Advent of a National Hero

Chapter One Advent of a National Hero

Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-splendored genius who became the greatest hero of a nation. Endowed by God with versatile gifts, he truly ranked with the world's geniuses. He was a physician (ophthalmic surgeon), poet, dramatist, essayist, novelist, historian, architect, painter, sculptor, educator, linguist, musician, naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer, farmer businessman, economist, geographer, cartographer, bibliophile, philologist, grammarian, folklorist, philosopher, translator, inventor, magician, humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler, and prophet. Above and beyond all these, he was a hero and political martyr who consecrated his life for the redemption of his oppressed people. No wonder, he is now acclaimed as the national hero of the Philippines.

The Birth of a Hero. Jose Rizal was born on the moonlit night of Wednesday, June nineteenth, eighteen sixty-one, in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines. His mother almost died during the delivery because of his big head. As he recounted many years later in his student memoirs: "I was born in Calamba on June nineteenth, eighteen sixty-one, between eleven and midnight, a few days before full moon. It was a Wednesday and my coming out in this vale of tears would have cost my mother her life had she not vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me to her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage."

He was baptized in the Catholic church of his town on June twenty-second, aged three days old, by the parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueño. His godfather (ninong) was Father Pedro Casanas, native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family. His name "Jose" was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph).

During the christening ceremony Father Collantes was impressed by the baby's big head, and told the members of the family who were present: "Take good care of this child, for someday he will become a great man." His words proved to be prophetic, as confirmed by subsequent events.

The baptismal certificate of Rizal reads as follows:

"I, the undersigned parish priest of Calamba, certify that from the investigation made with proper authority, for replacing the parish books which were burned September twenty-eighth, eighteen sixty-two, to be found in Docket Number one of Baptisms, page forty-nine, it appears by the sworn testimony of competent witnesses that Jose Rizal Mercado is the legitimate son, and of lawful wedlock, of Don Francisco Rizal Mercado and Doña Teodora Realonda, having been baptized in this parish on the twenty-second day of June in the year eighteen sixty-one, by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes, Rev. Pedro Casanas being his godfather. - Witness my signature."

(Signed): Leoncio Lopez

It should be noted that at the time Rizal was born, the governor general of the Philippines was Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery, former senator of Spain (member of the upper chamber of the Spanish Cortes). He governed the Philippines from February second, eighteen sixty-one to July seventh, eighteen sixty-two. Incidentally, on the same date of Rizal's birth (June nineteenth, eighteen sixty-one), he sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Ultramar in Madrid, denouncing Sultan Pulalun of Sulu and several powerful Moro datus for fraternizing with a British consul. Among his achievements as governor general were (one) fostering the cultivation of cotton in the provinces and (two) establishing the politico-military governments in the Visayas and in Mindanao.

Rizal's Parents. Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven children of Francisco Mercado Rizal, and Teodora Alonso Realonda. The hero's father, Francisco (eighteen eighteen - eighteen ninety-eight) was born in Biñan, Laguna, on May eleventh, eighteen eighteen. He studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila. In early manhood, following his parent's death, he moved to Calamba and became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda. He was a hardy and independent-minded man, who talked less and worked more, and was strong in body and valiant in spirit. He died in Manila on January fifth, eighteen ninety-eight, at the age of eighty. In his student memoirs, Rizal affectionately called him "a model of fathers".

Doña Teodora (eighteen twenty-six - nineteen eleven), the hero's mother, was born in Manila on November eighth, eighteen twenty-six and was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in the city. She was a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent, business ability, and the fortitude of Spartan women. Rizal lovingly said of her: "My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture; she knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I. She corrected my poems and gave me good advice when I was studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books." Doña Teodora died in Manila on August sixteenth, nineteen eleven, at the age of eighty-five. Shortly before her death, the Philippine government offered her a life pension. She courteously rejected it saying, "My family has never been patriotic for money. If the government has plenty of funds and does not know what to do with them, better reduce the taxes." Such remarks truly befitted her as a worthy mother of a national hero.

The Rizal Children. God blessed the marriage of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda with eleven children - two boys and nine girls. These children were as follows:

One. Saturnina (eighteen fifty - nineteen thirteen) - oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng; she married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas.

