Group 1

CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO

CHAPTER 2: CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA
CHAPTER 3: EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA AND BIÑAN

Members:
Clint Mark Lemosnero
Herdly Econg
Loesse Rodriguez
Marilou Escaniel
 CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO
The Birth of a Hero

• June 19, 1861 – birth date of Jose Rizal.

• Born in Calamba, Laguna Province.
• June 22, 1862 – he was baptized in the Catholic church of his town at the
age of 3.
• Father Rufino Collantes – baptized Rizal.
• Father Pedro Casañas – Rizal’s godfather.
• Mariano Herbosa – nephew of Casañas who will marry Lucia (Rizal’s sister).
• Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda – full name of Jose Rizal.
• Lieutenant-General Jose Lemary – governor general of the Philippines when
Rizal was born.

Meanings of Rizal’s Names

• Jose – chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San
Jose (St. Joseph).
• Protacio – from Gervacio P. which came 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 – in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green,
sprouts again.
• Y – and
• Alonzo – old surname of his mother.
• Realonda – used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother.

Rizal’s Parents

• Francisco Mercado Rizal - Born on May 11, 1818.

- Born in Biñan, Laguna.
- Studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila.
- June 28, 1848 – he married Teodora.
- The youngest of the 13 children of Cirila Alejandro and Juan Mercado.
• Teodora Alonzo Realonda
- Born on November 09, 1827.
- Educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for
girls. - Died in Manila on August 16, 1911 at the age of 85.

The Rizal Children

1. Saturnina (1850-1913) – oldest of the Rizal children; nicknamed Neneng.

2. Paciano (1851-1930) – older brother and confident of Jose Rizal; second
father of Rizal; Pilosopo Tasio in Noli Me Tangere.
3. Narcisa (1852-1939) – pet name: Sisa.
4. Olimpia (185501887) – pet name: Ypia.
5. Lucia (1857-1919) – married Mariano Herbosa, who died of cholera in 1889
and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr.
Rizal.
6. Maria (1859-1945) – nickname: Biang.
7. JOSE (1861-1896) – the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius;
nickname: Pepe.
8. Concepcion (1862-1865) – pet name: Concha; she died of sickness at the
age of 3; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life.
9. Josefa (1865-1945) – pet name: Panggoy; died an old maid at the age of
80.
10.Trinidad (1868-1951) – pet name: Trining; also died an old maid at the
age of 83.
11.Soledad (1870-1929) – youngest of the Rizal children; pet name: Choleng.

Rizal’s Ancestry

Paternal Side
- Domingo Lamco – great-great grandfather of Rizal; a Chinese immigrant
from Changchow; he was married to a Chinese Christian girl of Manila
named Ines de la Rosa
- 1731 – he adopt the name Mercado meaning Market
- Francisco Mercado – Domingo Lamco’s son; married Cirila Bernacha.
- Juan Mercado – Francisco’s son married to Cirila Alejandro.
- Francisco Mercado – youngest son of Juan Mercado; Rizal’s father.
Maternal Side
- Lakan Dula – descendant; last native king of Tondo.
- Eugenio Ursua – great-great grandfather of Rizal; Japanese married to
a Filipina named Benigna.
- Regina – daughter of Eugenio, married Manuel de Quintos (Filipino-
Chinese lawyer).
- Brigida – daughter of Regina who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso
(Spanish-Filipino mestizo).

The Rizal Home

• A 2-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and

hardwoods, and roofed with red tiles.
• Behind the house were poultry yard full of turkeys and chickens, and a
big garden of tropical fruit trees (atis, balimbing, chico, macopa,
papaya, santol, tampoy, etc.).

A Good and Middle-Class Family

• Principalia – a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines was one of the

distinguished families in Calamba.
• Carriage – a status symbol of the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines.
• Private Library – the largest in Calamba; consisted of more than 1,000
volumes.
 CHAPTER 2: CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA
Calamba, the Hero’s town

• Calamba
• Natal town of Rizal.
• Named after a big native jar.
• Happiest period of Rizal’s life was spent in this lakeshore town, a
worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood.
• Hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order.
• Picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated
rice fields and sugar lands.
• A few kilometers to the south looms of the legendary Mt. Makiling and
beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas.
• East of the town is the Laguna de Bay.
• Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)
• A poem written by Rizal in 1876 when he was 15 years old and a student
of Ateneo de Manila.

