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25 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Jose Rizal
By FilipiKnow |
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I know what you’re thinking. Jose Rizal….again?!
Well, we all know that he’s our national hero, and his name is all over the place. Perhaps you
hated him in high school or college, and even bragged that you already knew everything about
him.
But today is his 153rd birthday, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than to learn lesser-
known facts about his life, works, and death. After all, we don’t want our national hero to be
buried by the flurry of social media trends and technological innovations.
So whether you’re an anti-Rizal or not, please remember this great patriot on his special day.
Here are 25 of the most amazing facts you should know about our Jose Rizal:
1. There are three animals named after Rizal. These species of animals were the ones he
collected while he was an exile in Dapitan and include Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a type of small
beetle; Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a species of flying dragon; and Rachophorous
Rizali (Boetger), a species of toad.
Specimens collected by Rizal in Dapitan. Photo credit: www.joserizal.ph

2. Contrary to popular belief, the Rizal monument in Luneta was not made by a Filipino
artist. The design was the work of Swiss sculptor named Richard Kissling who won second
prize in an art competition that was held in 1907 to find the best scale model for the future Rizal
monument. The first prize went to Italian sculptor Carlo Nicoli of Carrara but for some reason,
the contract to build the monument was given to the second-prize winner.
Bozeto No. 9 entitled “Motto Stella” by the Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling. Photo credit:
Dennis Villegas

3. Rizal cured himself of tuberculosis, and was later recognized as a tuberculosis expert.
4. He was already a terrific sculptor even at a very young age. In fact, Rizal carved a 9-inch
statuette of the Sacred Heart out of batikuling wood when he was only 14 years old. The Jesuit
fathers brought this statuette in Fort Santiago when they visited Rizal in December 1896. Aside
from wood sculptures, Rizal also carved 40 amazing masterpieces out of plaster, terra-cotta, wax,
and clay.
Photo credit: joserizal.info
5. When he was studying in Spain, Rizal had to pawn a ring owned by his sister
Saturnina just to pay for his exams. But he didn’t want his family to get worried, so he only
mentioned his victories and excellent grades in the letters addressed to his family.
6. “Mi Retiro”, the name of his place of exile in Dapitan, was inspired by his favorite park in
Spain, the Parque del Buen Retiro.
7. He left specific instructions on how he wanted to be treated after his death. Here are some
of his “last wishes”:
via GMA News
8. Rizal is regarded by many as the “Father of Philippine Comics” because of some

