Rizal
Rizal
Rizal
“Whatever our condition might be then, let us love our country always and let us wish
nothing but her welfare. Thus we shall labor in conformity with the purpose of humanity
dictated by God which is the harmony and universal peace of His creations”
Letter of Rizal to Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt
Rizal: A Modern Day
According to Nick Joaquin, Rizal was greatly aggrieved by his physique. When Rizal
was young, he was always teased by his sisters because of his frail body and often described as a
very tiny child with a disproportionately big head that he carried even in his adulthood.
When the young Rizal was in the early stages of adolescence, he strove to erase his
punny image. He became interested in body-building and athletics but his feelings of inferiority
had made an indelible mark on his soul. Rizal was forever haunted by a sense of inadequacy
which explains his inability to sustain relationships with women and great dread for
responsibility.
Rizal's inferiority complexes were not without positive side, however. It is his feelings of
inn adequacy that made him dynamic and he continually looked for ways to be better than others.
Jose Rizal's dynamism was what made him a jack of many talents, and a master of many trades.
What he lackeed in physique he compensated by excelling iin many fields such as
science,art,literature,among many others. Because of his insecurities, Rizal strove to overcome
himself and rise above the others.
Rizal's determination to excel in as many fields as possible was to show the world that he
was capable, that he was as tall as the next man. He proved that he was very much taller by rising
above himself.
The Name
Jose Protacio Realonda Alonso Rizal Mercado,
Jose- was chosen by his mother who was devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St.Joseph)
Protacio- was taken from St. Protacio, who were very properly was a martyr. That a Filipino
priest baptized him and a secular Archbishop confirmed him seem fitting.
Rizal- the name was adapted in 1850 by authority of the Royal Decree of 1849, upon the order of
Governor Narciso Claveria. Rizal was a shortened form of Spanish word for “second crop,”
seemed suited to a family of farmers who were making a second start in a new home.
Alonzo-old surname of his mother·
Y-and-Realonda- it was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother based on the
culture by that time
Mercado- adopted in 1731 by Domigo Lamco (the paternal great-great grandfather of Jose Rizal)
which the Spanish term mercado means ‘market’ in English
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The Siblings
Jose was the seventh of eleven children; the younger of two boys.
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in
Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.
17TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She
studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious,
hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and
died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913) Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel
Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
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.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a
teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887) The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from
childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919) The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945) The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896) The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the
Spaniards on December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865) The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945) The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951) The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to
die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929) The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero
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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, characterized by the four R’s- reading, writing,
arithmetic, and religion. Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds of
the pupils by means of the tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip. Despite the
defects of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal was able to acquire the necessary
instruction preparatory for college work in Manila. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a
physical weakling, rose to become an intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the
outmoded and backward system of instruction obtaining in the Philippines during the last
decades of Spanish regime.