Earliest Childhood Memories

• The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the
family garden when he was 3 years old. He was given the tenderest care
by his parents because he was frail, sickly, and undersized.
• His father built a little nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in
the daytime.
• An aya (nurse maid), a kind old woman, was employed to look after him.
• He watched from the cottage, the culiauan, maya, maria capra, & martin
pitpit and other birds and listened with “wonder and joy” to the twilight
songs.
• The daily Angelus prayer.
• The happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly Rosary.
• The imaginary tales told by the aya aroused Rizal’s interest in legends
and folklore.
• The aya would threaten Rizal with asuang, nuno, tigbalang, or a terrible
bearded and turbaned Bombay would come to take him away if he would not
eat his supper.
• The nocturnal walk in the town esp. when there was a moon with his aya
by the river.

The Hero’s First Sorrow

Death of Little Concha (Concepcion)

- “When I was four years old,” he said, “I lost my little sister Concha,
and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love and grief…”
Devoted Son of the Church
• Young Rizal is a religious boy. He grew up a good Catholic.
• At the age of 3, he began to take part in the family prayer. His mother
taught him the Catholic Prayers.
• 5 years old, he was able to read the Spanish family bible.
• He was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by
the Hermanos & Hermanas Terceras.
• Father Leoncio Lopez, town priest, one of the men he esteemed & respected
in Calamba during his boyhood.

Pilgrimage to Antipolo
• June 06, 1868. Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to
Antipolo.
• First trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to
Antipolo. They rode in a Casco
(barge).
• He was awed by “The magnificence of the water expanse and the silence of
the night”.
• After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father
went to Manila and visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at
La Concordia College in Santa Ana.
The Story of the Moth
The story of the moth and the flame was told to Rizal by his mother on a
night when her mother was teaching him how to read a book entitled “The
Children’s Friend” (El Amigos de los Niños).

His mother grew impatient of his poor reading and lack of focus and
always straying his eyes on the flame of the lamp and the cheerful moths
surrounding it. Knowing his interest to stories, his mother decided to stop
teaching him and instead read him an interesting story.

Upon hearing the story, it gave a deep impression on Rizal. However,

it’s not the story’s moral that truly struck him, he actually envied the
moths and their fate and considered that the light was so fine a thing that
it was worth dying for.

Artistic Talents
• Age 5, started making sketches with his pencil and to mould in clay and
wax objects which attracted his fancy.
A religious banner was always used during fiesta and it was spoiled;
Rizal painted in oil colors a new banner that delighted the townfolks.
• Jose had the soul of a genuine artist.
• Age 6, his sisters laughed at him for spending so much time making those
images rather than participating in their games. He told them “All right
laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make monuments and images
of me!”
First Poem by Rizal
Age 8, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled “Sa
Aking Mga Kabata” (To My Fellow Children). He wrote it in an appeal to
our people to love our national language.
First Drama by Rizal
• Age 8, Rizal wrote his first dramatic work which was a Tagalog Comedy.
It was staged in a Calamba festival.
• A gobernadorcillo from Paete purchased the manuscript for 2 pesos.

Rizal as Boy Magician

• He learned various tricks such as making a coin appear and disappear in
his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.
• Entertained his town folks with magic-lantern exhibitions. This
consisted of an ordinary lamp casting its shadow on white screen.
• Also gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppet shows).
• In Chapter XVII and XVIII of his second novel, El Filibusterismo
(Treason), he revealed his wide knowledge of magic.
Lakeshore Reveries

• Rizal used to meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay, accompanied by his

pet dog, on the sad conditions of his oppressed people.
• He wrote to his friend, Mariano Ponce: “In view of these injustices and
cruelties, although yet a child, my imagination was awakened and I made
a vow dedicating myself someday to avenge the many victims. With this
idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all my writings. Someday
God will give me the opportunity to fulfill my promise.”

Influences in the Hero’s Boyhood

• Hereditary Influence - inherent qualities which a person inherits from

his ancestors and parents.
- Malayan Ancestors - love for freedom, desire to travel, and indomitable
courage.
- Chinese Ancestors - serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for
children.
- Spanish Ancestors - elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and
gallantry to ladies.
- Father - sense of self-respect, love for work, and habit of independent
thinking.- Mother - religious nature, spirit of self-sacrifice, passion
for arts and literature.