humorous illustrations he made in Germany. The said drawing, entitled “The baptism of two
brothers”, was inspired by the German cartoon “Max and Moritz” and was made by Rizal to
entertain the children of his landlord, Pastor Ulmer. The original copy is now preserved in the
National Library of the Philippines.
“The baptism of two brothers” by Jose Rizal. Photo credit: Dennis Villegas
9. Rizal had psychic abilities. On his journal entry dated January 1, 1883, he shared about a
“frightful nightmare” he had two nights before (i.e. December 30). In this dream, Rizal was
imitating a dying actor and felt his “breath was failing” and his vision became very dim.
Interestingly, Rizal would be executed 13 years later at the exact same date. Austin Coates,
Rizal’s biographer, also underscored that there were many incidents written in both Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo that eventually happened to Rizal in real life.
10. According to Faustino “Tinong” Alfon, Rizal’s former cook in Dapitan, our national hero’s
favorite fruits were lanzones and mangoes. His meals back then usually consisted of three
kinds of ulam. Rizal’s breakfast, on the other hand, was usually comprised of hot chocolate, rice,
and sardinas secas, commonly known now as simply tuyo.
11. Rizal was widely featured in cigarette wrappers. Most of these wrappers, made with Art
Deco or Art Nouveau designs, were produced in Binondo during the turn-of-the-century. An old
cigarette label, Las Delicias, even went to the extreme by featuring Rizal smoking a cigar.
Photo credit: pinoykollektor.blogspot.com
12. Rizal was exceptional and prolific in a wide range of subjects–except music. This is
because he already realized early in life that his singing “sounded like the braying of an ass.”
13. Vital statistics: Rizal was about five feet three inches tall and had a waistline of about
25″ to 26″. He also had a big head: His hats were 6 1/2″ across and the interior measures 8″
from front to back. He didn’t look odd, though, as his broad shoulders and developed neck
compensated for it.
14. Rizal’s original execution photo features a dog, the mascot of the firing squad. It is said
that the dog ran around the corpse whining after a soldier fired one last shot in Rizal’s head to
make sure he was dead.
Fusilamiento de José Rizal (The execution of Jose Rizal)
15. It was rumored that both Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong were the illegitimate sons of
Jose Rizal. Read more: 8 Mind-Boggling Myths About Jose Rizal
16. Only one of Rizal’s skeletal remains was not buried under the monument in Luneta. A
vertebra or a piece of the backbone where Rizal was allegedly hit by the bullet was claimed by
his family and is now displayed in Rizal Shrine, Fort Santiago.
Rizal’s backbone currently displayed in Fort Santiago. Photo credit: Camille Eva Marie Conde
17. During Rizal’s execution, a total of 8 Filipinos armed with Remingtons formed the
firing squad. There were also 8 Spanish soldiers with Mausers behind them, ready to shoot the
Filipino soldiers if they refused to execute Rizal.
18. A descendant of one of the executioners, Adolfo Pastor Quetcuti, revealed that the
captain of the guards put only one live bullet in one of the rifles, while placing blanks in the
others. He explained that this is to ease their guilt as they already knew in the beginning that
Rizal was innocent.
19. Rizal stuffed unknown papers in his pockets and shoes on the eve of his execution. He
did this, assuming that his corpse would be turned over to his family after the execution. But as
we all know, his body was dumped by Spanish officials in an unmarked grave in Paco cemetery.
The papers had since deteriorated, the contents of which were never identified.
20. Rizal had a third, unfinished novel. Known among historians as “Makamisa”, this
unfinished work was started by Rizal in Hongkong in 1892. Makamisa was not actually the title
of Rizal’s work, but only the title of a single chapter of the unfinished Tagalog novel.
21. Rizal once sent a love letter written in invisible ink to Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from
Pagsanjan. The message could only be deciphered if you put the letter over a lamp or candle.
Leonor Valenzuela was one of Rizal’s first sweethearts. Unfortunately, they parted ways when
Rizal had to leave for Spain.
Leonor Valenzuela. Photo credit: www.joserizal.ph
22. “A la Senorita C.O. y R.”, one of Rizal’s best poems, was dedicated to Consuelo Ortiga y
Rey, a pretty daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga whom Rizal fell in love with when he was in Madrid.
However, Rizal backed out of the blossoming relationship because he was good friends
with Eduardo de Lete who was in love with Consuelo. He also wanted to remain loyal to Leonor
Rivera who would eventually marry Englishman Henry Kipping.
23. Rizal composed a farewell song for Leonor Rivera just before his departure for
Europe. The song, entitled “Leonor”, became very popular “that many were heard singing it in
the streets and during social gatherings. The moment they saw Leonor, the children would sing
the song.” Here is the English translation of the song:
And so it has arrived: the fatal instant,

the dismal injunction of my cruel fate;
and so it has come at last: the moment, the date,
when I must separate myself from you.Goodbye, Leonor, goodbye! I take my leave,
leaving behind with you my lover’s heart!
Goodbye, Leonor: from here I now depart.
O melancholy absence! Ah, what pain!
24.Rizal played a key role in the identification of Oncomelania cuadrasi, a Philippine snail
that harbors the parasite that causes schistosomiasis. The said snail was named after a certain
Mr. Cuadrasi, a known naturalist in Manila and to whom Rizal sent his specimens of animals and
insects for identification.
Numerous Oncomelania quadrasi. This diminutive snail is the common host for Schistosoma
japonicum in Leyte, Philippines. Photo credit: workforce.calu.edu

25. While in Dapitan, Rizal wrote an extensive written discourse on kulam. Entitled “La

curacion de los hechizados” (The treatment and cure of the bewitched), this lesser-known work
of Rizal explores the psychological treatment for kulam and even explained that witches were
not always women who are old or ugly. He also discussed the difference between hiloanon of
the Visayas, who gives poison to her victims, and the manggagaway, the ‘traditional’ witch who
uses rag doll and pins.
Illustration that accompanied Jose Rizal’s “The treatment and cure for the bewitched.” Photo
credit: Dennis Villegas

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25 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Jose Rizal

I know what you’re thinking. Jose Rizal….again?!

Specimens collected by Rizal in Dapitan. Photo credit: www.joserizal.ph

Photo credit: joserizal.info

8. Rizal is regarded by many as the “Father of Philippine Comics” because of some

Photo credit: pinoykollektor.blogspot.com

Leonor Valenzuela. Photo credit: www.joserizal.ph

And so it has arrived: the fatal instant,

25. While in Dapitan, Rizal wrote an extensive written discourse on kulam. Entitled “La

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