Chapter 1

Advent of a
National
Hero
 Presented by
Renzi Patricia L. Evangelista
Bernadette R. Jimeno
TTh (8:30-10:00)
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The Birth of a Hero
 Jose Rizal was born on the night of Wednesday, June 19, 1861
 In lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines
 As he recounted many years later in his student memoirs:
“I was born in Calamba on June 19, 1861, between eleven
and midnight, a few days before full moon. It was a
Wednesday and my coming out in this vale of tears would
have cost my mother her life had she not vowed to the virgin
of Antipolo to take me to her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage”
 Baptized in the Catholic Church of his town (June 22 at age 3) by
Father Rufino Collantes.

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 “Jose” – chosen by his Mother (devotee of St. San Jose or St. Joseph)
 During the christening ceremony, Father Collantes told the family,
“Take good care of this child, for someday he will
become a great man.”
 Governor General of the Philippines was Lieutenant-General Jose
Lemery (former Senator of Spain). Governed the Philippines from
February 2, 1861 to July 7, 1862.
 2 achievements: Fostering the cultivation of cotton in the provinces, and
Establishing the Politico-Military Governments in Visayas and Mindanao.

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Rizal’s PArents
 Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-1898)
 Born on May 11, 1818 in Biñan, Laguna
 Studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in
Manila
 Died in Manila on January 5, 1898 (80 years old)
 Rizal called his father as “A Model of Fathers”

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 Doña Teodora (1826-1911)
 Born on November 8, 1826 in Manila
 Educated at the College of Santa Rosa
 Rizal said to her:
“ My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture;
she knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I.
She corrected my poems and gave me good advice when
I was studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has
read many books.”
 Died in Manila on August 16, 1911 (85 years old)

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The Rizal Children
 Saturnina (1850-1913)
 Oldest of the Rizal Children
 Called as “NENENG”
 Married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas
 Paciano (1851-1930)
 Old brother and confidant of Rizal
 Joined the Philippine Revolution after Rizal’s death and became
a combat general
 Retired to his farm in Los Banos after the Revolution

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 Died on April 13, 1930 (79 years old)
 Had two children by his mistress Severina Decena
 Narcisa (1852-1939)
 Her pet was name Sisa
 Married Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father of Leoncio Lopez)
school teacher of Morong.
 Olimpia (1855-1887)
 Her pet name was Ypia
 Married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila

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 Lucia (1857-1919)
 Married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba (nephew of Father
Casanas). He died of cholera in 1889 and denied Christian
burial because he was a brother-in-law of Rizal.
 Maria (1859-1945)
 Called as “BIANG”
 Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna.
 Jose (1861-1896)
 Called as “PEPE”
 Lived with Josephine Brackedn, an Irish girl from Hong Kong
 Had a son by her but the baby died a few hours after birth and
burried in Dapitan
 Rizal named him “Francisco”

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 Concepcion (1862-1865)
 Her pet name was Concha
 Died of sickness at the age of 3
 Josefa (1865-1945)
 Her pet name was Panggoy
 Died at the age of 80
 Trinidad (1868-1945)
 Called her as Trining
 Died at the age of 83
 Soledad (1870-1929)
 Called her as Choleng
 Married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba

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 He called Doña or Señora if married and
Señorita if single
 Unmarried sisters of Rizal: Josefa and
Trinidad
 Paciano was a second father of Jose.
 Rizal immortalized Paciano in his first novel Noli
Me Tangere
as the wise Pilosopo Tasio

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Rizal’s Ancestry
 Rizal’s great-great-grandfather on his father’s side was Domingo
Laméo, a Chinese immigrant frim Fukien City of Changchow
who arrived in Manila about 1690.
 He became a Christian, married a Chinese Christian girl of Manila
named Ines de la Rosa, and assumed in 1731 the surname of
Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was a
merchant.
 “MERCADO”-spanish means “mercado” in English
 Domingo and Ines had a son named Francisco Mercado, who
resided in Biñan, married a Chinese-Filipino mestica, Cirila
Bernacha, and was elected gobernadorcillo.
 One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s grandfather), married
Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-Filipino mestiza. He also elected as
gobernadorcillo like his Father.