• Environmental Influence - environment, as well as heredity, affects the

nature of a person; includes places, associates, & events.
- Calamba and the garden of the Rizal family - stimulated the inborn
artistic and literary talents ofJose Rizal.
- Religious atmosphere at his home - fortified his religious nature.
 - Paciano - love of freedom and justice.
- Sisters – to be courteous and kind to women.
- Fairy tales told by his aya - interest in folklores and legends.
- 3 Uncles: Tio Jose Alberto - artistic ability, who studied 11 years in
a British school in Calcutta,India; Tio Manuel - develop his frail body
by means of physical exercises including horse riding, walking, and
wrestling; Tio Gregorio - Rizal’s voracious reading of good books.
- Father Leoncio Lopez - fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and
intellectual honesty.
- The sorrows in his family contributed for Rizal to strengthen his
character.
- The Spanish abuses and cruelties he witnessed awakened Rizal’s spirit
of patriotism and inspiredhim to consecrate his life and talents to redeem
his oppressed people.

• Aid of Divine Providence

- A person cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation despite
having everything life(brains, wealth, and power) without this.
- Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of his
nation; endowed by God withversatile gifts of a genius, vibrant spirit
of a nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a noble cause.

CHAPTER 3: EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA AND BIÑAN

The Hero’s First Teacher

• Doña Teodora, his mother, was his first teacher.

• Private tutors: Maestro Celestino (first tutor) and Maestro Lucas Padua
(second tutor). Leon Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s father, became
the hero’s tutor in Spanish and Latin.
Jose Goes to Biñan
• After Monroy’s death, Rizal’s parents decided to send him to a private
school in Biñan.
• June 1869. Jose left Calamba for Biñan with Paciano.
• Carromata – their mode of transportation.
• Aunt’s House – where Jose lodge.

First Day in Biñan School

• Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz – owner and teacher of the school.
• Rizal described Maestro Justiniano as “tall, thin, long-necked, and sharp-
nosed with a body slightly bent forward.”
First School Brawl
• Jose challenged Pedro to a fight and he won having learned the art of
wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel.
• Andres Salandaan challenged Rizal to an arm-wrestling match. Jose, having
the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head on sidewalk.
Painting Lessons in Biñan
Old Juancho, father-in-law of the school teacher, freely gave
Jose painting lessons. Jose Rizal and his classmate Jose
Guevarra became apprentices of the old painter.

Daily Life in Biñan

1. Hears mass at 4:00 AM or studies lesson at that hour before going to
mass.
2. Goes to the orchard to look for a mabolo to eat.
3. Breakfast: rice and 2 dried small fish.
4. Goes to class until 10:00 AM and goes home for lunch.
5. Goes back to school at 2:00 PM and comes out at 5:00 pm.
6. Prays with cousins and returns home.
7. Studies lesson and draws a little.
8. Supper: one or 2 rice with an ayungin.
9. Prays again and if there is a moon, plays with cousins.

Best Student in School

Jose surpassed his classmates in Spanish, Latin, and other subjects. His
older classmates were jealous and wickedly squealed to the teacher
whenever he had fights. Jose usually received five or six blows
while laid out on a bench from his teacher.
End of Biñan Schooling
• December 17, 1870 – Jose left Biñan using the steamer Talim for Calamba.
• Arturo Camps – Frenchman and friend of his father who took care of him
during his trip.

Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za

• January 20, 1872 – Cavite Mutiny.

• February 17, 1872 – Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora
were implicated and executed.
• The GOMBURZA were leaders of the secularization movement.
• The martyrdom of the 3 priests inspired Rizal to fight the evils of
Spanish tyranny.
• Paciano quit his studies at the College of San Jose and returned to
Calamba, where he told the heroic story of Burgos to Rizal.
• In 1891, Rizal dedicated his second novel El Filibusterismo to GOMBURZA.

Injustice to the Hero’s Mother

• In 1872, Doña Teodora was arrested on a malicious charge that she aided
his brother Jose Alberto in trying to poison his wife.
• Jose Alberto planned to divorce his wife because of her infidelity. His
wife connived with the Spanish lieutenant of the Guardia Civil and filed
a case against Rizal’s mother.
• Antonio Vivencio del Rosario – gobernadorcillo of Calamba, helped the
lieutenant arrest Doña Teodora.
• 50 kilometers – Doña Teodora was made to walk from Calamba to the
provincial prison in Santa Cruz.
• Don Francisco de Mercaida and Don Manuel Marzan – most famous lawyers of
Manila, defended Doña Teodora in court.
• After 2 ½ years the Royal Audencia acquitted Doña Teodora.