Two. Paciano (eighteen fifty-one - nineteen thirty) - older brother and confidant of Jose Rizal; after his younger brother's execution, he joined the Philippine Revolution and became a combat general; after the Revolution, he retired to his farm in Los Baños, where he lived as a gentleman farmer and died on April thirteenth, nineteen thirty, an old bachelor aged seventy-nine. He had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena) - a boy and a girl.

Three. Narcisa (eighteen fifty-two - nineteen thirty-nine) - her pet name was Sisa and she married Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong.

Four. Olimpia (eighteen fifty-five - eighteen eighty-seven) - Ypia was her pet name; she married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila.

Five. Lucia (eighteen fifty-seven - nineteen nineteen) - She married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a nephew of Father Casanas. Herbosa died of cholera in eighteen eighty-nine and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr. Rizal.

Six. Maria (eighteen fifty-nine - nineteen forty-five) - Biang was her nickname; she married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

Seven. JOSE (eighteen sixty-one - eighteen ninety-six) - the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius; his nickname was Pepe; during his exile in Dapitan he lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong; he had a son by her, but this baby-boy died a few hours after birth; Rizal named him "Francisco" after his father and buried him in Dapitan.

Eight. Concepcion (1862-1865) - her pet name was Concha; she died of sickness at the age of three; her death was Rizal's first sorrow in life.

Nine. Josefa (1865-1945) - her pet name was Panggoy; she died an old maid at the age of eighty.

Ten. Trinidad (1868-1951) - Trining was her pet name; she died also an old maid in nineteen fifty-one aged eighty-three.

Eleven. Soledad (1870-1929) - youngest of the Rizal children; her pet name was Choleng; she married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba.

Sibling relationship among the Rizal children was affectionately cordial. As a little boy, Rizal used to play games with his sisters. Although he had boyish quarrels with them he respected them. Years later when he grew to manhood, he always called them Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single). For instance, he called his older sister "Doña Ypia," his oldest sister "Señora Saturnina," and his unmarried sisters "Señorita Josefa" and "Señorita Trinidad."

Rizal's relation with his only brother Paciano, who was ten years his senior, was more than that of younger to older brother. Paciano was a second father to him. Throughout his life, Rizal respected him and greatly valued his sagacious advice. He immortalized him in his first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio. In a letter to Blumentritt, written in London on June twenty-third, eighteen eighty-eight, he regarded Paciano as the "most noble of Filipinos" and "though an Indio, more generous and noble than all the Spaniards put together." And in a subsequent letter also written to Blumentritt and dated London, October twelfth, eighteen eighty-eight, he spoke of his beloved older brother, as follows: "He is much finer and more serious than I am; he is bigger and more slim; he is not so dark; his nose is fine, beautiful and sharp; but he is bow-legged."

tritt and dated London, October 12, 1888, he spoke of his beloved older brother, as follows: "He is much finer and more serious than I am; he is bigger and more slim; he is not so dark; his nose is fine, beautiful and sharp; but he is bow-legged."5

Rizal's Ancestry. As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of the mixture of races. In his veins flowed the blood of both East and West - Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a magnificent specimen of Asian manhood. Rizal's great-great-grandfather on his father's side was Domingo Laméo, a Chinese immigrant from the Fukien city of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about sixteen ninety. He became a Christian, married a well-to-do Chinese Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and assumed in seventeen thirty-one the surname Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was a merchant. The Spanish term mercado means "market" in English. Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a son, Francisco Mercado, who resided in Binan, married a Chinese-Filipino mestiza, Cirila Bernacha, and was elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town. One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal's grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-Filipino mestiza. Like his father, he was elected governadorcillo of Biñan. Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had thirteen children, the youngest being Francisco Mercado, Rizal's father.

At the age of eight, Francisco Mercado lost his father and grew up to manhood under the care of his mother. He studied Latin and Philosophy in the College of San Jose in Manila. While studying in Manila, he met and fell in love with Teodora Alonso Realonda, a student in the College of Santa Rosa. They were married on June twenty-eighth, eighteen forty-eight, after which they settled down in Calamba, where they engaged in farming and business and reared a big family.