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 Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had 13 children
 The youngest of the 13 children was the father of Rizal,
Francisco Mercado
 At 18, Francisco lost her father and grew up to manhood under
the care of his mother.
 Studied Latin and Philosophy in College of San Jose in Manila
 He met and fell in love with Teodora Alonso Realonda
 They were married on June 28, 1848, settled down in Calamba
where they engaged in farming and business and reared a big
family.
 Teodora’s family descended from Lakan-Dula, last native king
of Tondo.

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 Her great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of
Japanese ancestry) who married a Filipina named
Benigna
 Their daughter, Regina married Manuel de Quintos, a
Filipino-Chinese lawyer from Pangasinan.
 One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and Regina
wasBrigida who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a
prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Biñan.
 Their children were Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal’s mother),
Gregorio,Manuel and Jose.

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The Surname Rizal
 The real surname of the Rizal family
was Mercado, which was adopted in 1731 by
the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose
Rizal, and who was a full-blooded Chinese,
Domingo Laméo.

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 Rizal’s family acquired a second
surname – Rizal – which was given by a
Spanish alcalde mayor or provincial governor of
Laguna, who was a family friend.

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Dr. Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt,
“I am the only Rizal because at home my parents,
my sisters, my brother, and my relatives have
always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our
family name was in fact Mercado, but there were
many Mercados in Philippines who are not related
to us. It is said that an alcalde mayor, who was a
friend of our family added Rizal to our name. My
family did not pay much attention to this, but now I
have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an
illegitimate son.

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 A distinguished Rizalist and diplomat,
Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero, commented:
“Whoever that Spanish alcalde mayor was, cut
while still green, sprouts again.”

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The Rizal Home
 The house of the Rizal family was
where Dr. Jose Rizal was born, located in
Calamba, Laguna. It was a two-storey building,
rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and
hard-woods, and roofed with red tiles. Behind
the house were the poultry yard full of turkeys
and chickens, and a big garden of tropical fruit
trees.

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A Good and Middle-
class Family
 The Rizal Family belonged to the principalia,
a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It was one
of the distinguished families in Calamba. By dint of
honest and hard work and frugal living, Rizal’s
parents were able to live well. From the farms, which
were rented from the Dominican Order, they
harvested rice, corn, and sugarcane. They raised
pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their backyard. In
addition to farming and stockraising, Teodora
managed a general good store and operated a small
four-mill and a home-made ham press.

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 As evidence of their affluence, Rizal’s
parents were able to build a large stone
house which was situated near the town
church and to buy another one. They owned
a carriage, which was a status symbol of
illustrados in Spanish Philippines and a
private library (the largest in Calamba) which
consisted of more than 1,000 volumes.

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 They sent their children to the colleges in
Manila. Combining affluence and culture,
hospitality and courtesy, they participated
prominently in all social and religious affaire in
the community. They were gracious hosts to all
visitors and guests during the town fiestas and
other holidays. Beneath their roof, all guests
irrespective of their color, rank, social position,
and economic status, were welcome.

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Home Life of the
Rizals
 In consonance with Filipino custom, family
ties among the Rizals were intimately close.
Francisco and Teodora loved their children, but they
never spoiled them. They were strict parents and
they trained their children to love God, to behave
well, to be obedient, and to respect people,
especially the old folks. Whenever the children,
including Jose Rizal, got into mischief, they were
given a sound spanking. Evidently, they believed in
the maxim: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

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 Every day the Rizals heard
Mass in the town church, particularly
during Sundays and Christian holidays.
They prayed together daily at homr –
the Angelus at sunset and the Rosary
before retiring to bet at night. After the
family prayers, all the children kissed
the hands of their parents.

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 Life was not, however, all prayers
and church services for the Rizal
children. They were given ample time
and freedom to play by their strict parents
and religious parents. They played
merrily in the azotea or in the garden by
themselves. The older ones were allowed
to play with the children of other families.

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