Course Code and Title: GE 111 – Rizal’s Life and Works

Lesson Number: 3

Topic: RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD

INTRODUCTION
This lesson presents the background of Rizal’s life-his family and childhood years in Calamba.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Discuss the family background of Rizal.
 Analyze Rizal’s family and childhood years in Calamba.
 Evaluate the people and events and their influences on Rizal’s early life.
 Interpret the human experience from various perspectives.

LESSON PRESENTATION:
Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, laguna. The
seventh of eleven children born to a relatively well-off family in a Dominican-owned tenant land in Calamba, Laguna, Jose
Rizal lived and died during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines.
In his early childhood, Jose mastered the alphabet and learned to write and read. His early readings include
the Spanish version of the Vulgate Bible. At a young age, he already showed inclinations to the arts. He amazed his family
with his pencil drawings, sketches, and moldings of clay. Later in his childhood, he showed special talent in painting and
sculpture and wrote a Tagalog play, which was presented at a town fiesta.

MEANINGS OF NAME
• Doctor- completed his medical course in Spain and was conferred the degree of
Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid
• Jose- was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph)
• Protacio- from Gervacio P. which comes from a Christian calendar
• Mercado- adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal) the Spanish term
mercado means ‘market’ in English
• Rizal- from the word ‘Ricial’ in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again
• Alonzo- an old surname of his mother
• Y- and
• Realonda- it was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother based on the culture of that time

• June 19, 1861- moonlit Wednesday between eleven and midnight Jose Rizal was born in the lakeshore town of
Calamba, Laguna
• June 22, 1861- aged three days old, Rizal was baptized in the Catholic Church
• Father Rufino Collantes- a Batangueño, the parish priest who baptized Rizal
• Father Pedro Casanas- Rizal’s godfather, a native of Calamba and a close friend of the Rizal family
• Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery- the governor-general of the Philippines when Rizal was born

DON FRANCISCO MERCADO, 80 (1818-1898)

 Jose’s father Francisco Engracio Mercado, was a productive farmer from Binan, Laguna. He was an
independent-minded, taciturn, but dynamic gentleman from whom Jose inherited his “free soul.” Don Francisco became
Teniente Gobernadorcillo (lieutenant governor) in Calamba and was thus nicknamed Teniente Kiko.
Francisco’s great-grandfather was Domingo Lam-co, a learned pro-poor or
‘maka-masa’ Chinese immigrant businessman who married a sophisticated Chinese mestiza of
Manila named Ines de la Rosa. One of their two children, Francisco (also), resided in Binan and
married Bernarda Monicha. Francisco and Bernarda’s son, Juan Mercado, became a
‘gobernadorcillo’ (town mayor) of Biñan, Laguna. He married Cirila Alejandra and they had 12
children, the youngest being Jose Rizal’s father, Francisco.
Jose’s father was born on May 11, 1818, in Biñan, Laguna. When he was eight years old, he lost his father.
He was nonetheless educated as he took Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila, where he met and fell in
love with Teodora Alonso, a student at the College of Santa Rosa. Married on June 28, 1848, they settled down in Calamba
where they were granted a lease of a rice farm in the Dominican-owned haciendas.

DOÑA TEODORA ALONSO, 86 (1827-1913)

Jose’s mother Teodora Alonso was an educated and highly cultured woman from Sta. Cruz, Manila.
Common biographies state that Doña Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda, also known as “Lolay.” was born on November 8,
1826, in Santa Cruz. Strangely, however, the volume in the church books that supposedly contained Teodora’s baptismal
records was the only one missing from the otherwise complete records down to the eighteenth century. Asuncion Rizal-Lopez
Bantug, the granddaughter of Jose’s sister Narcisa, contrarily claims that Lola Lolay and all her siblings were born in
Calamba, but (just) lived in Manila.

Doña Lolay was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, an esteemed school for
girls in Manila. She was usually described as a diligent business-minded woman, very graceful
but courageous, well-mannered, religious, and well-read. Very dignified, she disliked gossip and
vulgar conversation. Possessing refined culture and literary talents, she influenced her children
to love the arts, literature, and music. An educated woman, Lolay sent her children to colleges in
Manila. To help in the economy of the family, she ran sugar and flour mills and a small store in
their home, selling homemade ham, sausages, jams, jellies, and others. Looking back, her business in a way predated the
meat processing commerce of the Pampangueños today and the ube jam production of some nuns in Baguio.