It is said that Doña Teodora's family descended from Lakan-Dula, the last native king of Tondo. Her great-grandfather (Rizal's maternal great-great-grandfather) was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina named Benigna (surname unknown). Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos, a Filipino-Chinese lawyer from Pangasinan. One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and Regina was Brigida, who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Biñan. Their children were Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal's mother), Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose.

The Surname Rizal. The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado, which was adopted in seventeen thirty-one by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full-blooded Chinese. Rizal's family acquired a second surname - Rizal - which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who was a family friend. Thus said Dr. Rizal, in his letter to Blumentritt (without date or place):

I am the only Rizal because at home my parents, my sisters, my brother, and my relatives have always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family name was in fact Mercado, but there were many Mercados in the Philippines who are not related to us. It is said that an alcalde mayor, who was a friend of our family added Rizal to our name. My family did not pay much attention to this, but now I have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an illegitimate son.

"Whoever that Spanish alcalde mayor was," commented Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero, distinguished Rizalist and diplomat, "his choice was prophetic for Rizal in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again."

The Rizal Home. The house of the Rizal family, where the hero was born, was one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during Spanish times. It was a two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hardwoods, and roofed with red tiles. It is described by Dr. Rafael Palma, one of Rizal's prestigious biographers, as follows:

The house was high and even sumptuous, a solid and massive earthquake-proof structure with sliding shell windows. Thick walls of lime and stone bounded the first floor; the second floor was made entirely of wood except for the roof, which was of red tile, in the style of the buildings in Manila at that time. At the back there was an azotea and a wide, deep cistern to hold rain water for home use.

Behind the house were the poultry yard full of turkeys and chickens and a big garden of tropical fruit trees - atis, balimbing, chico, macopa, papaya, santol, tampoy, etc.

It was a happy home where parental affection and children's laughter reigned. 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.

Such a wholesome home, naturally, bred a wholesome family. And such a family was the Rizal family.

A Good and Middle-Class Family. The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It was one of the distinguished families in Calamba. By dint of honest and hard work and frugal living, Rizal's parents were able to live well. From the farms, which were rented from the Dominican Order, they harvested rice, corn, and sugarcane. They raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their backyard. In addition to farming and stockraising, Doña Teodora managed a general goods store and operated a small flour-mill and a home-made ham press.

As evidence of their affluence, Rizal's parents were able to build a large stone house which was situated near the town church and to buy another one. They owned a carriage, which was a status symbol of the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines and a private library (the largest in Calamba) which consisted of more than one thousand volumes. They sent their children to the colleges in Manila. Combining affluence and culture, hospitality and courtesy, they participated prominently in all social and religious affairs in the community. They were gracious hosts to all visitors and guests - friars, Spanish officials, and Filipino friends - during the town fiestas and other holidays. Beneath their roof, all guests irrespective of their color, rank, social position, and economic status, were welcome.

Home Life of the Rizals. The Rizal family had a simple, contented, and happy life. In consonance with Filipino custom, family ties among the Rizals were intimately close. Don Francisco and Doña Teodora loved their children, but they never spoiled them. They were strict parents and they trained their children to love God, to behave well, to be obedient, and to respect people, especially the old folks. Whenever the children, including Jose Rizal, got into mischief, they were given a sound spanking. Evidently, they believed in the maxim: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Every day the Rizals (parents and children) heard Mass in the town church, particularly during Sundays and Christian holidays. They prayed together daily at home - the Angelus at sunset and the Rosary before retiring to bed at night. After the family prayers, all the children kissed the hands of their parents.

Life was not, however, all prayers and church services for the Rizal children. They were given ample time and freedom to play by their strict and religious parents. They played merrily in the azotea or in the garden by themselves. The older ones were allowed to play with the children of other families.

Chapter Two Childhood Years in Calamba

Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of childhood in his native town. He grew up in a happy home, ruled by good parents, bubbling with joy, and sanctified by God's blessings. His natal town of Calamba, so named after a big native jar, was a fitting cradle for a hero. Its scenic beauties and its industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks impressed him during his childhood years and profoundly affected his mind and character. The happiest period of Rizal's life was spent in this lakeshore town, a worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood.

