University of Santo Tomas (UST)

• Enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at UST in Manila.

• In 1879, he shifted to Medicine, studying to become a doctor. However, due to racial discrimination and dissatisfaction with the education system, Rizal decided to leave for Spain.

Abroad (Higher Education)

• 1882-1885 (21-24 years old) - University of Madrid (Spain)

• Enrolled in Universidad Central de Madrid to finish his medical studies. He also took courses in Philosophy and Letters.

• Graduated as a Licentiate in Medicine in 1884 and later earned a Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters in 1885.

• 1885-1886 (24-25 years old) - Paris, France

• Studied Ophthalmology under the famous French ophthalmologist Dr. Louis de Wecker. He sought to specialize in ophthalmology to treat his mother’s eye condition.

• 1886 (25 years old) - Heidelberg, Germany

• Continued his specialization in Ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg, training under Dr. Otto Becker, a renowned ophthalmologist.

• During this time, he wrote his poem "A las flores de Heidelberg."

• 1886-1887 (25-26 years old) - Leipzig and Berlin, Germany

• Attended lectures at the University of Leipzig and stayed in Berlin, immersing himself in German intellectual circles.

• In 1887, Rizal published his novel "Noli Me Tangere", which exposed the social injustices in the Philippines under Spanish rule.