It is believed that Doña Teodora’s family descended from Lakandula, the last native king of Tondo. (For
young generations, Lakandula has to be distinguished from the unofficial ‘Hari ng Tondo’, Asiong Salonga, the Manila kingpin
who was immortalized in the movie incidentally by Laguna’s governor E. R. Ejercito.) Lolay’s great-grandfather was Eugenio
Ursua (of Japanese descent) who married a Filipina named Benigna. Regina, their daughter, married a Filipino-Chinese
lawyer of Pangasinan, Manuel de Quintos. Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a well-off Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Biñan, took as his
‘significant other’ Brigida Quintos, daughter of Manuel and Regina Quintos. The Lorenzo-Brigida union produced five children,
the second of them was Jose Rizal’s mother, Teodora Alonso Quintos. Through the Claveria degree of 1849 which changed
the Filipino native surnames, the Alonsos adopted the surname Realonda. Rizal’s mother thus
became Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda.

JOSE’S SIBLINGS
 SATURNINA RIZAL, 63 (1850-1913) is the eldest child of Don Francisco and Teodora Alonso. She and her
mother provided little Jose with good basic education by the age of three, Pepe (Jose’s nickname) already knew his alphabet.

PACIANO RIZAL, 79 (1851-1930) Jose’s only brother was born on March 7,

1851, in Calamba, Laguna. He was fondly addressed by his siblings as Ñor Paciano, short for
“Senior Paciano.” The 10-year older brother of Jose studied at San Jose College in Manila,
became a farmer, and later a general of the Philippine Revolution. After Jose’s execution in
December 1896, Paciano joined the Katipuneros in Cavite under General Emilio Aguinaldo,
Paciano was commissioned as general of the revolutionary forces and elected as secretary of
finance in the Department Government of CentralLuzon.

NARCISA RIZAL, 87 (1852-1939), or simply “Sisa” was the third child in the
family. Later in history, Narcisa like Saturnina) would help in financing Rizal’s studies in Europe,
even pawning her jewelry and peddling her clothes if needed. It was said she could recite from
memory almost all of the poems of our national hero.

OLIMPIA RIZAL, 32 (1855-1887) was the fourth child in the Rizal family. Jose
loved to tease her sometimes good-humored describing her as his stout sister, Jose’s first love,
Segunda Katigbak, was Olympia’s schoolmate at the La Concordia College. Rizal confided to
Olympia about Segunda, and the sister willingly served as the mediator between the two
teenage lovers.
LUCIA RIZAL, 62 (1857-1919) was the fifth in the family. She married Mariano
Herbosa of Calamba, Laguna. Charged with inciting the Calamba townsfolk not to pay land rent
and causing unrest, the couple was once ordered to be deported along with some Rizal family
members. (Lucia’s husband died during the cholera epidemic in May 1889 and was refused a
Catholic burial for not going to confession since his marriage to Lucia.
MARIA RIZAL, 86 1859-1945) was the sixth child in the family. It was to her
whom Jose talked about wanting to marry Josephine Bracken when the majority of the Rizal
family was not amenable to the idea. He had also brought up to Maria his plans of establishing a
Filipino colony in North British Borneo. Jose and Maria often wrote to each other particularly
when Jose was studying abroad.

CONCEPCION RIZAL, 3 (1862-1865) was the eighth child of the Rizal family. She died at the age of three.
Of his sisters, it was said that the young Pepe loved most little Concha who was a year younger than he. Jose played games
and shared children’s stories with her and from her, he felt the beauty of sisterly love at a young age.

JOSEFA RIZAL, 80 (1865-1945) nickname “Panggoy”. She was the ninth child in
the family, and Panggoy died a spinster. After Jose was executed, Josefa joined the Katipunan.
She was one of the original 29 women admitted to the Katipunan along with Gregoria de Jesus,
wife of Andres Bonifacio. They secured the secret papers and documents of the society.
TRINIDAD RIZAL, 83 (1868-1951) The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of
the family to die. ”Trining” along with their mother, joined Jose in Dapitan and resided with him in
his square house during his exile. A day before Jose’s execution, Trining, and their mother visited
him at the Fort Santiago prison cell. As they were leaving, Jose handed over to Trining an alcohol
cooking stove, a gift from the Pardo de Taveras, whispering to her in a language that the guards
could not understand, “There is something in it.” That something was Rizal’s elegy now as “Mi Ultimo Adios.” Like Josefa and
her two nieces Trinidad joined the Katipunan after Rizal’s death.
SOLEDAD RIZAL, 59 (1870-1929) The youngest child; married Pantaleon
Quintero. She was a teacher and was probably the best-educated among Jose’s sisters, which
made Jose very proud of her. However, Jose reprimanded her for getting married to Pantaleon
Quintero of Calamba without their parent’s consent. Jose was very much against women who
allow themselves to be courted outside their homes.