Calamba, the Hero's Town. Calamba was an hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it. It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated ricefields and sugar-lands. A few kilometers to the south looms the legendary Mount Makiling in somnolent grandeur, and beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas. East of the town is the Laguna de Bay, an inland lake of songs and emerald waters beneath the canopy of azure skies. In the middle of the lake towers the storied island of Talim, and beyond it towards the north is the distant Antipolo, famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul. In eighteen seventy-six, when he was fifteen years old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila, he remembered his beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town), as follows:

When early childhood's happy days

In memory I see once more

Along the lovely verdant shore

That meets a gently murmuring sea; When I recall the whisper soft Of zephyrs dancing on my brow With cooling sweetness, even now New luscious life is born in me.

When I behold the lily white That sways to do the wind's command, While gently sleeping on the sand The stormy water rests awhile; When from the flowers there softly breathes A bouquet ravishingly sweet, Out-poured the newborn dawn to meet, As on us she begins to smile.

With sadness I recall... recall Thy face, in precious infancy, Oh mother, friend most dear to me, Who gave to life a wondrous charm. I yet recall a village plain, My joy, my family, my boon, Besides the freshly cool lagoon, - The spot for which my heart beats warm.

Ah yes! my footsteps insecure In your dark forests deeply sank; And there by every river's bank I found refreshment and delight; Within that rustic temple prayed With childhood's simple faith unfeigned While cooling breezes, pure, unstained, Would send my heart on rapturous flight.

I saw the Maker in the grandeur Of your ancient hoary wood, Ah, never in your refuge could A mortal by regret be smitten; And while upon your sky of blue I gaze, no love nor tenderness Could fail, for here on nature's dress My happiness itself was written.

Ah, tender childhood, lovely town, Rich fount of my felicities, Oh those harmonious melodies Which put to flight all dismal hours, Come back to my heart once more!

Come back, gentle hours, I yearn! Come back as the birds return, At the budding of the flowers!

Alas, farewell! Eternal vigil I keep For thy peace, thy bliss, and tranquility, O Genius of good, so kind! Give me these gifts, with charity. To thee are my fervent vows, - To thee I cease not to sigh These to learn, and I call to the sky To have thy sincerity.

Earliest Childhood Memories. The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden when he was three years old. Because he was a frail, sickly, and undersized child, he was given the tenderest care by his parents. His father built a little nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in in the daytime. A kind old woman was employed as an aya (nurse maid) to look after his comfort. At times, he was left alone to muse on the beauties of nature or to play by himself. In his boyhood memoirs, he narrated how he, at the age of three, watched from his garden cottage, the culiauan, the maya, the maria capra, the martin, the pipit, and other birds and listened "with wonder and joy" to their twilight songs.

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.

With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly Rosary. The aya related to the Rizal children (including Jose) many stories about the fairies; tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories. The imaginary tales told by the aya aroused in Rizal an enduring interest in legends and folklore. Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would threaten him that the asuang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or a terrible bearded and turbaned Bombay would come to take him away if he would not eat his supper.

Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there was a moon. The aya took him for a walk in the moonlight by the river, where the trees cast grotesque shadows on the bank. Recounting this childhood experience in his student memoirs, Rizal wrote: "Thus my heart fed on sombre and melancholic thoughts so that even while still a child, I already wandered on wings of fantasy in the high regions of the unknown."

The Hero's First Sorrow. The Rizal children were bound together by ties of love and companionship. They were well-bred. for their parents taught them to love and help one another.

Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little Concha (Concepcion). He was a year older than Concha. He played with her and from her he learned the sweetness of sisterly love.

Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in eighteen sixty-five when she was only three years old. Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly at losing her. "When I was four years old," he said, "I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love and grief. . . " The death of little Concha brought him his first sorrow.

Devoted Son of the Church. A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn pious spirit, Rizal grew up a good Catholic.

At the age of three, he began to take part in the family prayers. His mother, who was a devout Catholic, taught him the Catholic prayers. When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible.

He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious processions. It is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.

One of the men he esteemed and respected in Calamba during his boyhood was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest. He used to visit this learned Filipino priest and listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life.

Pilgrimage to Antipolo. On June sixth, eighteen sixty-eight, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother's vow which was made when Jose was born. Doña Teodora could not accompany them because she had given birth to Trinidad.