RIZAL’S FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, and EARLY EDUCATION

Genealogy, Birth, and Childhood

Genealogy

Mixed Ancestry

• Mercado-Rizal family had traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and even Negrito blood aside from
Chinese
• Jose Rizal was of mixed ancestry. In his veins flowed the blood of both East and West.
• At any rate, when Rizal was born, years had elapse without a single further inter racial
combination.
• The family was entirely Filipino.

Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-1898)

• Born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818; died at the age of 80

• Studied Latin and Philosophy in the College of San Jose in Manila
• Described by Rizal as a “Model of the Fathers”
• Quiet; serious, frugal man, talked less and worked more, strong in body.
• He was called Don Kiko as honorific for respect.
• He was elected as cabeza de barangay in Calamba.

Teodore Alonso Realonda (1826-1911)

• Born in Manila on November 8, 1826; died at the age of 85

• A graduate of Santa Rosa College
• A talented woman within a high culture, business ability, and literary gift.
• Described by Rizal as “a mother more than a woman of ordinary
culture”; she knows literature and speaks more Spanish than Rizal.
• She taught her children how to read, write and pray at a young age
The Rizal Children

Saturnina (1850-1913)

• Nickname: Neneng
• Oldest of the Rizal’s children
• Married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas
• Died at the age of 63

Paciano (1851-1930)

• Older brother of Jose Rizal

• Known as Pilosopong Tasyo in the novel Noli Me Tangere
• Joined the Philippine Revolution and became a combat general
• Died a bachelor at the age of 79
• He had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena) – boy and girl
• Rizal regarded him as “most noble of all Filipinos”
• Died at the age of 79

Narcisa (1852-1939)

• Better known as SISA

• She was the one who found the unmarked grave of her brother in Paco
cemetery.
• Married Antonio Lopez, a schoolteacher of Morong.
• Died at the age of 87

Olimpia (1855-1887)

• Better known as Ypia

• Married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila.
• She was the one who informs Rizal about the happenings of the family.
• Died from childbirth at the age of 32

Lucia (1857-1919)

• Married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba

• The husband died of cholera, and they refused to bury him because he is the
brother-in-law of Rizal
• Lucia instigated the Calamba people not to pay for the rent of the lands they
owned.
• They were ordered to be exiled.
• Died at the age of 62
Maria (1859-1945)

• Biang was her nickname

• Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna
• Rizal talked to her with regards to his relationship with Josephine Bracken,
which the family opposed.
• Mauricio Cruz, one of her children became Rizal’s student in Dapitan.
• Died at the age 86

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda

• His nickname was “Pepe”

• Lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hongkong.
• Was executed by the Spaniards on December 30, 1896.
• Died at the age of 35

Concepcion (1862-1865)

• Died at the age of 3 because of sickness.

• Her pet name was Concha.
• Her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life.

Josefa (1865-1945)

• Her pet name was Panggoy

• She joined the Katipunan and even became a women leader.
• They took care of the documents of the organization.
• She died an old maid at the age of 80

Trinidad (1868-1951)

• Her pet name was Trining

• She remained unmarried and lived with her sister Josefa.
• She received an alcohol lamp from Rizal in which he secretly hid the
“Mi Ultimo Adios”
• She died in 1951 outliving her siblings

Soledad (1870-1929)

• Her pet name was Choleng

• The youngest of the Rizal family.
• Married to Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba.
• Died at the age of 59
Advent of a National Hero

Delivery

• June 19, 1861

• Near midnight of Wednesday was the birth of Rizal in Calamba Laguna.
• The delivery of Rizal’s mother was exceedingly difficult that she almost died.
• The survival of Rizal’s mother was attributed to Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.
• His mother promised to make a pilgrimage to Antipolo should her delivery prove successful.

• June 22, 1861 – he was baptized as Jose Protacio Mercado at the Catholic
church of Calamba
• He was baptized by Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casanas as
the sponsor.

Rizal’s Name

• Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda

• Jose was in honor of St. Joseph and Protacio was from St. Gervacio Protacio.
• The original surname of the Rizal family was “Mercado”
• It was the surname adopted by Domingo Lam-co. In English, it means “market”
• The term “Rizal” – Spanish word Ricial which means “green field” or “new pasture”

• In 1849, Gov. Narciso Claveria issued a decree directing all Filipino families
to choose new surnames from the list of Spanish family names to facilitate
census and tax collection.
• The surname Rizal was chosen by his father Francisco Mercado because
it was more fitting for his farming clan than Mercado which signifies market.
• In 1849, the family of Teodora Alonso also adopted the name “Realonda”, so
Rizal’s mother became Teodora Alonso Realonda.

