LESSON 4:

RIZAL'S LIFE:
\FAMILY, CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION
LET’S START:
A. Meanings of Name
1. Jose - was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of a Christian Saint (San
Jose).
2. Protacio - from Gervacio P. which come from a Christian calendar
3. Mercado - adopted in 1731 by Domigo Lamco (the paternal great-
greatgrandfather of Jose Rizal) which the Spanish term mercado means ‘market’ in
English
4. Rizal - from the word ‘Ricial’ in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut whilestill
green, sprouts again
5. Alonzo - old surname of his mother
6. Y- and
7. Realonda - it was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother
based on the culture by that time

B. Birth
1. June 19, 1861 - when he was born in Calamba, Laguna
2. June 22, 1861 - when he was baptized in a Catholic Church
3. Fr. Rufino Collantes - a Batangueño, the parish priest who baptized Rizal
4. Fr. Pedro Casañas - Rizal’s godfather, native of Calamba and close friend of the
Rizal family
5. Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery - the governor general of the Philippines when
Rizal was born

B. Rizal’s Parents
a. Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (1818–1898)
He was an independent-minded, taciturn but dynamic gentleman from whom Jose
inherited his ‘free soul.’Don Francisco became ‘tiniente gobernadorcillo’ (lieutenant
governor) in Calamba and was thus nicknamed ‘Tiniente Kiko’. Students’ comical
conjecture that the fictional character ‘Kikong Matsing’ of‘Batibot’ was named after
Don Francisco is, of course, unfounded.

Jose’s father was born on May 11, 1818 in Biñan, Laguna. When he was eight years
old, he lost his father. He was nonetheless educated as he took Latin and
Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila, where he met and fell in love with
Teodora Alonso, a student in the College of Santa Rosa. Married on June 28, 1848,
they settled down in Calamba where they were granted lease of a rice farm in
theDominican-owned haciendas.

Don Francisco died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80, approximately a
year after his son’s martyrdom in Bagumbayan. Jose Rizal considered Teniente Kiko
as ‘model of fathers.’

b. Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda de Rizal y Quintos

On November 9, 1827, Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda de Rizal y Quintos, the
mother of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, was born in Meisik, Tondo, Manila.She
was known for being a disciplinarian as well as a dedicated, courteous and hard-
working mother.

As the young Rizal's first teacher, she had a profound influence on his development
and was his inspiration in taking up medicine. She was 20 years old when she
married Francisco Mercado of Biñan, Laguna in 1848. They settled in Calamba,
Laguan and to them were born eleven children. The Rizal family was primarily
engaged in agriculture.

As the mother of a perceived enemy of the Spanish authorities, Teodora was often
persecuted. In 1872, she was imprisoned for two and a half years on trumped-up
charges of poisoning her brother's wife. In 1891, she was made to walk fifty
kilometers to Sta. Cruz, Laguna, for failing to use her hispanicized surname,
Realonda de Rizal. She had insisted on using Alonzo. Her family was ejected from
their lands in Calamba due to a land conflict after which they relocated to Manila.
On August 16, 1911, Jose Rizal's mother died in her home in San Fernando Street,
Binondo, Manila. Fitting honors were accorded her at her funeral.

D. Rizal’s Ancestry
Like all Filipinos, Jose Rizal is of Malay descent. However, he also has Negrito,
Indones,Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish blood in him. On his father's side, his
grandfather Domingo Lam-co was a Chinese from the Fukien City of Changchow, a
businessman living in the Philippines. He embraced Christianity and married a
Christian woman, Ines dela Rosa. He used the surname Mercado, a Spanish word
meaning “market” suitable to him because he was a market trader. The union of
Domingo Mercado and Ines dela Rosa is blessed with a child. They named him
Francisco Mercado who later married Cirila Bernacha (Bernarda Monicha in other
writings), a Chinese mestizo.

The young couple lived in Biñan where Francisco became the governor of the town.
One of their children was Juan Mercado, Jose Rizal's grandfather. Juan married
Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese mestizo. He also became the governor of Biñan. Captain
Juan and Captain Cirila had thirteen children; the youngest was Francisco Mercado,
Jose Rizal’s father. Francisco Mercado's father died when he was only eight years
old so he was left with the care of his mother. He studied Latin and Philosophy at
San Jose College in Manila. While studying,he met Teodora Alonso Realonda whom
he fell in love with and married on June 28, 1848. The couple lived in Calamba. They
lived on a farm in Calamba where they raised their large family.

