Birth and Childhood

• Rizal


  A man of incredible intellectual power, with amazing artistic talent as well. He excelled at anything he put his mind to - medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture, sociology...
• Rizal


  • Epitomized the ideal Renaissance man – a person of broad intellectual and cultural interests encompassing the full spectrum of available knowledge
• Rizal is the pride of the Malay race and the greatest hero of a nation
• Rizal is


  • Patriot
  • Martyr
  • Hero
• Jose Rizal


  Born on the 19th day of June 1861, in the province of Laguna
• Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado (y) Alonso Realonda


  Rizal's full name
• It was a difficult labor for his mother, Teodora Alonso because of his big head, and she promised to make a pilgrimage to Antipolo should her delivery become successful
• Jose


  Rizal's name chosen by his mother who was a devotee of Saint Joseph
• Rizal was not born poor, just comfortably well-to-do because the house he was born in was a large, two storey house, the lower floor of stone and concrete, and the second floor of wood, surrounded by a balcony
• They owned a carriage and a private library which consisted of more than 1,000 volumes, many of them bought in Europe
• The house was the fruit of the sacrifices and labors of Francisco Mercado, Rizal's father, in cultivating the lands leased to him by the Dominicans
• Rizal was of mixed racial origin like most Filipinos
• Domingo Lamco


  Rizal's great-great grandfather, a Chinese merchant who married a Chinese mestiza, Ines de la Rosa
• Mercado


  The family surname adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco to free the young generation from the prejudices that followed those with a Chinese name
• Francisco Mercado, Rizal's father, moved to Calamba, starting as a pioneer tenant farmer at the Dominican estate, and was soon sub-leasing his additional allotments
• Teodora Alonso, Rizal's mother, had a dry goods store, and from these earnings, the fortunes of the Rizal family were built
• Manuel de Quintos


  Rizal's great grandfather on his maternal side, a Chinese mestizo from Lingayen, Pangasinan, who was a lawyer
• The industry of the couple, Francisco and Teodora, raised them to the privileged class, the principalia
• Don Francisco Mercado


  Rizal's father, born in Binan, Laguna on May 11, 1818, studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose Manila, and was described by Rizal as "a model of fathers"
• Dona Teodora Alonso


  Rizal's mother, born in Meisik, Sta. Cruz, Manila on November 8, 1826, studied Bachelor of Arts at the Colegio of Sta. Rosa Manila, and was a woman of extraordinary culture, literature, and mathematics
• Rizal's siblings


  • Saturnina (Neneng)
  • Paciano
  • Narcisa (Sisa)
  • Olimpia (Ypia)
  • Lucia
  • Maria (Biang)
  • Jose (Pepe)
  • Concepcion (Concha)
  • Josefa (Panggoy)
  • Trinidad (Trining)
  • Soledad (Choleng)
• Both Rizal's parents greatly influenced his character - his father's profound sense of dignity and self-respect, seriousness and self-possession, and his mother's temperament of the poet and the dreamer and bravery for sacrifice
• Rizal's father, being a liberal thinker, ignored the orders to choose a family name from a list provided, and reapplied for the name Rizal because they wanted to follow it to their earnings as a farmer, but the petition was rejected by the Spanish authorities
• The first one who used the family name "Rizal" was Jose when he went to Manila and studied in Ateneo Municipal in 1872
• Calamba


  A small agricultural town located at the foot of Mt. Makiling as it slopes down in Laguna de Bay, a prosperous town devoted to the production of sugar and irrigated rice fields
• When Jose was three, he learned his alphabet and became avidly interested in reading and literature because the family's extensive library provided him with the necessary incentives
• Jose loved to read books while his mother Teodora listened, and he also manifested skills in sculpture, sketching and painting
• One of Rizal's early memories was a fable his mother had related to him one evening, "The Story of the Moth", which left a deep impression on his mind and would serve as a constant reminder of the daring risks that he would take as a young idealist
• Calamba


  • Small agricultural town
  • Located at the foot of Mt. Makiling
  • Prosperous town devoted to the production of sugar and irrigated rice fields
  • Inhabitants lived well despite hardships as tenants of the Dominican friars
• Rizal's age when he learned alphabet

  3 years old
• Rizal loved to read books while his mother Teodora listened
• The story of the moth

  • Fable told by Rizal's mother Teodora
  • Left a deep impression on Rizal's mind
  • Served as a constant reminder of the daring risks that he would take as a young idealist
  • Rizal learned that "one must suffer any consequence if one is to succeed"
• Rizal's happy memories


  • Father constructed him a little nipa hut to play in the daytime
  • Family employed an aya (nurse maid) to care for him
  • Rizal could recognize many birds and found joy in listening to them
  • Family gathered daily to pray the Angelus
  • Aya narrated stories about fairies, buried treasure, and amazing tales
  • Rizal enjoyed nocturnal walks in the town, especially by the river
  • Rizal's first trip to Manila and visit to the Virgin Mary of Antipolo
• Rizal's sad memories


  • Death of his sister Concepcion at age 3
  • Arrest and imprisonment of his mother Teodora on a malicious charge
  • Martyrdom of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora
• In 1876, at age 15, Rizal wrote a poem "In Memory of My Town" (Un Rucuerdo A Mi Pueblo) that reflected his love of nature and confidence in God, which evolved into a consuming love of country
• Rizal's first poem "To My Fellow Children" (Sa Aking Mga Kabata)


  • Showed idealism and seriousness
  • Encouraged appreciation and concern for the native tongue, which he considered equal to any other language in the world
  • The message was "We must love and speak our national language"
• Rizal's boyhood influentials


  • Curious ability to recognize things that were worthwhile
  • Influenced by environmental, hereditary, and divine providence factors
• Qualities Rizal inherited from his ancestors

  • Chinese: serious nature, thrifty, patience, love for children
  • Spanish: elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, gallantry to ladies
  • Malayan: love for freedom, well-traveled, courageous
• Qualities Rizal inherited from his parents

  • From mother: spirit of self-sacrifice, passion for arts and literature, god-fearing
  • From father: importance of self-respect, love for work, habit of independent thinking
• Influences from Rizal's uncles

  • Uncle Gregorio: encouraged him to read good books
  • Uncle Manuel: encouraged him to develop his frail body through physical exercises
  • Uncle Jose Alberto: inspired him to develop his artistic ability