THE SURNAME RIZAL

Their paternal great-great-grandfather, Chinese merchant Domingo Lamco, adopted the name “Mercado,”
which means “market.” But Jose’s father, Francisco, who eventually became primarily a father, adopted the surname “Rizal”
(originally Ricial,” which means “the green young growth” or “greenfields”). The name was suggested by a provincial
governor who was a friend of the family. The new name, however, confused the commercial affairs of the family, Don
Francisco thus settled on the name “Rizal Mercado” as a compromise, and often just used his more known surname
“Mercado.”

When Paciano was a student at the College of San Jose, he used “Mercado” as his last name. but because
he had gained notoriety with his links to Father Burgos of the “Gomburza,” he suggested that Jose use the surname “Rizal”
for Jose’s safety. But this very name suggested by Paciano to be used by his brother had become so well known by 1891, the
year Jose finished his El Felibusterismo.

RIZAL’S BIRTH

Jose Rizal was born in Calamba. In 1848, his parents decided to build a home
in the town of Laguna, southern Luzon. The name Calamba was derived from Kalan-Banga,
which means “clay stove” (Kalan” and “water jar” (Banga).

Jose’s adoration of its scenic beauty-punctuated by the sights of the laguna de

Bay, Mount Makiling, palm-covered mountains, curvy hills, and green fields was recorded in the
poem he would later write at Ateneo de Manila in 1876, Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory
of My Town).

The first massive stone house (or Bahay na Bato) in Calamba was the very birthplace of our national hero. It
was a rectangular two-story building, built of adobe stones and solid wood, with sliding capiz windows. Its ground floor was
made of lime and stone, the second floor of hardwood, except for the roof, which was of red tiles. There were an Azotea and
a water reservoir at the back. Its architectural style and proximity to the church implied the Rizal family’s wealth and political
influence.

THE CHILDHOOD OF A PHENOM

A phenom is someone who is exceptionally talented or admired, especially an up-and-comer. Rizal,

especially during his childhood, was none less than a phenom.
 Jose Rizal’s first memory, in his infancy, was his happy days in their family garden when he was three years
old. Their courtyard contained tropical fruit trees, a poultry yard, a carriage house, and a stable for the ponies. Because the
young Pepe was weak, sickly, and undersized, he was given the fondest care by his parents, so his father built a nipa cottage
for Pepe to play in the daytime.
The memory of his infancy included the nocturnal walk in the town, especially
when there was a moon. Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer in their home.
Rizal recorded in his memoir that by nightfall, his mother would gather all the children in their
home to pray the Angelus. At the early age of three, he started to take a part in the family
prayers.
At the age of five, the young Pepe learned to read the Spanish family Bible, which he would refer to later in
his writings. Rizal himself remarked that perhaps the education he received since his earliest infancy was what had shaped
his habits. As a child, Rizal loved to go to the chapel, pray, participate in novenas, and join religious processions.
Also at the age of five, Pepe started to make pencil sketches and mold in clay and wax objects, which
attracted his fancy. When he was about six years old, his sisters once laughed at him for spending much time making clay
and wax images. When Jose was seven years old, his father provided him with the exciting experience of riding a “casco” (a
flat-bottomed boat with a roof) on their way to a pilgrimage in Antipolo. The pilgrimage was to fulfill the vow made by Jose’s
mother to take him to the Shine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of the delivery, which
nearly caused her life.
As a gift, the child Jose received a pony named “Alipato” from his father. As a
child, he loved to ride this pony or take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black
dog named “Usman.”
The mother also induced Jose to love the arts, literature, and the classics. Before
he was eight years old he had written a drama that was performed at a local festival and for
which the municipal captain rewarded him with two pesos.
The young Rizal was also interested in magic. He read many books on magic. He learned different tricks,
such as making a coin disappear and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.
Some other influences of Rizal’s childhood involved his three uncles: his Tio Jose Alberto who inspired him to
cultivate his artistic ability; his Tio Manuel who encouraged him to fortify his frail body through physical exercises; and his Tio
Gregorio who intensified Rizal’s avidness to read good books.

References
 Galicia, R. D. (2019). The Life and Works of Jose Rizal. 2nd Edition. Mandaluyong City: Azes Publishing Corporation.
 Manebog, J. D. (2018). Life and Works of Rizal. Manila: Mutya Publishing. Inc.
 Clemente, J. E. (2019). The Life and Works of Rizal. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.