The Family of Rizal

• Belonged to principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines.

• His father was an inquilino, rented a huge land from Dominicans.
• One of the richest families in Calamba.
• First to build a large stone house in Calamba.
• First to own a carruaje (house-drawn carriage).
• First to have a home library (estimated to consist of more than 1,000
volumes).
• First to educate their children in the colleges of Manila.
• Raised rice, corn and sugar on large tracts of land.
• Able to purchase another stone house in Calamba which was a
manifestation of their great wealth.
Earliest Childhood Memories

• His happy days, in the family garden, were when he was 3 years old.
• He was a frail, sickly, and undersized child; therefore, was given the
tenderest care.
• His father built a little nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the
daytime.
• He watched from his garden cottage, the culiauan, maya, maria-capra,
martin, pipit, with wonder and joy to their twilight songs.

• He prays to the Angelus daily and at nightfall his mother gathered all the children at the house
to pray to the Angelus together.
• He remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly rosary.
• A kind old woman was employed as an aya (maid) to look after his comfort.
• The aya told various tales like aswang, nuno and tikbalang and these imaginary tales aroused
Rizal an enduring interest in legends and folklore.

First Sorrow

• He was jokingly called Ute by his brothers and sisters, and the people of Calamba knew him as
Pepe.
• Latin P.P pater putativus – putative father.
• In Spanish pronounced as Peh.
• He loved most his younger sister Concha (Concepcion)
• Concha died of sickness in 1865 when Jose was only 3 years old.

Devoted Son of the Church

• He was a religious boy, a scion of Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome
atmosphere of Catholicism.
• He began to take part in family prayers at the age of 3.
• At the age of 5, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible.
• He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in the novenas, and to join the religious processions.
• Fr. Leoncio Lopez – esteemed and respected during his boyhood, which he used to visit and
listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life.

Pilgrimage to Antipolo

• On June 6, 1868 – Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage

to Antipolo, in order to fulfil his mother’s vow which was made when
Jose was born.
• It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage
to Antipolo.
• He was thrilled by his first voyage. He didn’t sleep the whole night as the
casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he was awed by “the
magnificence of the watery expanse and the silence of the night.”
First Education from Mother

• Jose’s first teacher was his mother.

• At the age of 3, Jose learned the alphabet and prayers from her.
• Dona Teodora was patient and loving but strict as a tutor.
• Seeing her boy had a talent for poetry, she encouraged him to write
poems. She gave him all her love and all that she learned in college.
But when misbehaved, she spanked him with her slipper.
• She told Jose the “Story of the Moth”.

The Story of the Moth

• The moth story is about a young and a mother moth who are both flying
near a candle lamp. The mother moth advised her child not to fly too
close to the lamp as it would burn his wings. The young moth did not
listen, causing his wings to catch on fire and perish.

Effect of the Story to Rizal

• Many years later, Rizal himself felt that the moths’ tale could serve as an allegory of his own
destiny. About himself, he thus wrote:

- “Years have passed since then. The child has become a man … Steamships have taken
him across seas and oceans … He has received from experience bitter lessons, much
more bitter than the sweet lessons that his mother gave him …”
- “Nevertheless, he has preserved the heart of a child. He still thinks that light is the most
beautiful thing in creation, and that it is worthwhile for a man to sacrifice his life for it.”
 EARLY EDUCATION

Earliest Teachers Hired by His Father

• Maestro Leon Monroy

- He was a lived- in tutor of Rizal
- A former classmate of the Francisco Mercado
- He died after staying for five months in the Rizal family.

Influences From Other Members of His Family

• Uncle Gregorio
- Instilled the love for education.
- Taught him the value of hard work, to think for himself, and to observe his surroundings
keenly.

• Uncle Manuel Alberto

- Made sure he exceled in sports.
- He taught the young boy swimming, fencing, wrestling, and other sports.

• Uncle Jose Alberto

- Encouraged him to sketch, paint and make sculptures.

Artistic Endeavors

• Sa Aking Mga Kabata – wrote when he was eight years old.

- The controversy, however, shows that it was a nationalistic poem.
- Rizal had difficulty in the Filipino language
- Encountered only the word Kalayaan when he was 21 years old.
- The poem was published 10 years after his death.

• In Memory of my Town – written when he was 15 years old.

• He made sculptures out of mud.

• He drew and sketched.

