“MANY RIZAL

Rizal has become suspect due to manifesto addressed to the Filipino people stating his opposition to
the very revolution that made us the first Asians to rebel against a Western Colonial power and
establish a republic. Jose Rizal was considered an American sponsored hero, who was promoted as
the greatest Filipino hero during the American colonial period of the Philippines. This was after the
Philippine American War. Rizal was an advocate for liberty through peace. According to Ocampo,
there were only 12 students in Rizal’s class, nine of which, including Rizal graduated as
sobresaliente. Rizal did get good grades in Ateneo, but at the university of Santo Tomas he wasn’t as
great as he’s been made out to be. Jose Rizal Mercado attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila,
graduating at the age of 16 with highest honors. He took a postgraduate course there in land
surveying. Rizal Mercado completed his surveyor's training in 1877, and passed the licensing exam in
May 1878, but could not receive a license to practice because he was only 17 years old. (He was
granted a license in 1881, when he reached the age of majority.) In 1878, the young man also enrolled
in the University of Santo Tomas as a medical student. He later quit the school, alleging
discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors. Why Rizal is the national hero?
--- First of all we should clarify the meaning of a hero to make it quite simple to understand how
Rizal became one. A hero symbolizes goodness. Rizal gave us freedom by using goodness. Jose Rizal
became the Philippine national hero because he fought for freedom in a silent but powerful way. He
expressed his love for the Philippines through his novels, essays and articles rather than through the
use of force or aggression. He was a very amazing person at his time. He was humble, fighting for
reforms through his writings instead of through a revolution. He used his intelligence, talents and
skills in a more peaceful way rather than the aggressive way.
Rizal became a National Hero because he passed the criteria by being a National Hero during the
American period: (1) He must be a Filipino. (2) He is already dead. (3) He displayed unconditional
love for his country. (4) He has low temper. (5) He had died dramatically.
“FACTS AND POSSIBILITIES”
Is Rizal really still alive? -- According to the study of Ocampo, He met a Rizalista and said that Rizal
was hiding and He still alive from the Mt. Arayat, Mt. Makiling and Mt. Banahaw. But this is only a
rumor. No one can prove this and historians cannot write a history based on a stray document filled
with rumor. Of course, though physically Jose Rizal is not in presence but the knowledge he provided
to the Filipino people is still alive and the love of country and Filipino he showed during his time, is
still alive. he leaves his heart to our country which was most important than his physical appearance.
Was Rizal Psychic? What is psychic? It is capable of extraordinary mental process, such as
extrasensory perception and mental telepathy. One of the evidence that this is true is, Rizal was
having a dream about the death of his brother so vividly. Then after few days his brother died. Austin
Coates is even surprised that many incidents Rizal wrote about his novels Noli me tangere and El
Filibusterismo eventually happened to him in real life. It is amazing that he could foresee all these
things long before they happened. The”Rizals were not really landowners. They were tenants of the
Dominicans who owned most of the land in Calamba. According to the Rizals (the Dominicans have
their own version of the story), the tenants started to complain about rent increases that did not
consider whether the harvest for that season was good or not… Rizal was not a radical man, but in
1891, he became a spokesman for these tenants whom he advised to trust in the justice and goodness
of Mother Spain. The tenants did just that, and the Spanish governor-general, Valeriano Weyler (who
became notorious as the Butcher of Cuba), sent soldiers to bodily evict the hardheaded tenants from
Calamba…It was a major upheaval for the people of Calamba and also Rizal, who became a marked
man not only for his anti-clerical novel, Noli me tangere, but also for being in the center of a major
agrarian dispute.
“FAMILY AND OTHERS”
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, Jose Rizal was born to a wealthy family in
Calamba, Laguna and was the seventh of eleven children. He was born on June 19, 1861 to Francisco
Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Morales Alonso y Quintos whose family later
changed their surname to "Realonda” His parents were prosperous farmers who were granted lease of
a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans. Rizal was the seventh child of their
eleven children namely: Saturina (Neneng), Paciano,Narcisa (Sisa), Olympia, Lucia, María (Biang)
,José Protasio , Concepción (Concha) ,Josefa (Panggoy) ,Trinidad (Trining), and Soledad (Choleng).
Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, José dropped the last three names that make up
his full name, on the advice of his brother, Paciano Rizal, and the Rizal Mercado family, thus
rendering his name as "José Protasio Rizal". Of this, Rizal writes: "My family never paid much
attention [to our second surname Rizal], but now I had to use it, thus giving me the appearance of an
illegitimate child!" This was to enable him to travel freely and disassociate him from his brother, who
had gained notoriety with his earlier links to Gomburza. From early childhood, José and Paciano were
already advancing unheard-of political ideas of freedom and individual rights which infuriated the
authorities. Despite the name change, José, as "Rizal" soon distinguished himself in poetry writing
contests, impressing his professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and
later, in writing essays that were critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial
Philippine societies. Indeed, by 1891, the year he finished his El filibusterismo, this second surname
had become so well known that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family now carry the name
Rizal instead of Mercado because the name Rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join them
and be worthy of this family name...” Everyone knows Blumentritt as a busy thoroughfare in manila,
but who knows or cares about Blementritt the person? Ferdinand Blumentritt was one of the first
European scholars to specialize in Philippine studies long before it was popular to do so. He was also
a good friend of Rizal.PROPAGANDA- publicity to promote something (idea, policy, or cause),
misleading publicity (deceptive or distorted information)
“EVERYDAY RIZAL”
In this chapter I realized many things about Rizal. First it tackles the usual breakfast of Rizal. He
usually had hot chocolate, a cup of rice, a sardinassecas—(tuyo). As Rizal travelled to Europe, he was
usallybrokenecausehis allowance would take a long time to arrive from the Philippines.Jose
Alejandro, who travelled with him in Belgium, stated that Rizal was thrifty; Rizalwould always ask
the hotel for the cost of room rental with and without breakfat.Rizal would often choose the room
without breakfast, to save money for alcohol, tea,and a box of biscuits.
In Rizal’s service.Asing-a Chinese cook who worked for Rizal when he and his family were in exile
inHong Kong in 1892.FaustinoTinong· Alfon-Rizal·s cook and all-around handyman in Dapitan. An
interview with TinongRevealed that: Rizal loves Lanzones and mangoes. Rizal’s meals often had 3
(three) ulams: A Filipino Dish, Spanish dish, Mestizo Dish. An interview with Asingrevealed that: He
was his cook for more than a year, He never shout or hit him, His salary was five pesos a month with
food, Rizal’s friends were: SixtoLopez, Jose Basa, Dr.Lorenzo Marques, MJE da Cunha, anda certain
Aquino. Don Sixtoalways ate at Rizal’s place.Rizal ate everything.Accustomed to both bread and
rice.Rizal didn·t drink alcohol, Rizal worked a lot and never took a siesta. CHAPTER 5
LEGENDARY TALENT In Hong Kong, in 1892, Jose Rizal began writing a sequel to El
Filibusterismo. He began in Tagalog, called the opening chapter "Makamisa", then started anew in
Spanish, and eventually left behind two texts comprising an unfinished third novel. In 1987, while
working in the National Library, Ambeth Ocampo stumbled on the Spanish drafts of "Makamisa"
with a 245page manuscript labelled "Borrador del Noli Me Tangere". He reconstructed the unwieldy
drafts into a translation and a full narrative, which is the core of this book. He provides context for
this by detailing for the non-specialist reader the scholarly chase that led to the discovery of the
manuscript, the process of research, and the task of authentication that led to the conclusion that
"Makamisa" is Rizal's third novel, and not, as previously thought, the unfiished work know as
"Tagalog Nobility." "Makamisa" brings forward a new Rizal work for students and their families,
historians and scholars, to enjoy -- one in which Filipinos can see themselves and part of their history.
Through it Ocampo proves that Rizal is not a closed book, and that even as we approach the
centennial in 1996, there still is matter for study on, research on, and enlightenment from the enigma
that is Jose Rizal.

