GUEVARRA, Jolina October 13, 2017

BSA 3-A

1. Bust in Orlando, Florida

Rizal first saw America on April
28, 1888, and visited the cities of New
York, Oakland, Reno, Chicago and
Boston. He wrote in his diary: “I
visited the great cities of America,
with their grandiose edifices, their
electric lights, and their great
conceptions. America is, undoubtedly,
a great country, but she has many
defects.” It was reported by the Asian
Journal that “monuments of Rizal
stand in eight US cities: Juneau,
Alaska; Kauai and Lihue in Hawaii;
Chicago, Illinois; Orlando, Florida;
California; Cherry Hill in New Jersey;
New York City and Seattle.
The seven-foot bronze statue sculpted by Filipino artist Toym de Leon Imao,
mounted on a six-foot granite pedestal, is the ninth statue of Rizal in Carson City,
California.

2. Urban Legends about Rizal.

 Jose Rizal was the real ‘Jack the Ripper’

 Jose Rizal and Jack the Ripper – both with initials “J.R.” – are one
and the same person.

 Fact check: Before anything else, let’s examine the facts that started it
all: On May 24, 1888, Rizal was in London’s British Library to copy the
book “Sucesos delas islas Filipinas” by hand. During this time, Jack
the Ripper began to terrorize the Whitechapel district, killing more
than 5 victims in the end. Rizal then left London to publish the book
in January 1889 – exactly the same time when the murders stopped.

 Jose Rizal was gay.

 Jose Rizal was gay – the reason why he never sired a child. Yes,
Josephine Bracken had a miscarriage but that kid was not Rizal’s
 either. Rumor has it that Josephine was raped by her own father so
the dead child was just a product of an incest.

 Fact check: In his 1884 diary, Rizal wrote a very intriguing “I am gay”.
But there was nothing homosexual about it – after all, ‘gay’ can also
mean ‘bright and lively’. On the other hand, the rumor about Rizal’s
‘fake child’ is more of an urban legend possibly started by bored–and
ill-informed–students. Or maybe its because Rizal was close to her
mother, successful in his every pursuit, and very keen on his looks
— traits of astereotypical closeted homosexual.

 Jose Rizal was a foreign spy.

 Jose Rizal was involved either to a German or French espionage.

 Fact check: Rizal didn’t have the same charisma as James Bond’s
but nonetheless, German authorities still suspected him as a French spy.
It all started when a chief of police visited Rizal in his Berlin apartment
and asked for his passport. Turns out Rizal was being investigated for his
questionable behavior.

 Jose Rizal is a fake hero.

 Jose Rizal was not the hero and patriot weall think he is.

 Fact check: Bonifacio trumping Rizal as the national hero? Not

likely. Still, the rumors about Rizal being a strong opponent of the
Philippine Revolution continue to spread. Historian Xiao Chua
revealed that Rizal, although forced to describe the revolution as
“absurd” during his trial, had always been supportive of the Katipunan.
In fact,policeman Martin Constantino testified on September 9,1896
that Rizal was poised to be the Supreme Head as soon as the
country have claimed independence from Spain.

 Rizal wrote ‘Sa Aking mga Kabata’.

 In 1869, the then eight-year-old Jose Rizal wrote his first Tagalog
poem. Entitled “Sa aking mga Kabata” (To My Fellow Children)

 Fact check: To this day, no manuscript linking Rizal to the poem

has been identified yet. And let’s admit it, Rizal was probably too
busy playing with his dog and siblings to even thought of making a
poem mentioning the word “kalayaan” (freedom)