Jose Rizal in Biñan

• One Sunday afternoon in June 1869, Jose left Calamba for Biñan. He was accompanied by
Paciano, who acted as his second father. The two brothers rode in a carromata, reaching their
destination after one and one-half hours’ drive. They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose
was to lodge.
• That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead of
enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed because of homesickness. "In the moonlight," he
recounted, "I remembered my hometown, my idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters. Ah, how
sweet to me was Calamba, my own town, in spite of the fact that was not as wealthy as Biñan."

First Day in Biñan

• The school was located in the house of Maestro Justiniano-Aquino Cruz.

• Rizal described him as tall, thin, long necked with a sharp nose and body
slightly bent forward and used to wear a sinamay shirt.
• A disciplinarian used a short thin stick.
• He was the object of bullying after he responded “um poco” when asked if
he can speak Latin or Spanish.
• Had a brawl fight with Pedro, the schoolmaster’s son.
• Became an outstanding student surpassing his classmate in Spanish, Latin and other subjects.
• After his class with Maestro, he had a painting lesson with old Juancho.
• Some of his classmates discredit him and many times he was punished for his alleged
wrongdoings
• Upon the suggestion of the schoolmaster, his father sent him to Manila to continue his studies.
 RIZAL in ATENEO and UST

Ateneo Municipal

• 1872-1877 – he was 11 years old.

• He passed the exam in Colegio de Letran.
• He entered Ateneo municipal.
• Rejected by father Margin Ferrando – (past the enrollment period, his weak stature)
• With the help of Manuel Jerez- nephew of Jose Burgos he entered Ateneo.
• He changed his name to Rizal to avoid being associated with Burgos.
• They use competition to encourage students to study harder.
• 2 classes:
o Carthaginian (non-boarder of Ateneo)
o Roman (the boarder inside Ateneo)
▪ Emperor – 1st
▪ Tribune – 2nd
▪ Decurion – 3rd
▪ Centurion – 4th
▪ Standard Bearer – 5th

Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo

• Under the guidance of Fr. Sanchez, Rizal became a part of the literary group.
• Painting lessons under Agustin Saez.
• Studied sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus.
• He carved the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on a batikuling wood.
• He carved the image of the Sacred Heart.
• He joined the organization Marian Congregation. His mentor was Fr. Pablo Pastells, S.J.
• He was a member of the Academy of Spanish Literature.
• He was a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Literary Works of Rizal in Ateneo

• He read the complicated novels of Alexander Dumas, “Count of Monte Cristo”.

• He became fascinated by the work of Dr. Feodor Jagor, “Travels in the Philippines”.
• My First Inspiration – first poem he wrote in Ateneo.
• Through Education the Country Receives Light.
• Intimate Alliance between Religion and Good Education.
• He wrote manuscripts for play, “St. Eustache, the Martyr”.
The Release of His Mother from Prison

• Jose’s success in Ateneo was not complete because he longed for

his mother.
• She was accused by her sister-in-law Teodora Herbosa.
• During his summer break he would visit the mother.
• The mother was released because of the request of her sister
Soledad from the Governor general after later appreciated her talent
in dancing.

Success in Ateneo

• In S.Y. 1877-1878, he returned to Ateneo while studying at the

University of Santo Tomas.
• He took up a course in land surveying which was offered then as a
vocational course.
• He completed the surveyor's course and was awarded the title
perito agrimensor.
• He passed the final examination for the course.
• He could not practice the surveyor's profession since he was still underage when he passed the
course.
• He was issued his certificate on November 25, 1881 – at the age of 20.

College Life in Universidad de Santo Tomas

• He entered the university as a student of Philosophy and Letter.

• He was not sure of the course he wanted to take, but eventually
followed his father’s course.
• He shifted to Medicine course after considering his mother’s eye
condition.
• Some of his grades were still excellent but he also had lower grades.
• Rizal got the mark of Aprovechado (very good)

Literary Triumph in UST

• He submitted an entry in the Liceo Artistico Literario de Manila in 1879, entitled

"A La Juventud Filipina".
• He won first prize in the contest. He was awarded a silver quill.
• For the first time, he used the phrase "the youth, the fair hope of my country" ("Kabataan, pag-asa
ng aking bayan").
• In 1880, a literary contest was held by Liceo Artistico Literario de Manila.
• Jose Rizal submitted an entry entitled "El Consejo de los Dioses" ("Council of the Gods").
• This was held in commemoration of the 400th death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes,
Spain's national poet.
• He was awarded the grand prize.
• The award was a gold ring with an engraved bust of Cervantes.