Early Life

He was born as Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, one of the 11 children of Francisco
Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Morales Alonso y Quintos. He later adopted a
shorter version of his name, Jose Rizal. His family was very prosperous.
He enrolled at Ateneo de Municipal de Manila and graduated with a degree in Land Surveying and
Assessment in 1877. He had a deep interest in arts and thus he went to the Faculty of Arts and Letters
for a degree in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas.

His mother was becoming blind during this time and the young man decided to specialize in
ophthalmology in order to help her. He enrolled at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at University of
Santo Tomas in 1878 for this purpose.

He went to Spain to continue his studies and enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid from
where he earned his degree in medicine in 1884. He completed another degree in Philosophy and
Letters from the same institute the next year.

He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and went to France to further his knowledge of
ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg. He completed his eye specialization in 1887 under the
tutelage of the famous professor Otto Becker.

Later Life

In 1887, while studying medicine in the Universidad Central de Madrid, he wrote the novel ‘Noli Me
Tangere’. He harshly criticized the Spanish colonial rule in Philippines and wrote of the injustices and
brutalities suffered by the native people. His novel was banned by the government due to its scathing
contents.
He had been exposed to the problematic life under the Spanish government and was aware of the
difficulties experienced by the Filipinos. He became the leader of the reform movement of Filipino
students in Spain and wrote several articles and essays in the Spanish newspaper ‘La Solidaridad’.
He believed that Philippines was struggling with the twin problems of corrupt friars and bad
government. Ideas of progressive ideals, peaceful reforms, individual rights and rights for the Filipino
people formed the foundation of his writings.
The main focus of the reforms he advocated were freedom of assembly and speech, representation in
the legislature, equal rights before the law for both Filipinos and Spanish, and that the Philippines be
a province of Spain. However, the colonial authorities did not favor these reforms.
In 1891, his second novel ‘El Filibusterismo’ was published as a sequel to his first novel. The novel
dealt with dark and violent themes that were considerably different from the theme of its predecessor.
The novel profoundly impacted the Philippine society’s views about national identity and was banned
in some parts of the country for its portrayal of the Spanish government’s corruption.
He returned to Philippines in 1892 as he felt he needed to be in the country to effectively bring about
reforms. He formed a civic movement called La Liga Filipina which campaigned for social reforms
through peaceful and legal means.
By the early 1890s the government had branded Rizal an enemy of the State in spite of the fact that he
advocated peaceful reforms; the authorities were angry with his novels and writings which had
exposed the corruption of the Spanish Colonial government. He was exiled to Dapitan in July 1892.
In Dapitan he continued his reform work by building a school for young boys, a hospital and a water
supply system. He also taught farming and worked on agricultural projects using abaca, a plant used
for making rope.
In 1895, Cuba was engulfed by an epidemic of yellow fever and Rizal volunteered to serve as an
army doctor. His request was accepted by the Governor-General Ramon Blanco.
By August 1896, a secret society Katipunan started a violent revolution. Even though Rizal was in no
way associated with the revolution, he was arrested enroute to Cuba.
He was sent back to Manila where he was tried for rebellion, sedition and conspiracy and convicted
of all these charges