Meanwhile, Donya Teodora’s family was believed to have come from the last
indigenous king of Tundo, Lakandula His ancestor Eugenio Ursua, of Japanese
descent, married a Filipino named Benigna. Their daughter Regina married Manuel
de Quintos, a Chinese lawyer from in the province of Pangasinan. One of their
children was Brigada, Jose Rizal's grandmother. He married Lorenzo Alberto, a
Spanish-Filipino mestizo from Biñan. They had five children: Narcisa, Teodora (the
mother by Jose Rizal), Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose. Because from a prominent
family, Teodora studied in Manila if where he met and married Francisco Mercado.
The real surname of the Rizal family is Mercado, but there are many other with the
same surname in the Philippines. It is said that a Mayor friend of their family added
Rizal in their surname for perhaps distinction or identity. As for the surname Mercado
changed as Rizal, it can be said: at that time, the Filipinos used native surnames that
are difficult to pronounce for the Spaniards. Other Filipinos used surnames that are
similar to those of the Spaniards such as de los Reyes, de la Cruz, and Santos. So
to avoid clutter,Governor-General Narciso Claveria ordered the selection of new
surnames from the list. Don Francisco, allegedly chose “Rizal”, although it is not on
the list, because Rizal was said to come from the word “ricial” that means “luntiang
kabukiran”, much better than Mercado which means market (Corpuzet al., 1988).
Jose was the first to use the surname Rizal when he enrolled at the Ateneo
Municipal. He did that because his brother Paciano who uses Mercado is suspected
to be related to Priest Jose Burgos. But in his passport to Spain, the name he used
was Jose Mercado.

E. Rizal’s Sublings
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco
Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.

1. SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)

She is the eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage and has a nickname, “Neneng”.
She was married to Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan,Batangas.

2. PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)

Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in
Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.

3. NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)

The third child. “Sisa” was her nickname. Married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a
teacher and musician.
4. OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. “Ypia” was her nickname. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887
from childbirth.

5. LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)

The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.

6. MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)

The sixth child. “Biang” was her nickname. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan,
Laguna.

7. JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)

The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on
December 30,1896. Married with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong

8. CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

The eight child. “Concha” was her nickname. Died at the age of three (Rizal’s 1st
sorrow in life).

9. JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)

The ninth child. “Panggoy” was her pet name. An epileptic, died a spinster.

10. TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)

The tenth child. “Trining” was her nickname. Died a spinster and the last of the family
to die.

11. SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

“Choleng” was her nickname. The youngest child and was married to Pantaleon
Quintero.

F. THE RIZAL HOME

Rizal’s house was one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during the
Spanish times.It was a two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe
stones and hardwoods and roofed with red tiles. By day, it hummed with the noises
of children at play and the songs of the birds in the garden; by night, it echoed with
the dulcet notes of family prayers.
• The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish
Philippines.

G. CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA

Calamba was named after a big native jar. It was a hacienda town which belonged to
the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it. In 1876, when he
was 15 years old, and was a student of Ateneo de Manila he remembered his
beloved town that’s why he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of
My Town).

The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden
when he was three years old

Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal related,
his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus

The death of little Concha brought Rizal his first sorrow.

When Rizal was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family bible

The Story of the Moth - made the profoundest impression on Rizal -“died a martyr to
its illusions”

Sa Aking Mga Kabata (To My Fellow Children) - Rizal’s first poem in native language
at the age of eight; reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment

At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first dramatic work which was a Tagalog comedy.
H. EARLY EDUCATION
Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that a
son of an ilustrado family received during his time. Instruction was rigid and strict.
Knowledge was forced into the minds of pupil. By means of tedious memorymethod
aided by teachers whips.

1. The Heroes First Teacher

 The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was remarkable woman of good
character and fine culture. Rizal at the age of 3 learned the alphabet and
prayers. Doña Teodora discovered Jose’s talent for poetry and encourages him
to write.
 Maestro Celestino was Jose’s first private tutor. Private tutors of Rizal.
 Maestro Lucas Padua was second private tutor.
 Maestro Leon Monroy became the hero’s tutor in Spanish and Latin. He was the
classmate of Don Francisco. When Don Leon died; Jose’s parents decided to
send him to a private school in Biñan
2. Jose Goes to Biñan
 June 1869 – Jose goes to Biñan with Paciano
 Carromata – the mode transportation
 Lodged at her aunt’s house

3. First Day in Biñan

 School of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz – formal teacher
 The school was in maestro’s house
 Pedro - the teacher’s son which Rizal challenged to a fight
 Andres Salandanan - challenged Rizal to an arm-wrestling match
 Juancho - an old painter who was the father-in-law of the school teacher; freely
give Rizal lessons in drawing and painting

 Jose Guevara- Rizal’s classmate who also loved painting, became apprentices
of the old painter“the favorite painters of the class”- because of his artistic talent
Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you
- Unknown

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR EXCELLENCE IN

THIS LESSON!
REFERENCES:
 Couse Syllabus
 Tabotabo, C.V. and R.D. Leano (2009) Jose P. Rizal: A Hero’s Life. Manila.
Mindshapers Co., Inc.
 Ariola, Mariano M. (2013). Life, works, and writings of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Manila:
Purely Books
 Trading and Publishing Corp.Atienza, Glecy C., Bernales, Rolando A., Celebre,
Roberto Baltazar S., Lacsamana, Liodevico C.,
 and Talegon, Vivencio M. Jr. (2008).Jose Rizal: ang pambansang bayani.
Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
 Pasigui, Ronnie E. & Cabalu, Danilo H. (2014). Jose Rizal: The Man and the
Hero (Chronicles, Legacies, and Controversies). [2nd Ed].Quezon City: C & E
Publishing Inc.
 Valenzuela, Edwin E. (2014). Rizal and other heroes: their relevance in modern
Filipino nationalism. Manila: Unlimited Books Library Services and Publishing
Inc.