Rizal

• Doctor


  Completed his medical course in Spain and was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid
• Jose


  Chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph)
• Protacio


  From Gervacio P. which come from a Christian calendar
• Mercado


  Adopted in 1731 by Domigo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal) which the Spanish term mercado means 'market' in English
• Rizal


  From the word 'Ricial' in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again
• Alonzo


  Old surname of his mother
• Realonda


  It was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother based on the culture by that time
• Jose Rizal was born in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna


  June 19, 1861
• Aged three days old, Rizal was baptized in the Catholic church


  June 22, 1861
• Father Rufino Collantes


  A Batangueño, the parish priest who baptized Rizal
• Father Pedro Casanas


  Rizal's godfather, native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family
• Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery


  The governor general of the Philippines when Rizal was born
• Don Francisco Mercado


  Born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818, studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila, became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda, a hardy and independent-minded man, who talked less and worked more, and was strong in body and valiant in spirit, died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80, Rizal affectionately called him "a model of fathers"
• Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda


  Born in Manila on November 8, 1826, educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in the city, a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent, business ability, and the fortitude of Spartan women, is a woman of more than ordinary culture: she knows literature and speaks Spanish (according to Rizal), died in Manila on August 16, 1911 at the age of 85
• Rizal children


  • Saturnina
  • Paciano
  • Narcisa
  • Olimpia
  • Lucia
  • Maria
  • Jose
  • Concepcion
  • Josefa
  • Trinidad
  • Soledad
• Saturnina

  Oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng, married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas
• Paciano

  Older brother and confident of Jose Rizal, was a second father to Rizal, immortalized him in Rizal's first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio, Rizal regarded him as the "most noble of Filipinos", became a combat general in the Philippine Revolution, died on April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged 79, had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena)—a boy and a girl
• Narcisa

  Her pet name was Sisa, married to Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong
• Olimpia

  Ypia was her pet name, married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila
• Lucia


  Married to Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a nephew of Father Casanas, Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr. Rizal
• Maria

  Biang was her nickname, married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna
• Jose

  The greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius, nickname was Pepe, lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong, had a son but this baby-boy died a few hours after birth; Rizal named him "Francisco" after his father and buried him in Dapitan
• Concepcion

  Her pet name was Concha, died of sickness at the age of 3, her death was Rizal's first sorrow in life
• Josefa

  Her pet name was Panggoy, died an old maid at the age of 80
• Trinidad

  Trining was her pet name, she died also an old maid in 1951 aged 83
• Soledad


  Youngest of the Rizal children, her pet name was Choleng, married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba
• Rizal always called his sisters Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single)
• Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda married on June 28, 1848, after which they settled down in Calamba
• Mercado


  The real surname of the Rizal family, adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full blooded Chinese
• Rizal


  The family acquired a second surname, given by a Spanish alcalde mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who was a family friend
• Rizal's paternal ancestry


  • Domingo Lamco (a Chinese immigrant from the Fukien city arrived in Manila about 1690)
  • Ines de la Rosa (Well-to-do Chinese Christian girl of Changchow)
  • Francisco Mercado
  • Cirila Bernacha
  • Juan Mercado (Rizal's grandfather)
  • Cirila Alejandro
• Rizal's maternal ancestry


  • Lakandula (The last native king of Tondo)
  • Eugenio Ursua (Rizal's maternal Great-great Grandfather of Japanese Ancestry)
  • Regina
  • Benigma (a Filipina)
  • Manuel de Quintos (a Filipino from Pangasinan)
  • Brigida
  • Lorenzo Alberto Alonso (a prominent Spanish Filipino mestizo of Biñan)
  • Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal's mother), Gregorio, Manuel
• Rizal home


  • A two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hard-woods 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
• The Rizal family had a simple, contented and happy life
• Calamba


  A hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it
• Rizal's poems and writings about Calamba


  • 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
• Another memory of Rizal's infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there was a moon