FILIPINO POLITICAL LEADER AND AUTHOR

Alternative Title: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

José Rizal, in full José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, (born June 19, 1861, Calamba,
Philippines—died December 30, 1896, Manila), patriot, physician, and man of letters who was an inspiration to
the Philippine nationalist movement.
The son of a prosperous landowner, Rizal was educated in Manila and at the University of Madrid. A brilliant
medical student, he soon committed himself to the reform of Spanish rule in his home country, though he never
advocated Philippine independence. Most of his writing was done in Europe, where he resided between 1882 and
1892.
In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Noli me tangere (The Social Cancer), a passionate exposure of the evils of
Spanish rule in the Philippines. A sequel, El filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed), established his reputation
as the leading spokesman of the Philippine reform movement. He published an annotated edition (1890; reprinted
1958) of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, hoping to show that the native people of the Philippines
had a long history before the coming of the Spaniards. He became the leader of the Propaganda Movement,
contributing numerous articles to its newspaper, La Solidaridad, published in Barcelona. Rizal’s political program
included integration of the Philippines as a province of Spain, representation in the Cortes (the Spanish
parliament), the replacement of Spanish friars by Filipino priests, freedom of assembly and expression, and
equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the law.
Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892. He founded a nonviolent-reform society, the Liga Filipina, in Manila, and
was deported to Dapitan in northwest Mindanao. He remained in exile for the next four years. In 1896
the Katipunan, a Filipino nationalist secret society, revolted against Spain. Although he had no connections with
that organization and he had had no part in the insurrection, Rizal was arrested and tried for sedition by the
military. Found guilty, he was publicly executed by a firing squad in Manila. His martyrdom convinced Filipinos that
there was no alternative to independence from Spain. On the eve of his execution, while confined in Fort Santiago,
Rizal wrote “Último adiós” (“Last Farewell”), a masterpiece of 19th-century Spanish verse.
Activist, Journalist, Poet, Doctor (1861–1896)

José Rizal called for peaceful reform of Spain's colonial rule in the Philippines. After his 1896 execution, he
became an icon for the nationalist movement.

Synopsis
José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Philippines. While living in Europe, Rizal wrote about the discrimination
that accompanied Spain's colonial rule of his country. He returned to the Philippines in 1892, but was exiled due to his desire
for reform. Although he supported peaceful change, Rizal was convicted of sedition and executed on December 30, 1896, at
age 35.
Early Life
On June 19, 1861, José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born in Calamba in the Philippines' Laguna Province.
A brilliant student who became proficient in multiple languages, José Rizal studied medicine in Manila. In 1882, he traveled
to Spain to complete his medical degree.

Writing and Reform

While in Europe, José Rizal became part of the Propaganda Movement, connecting with other Filipinos who wanted reform.
He also wrote his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not/The Social Cancer), a work that detailed the dark aspects of
Spain's colonial rule in the Philippines, with particular focus on the role of Catholic friars. The book was banned in the
Philippines, though copies were smuggled in. Because of this novel, Rizal's return to the Philippines in 1887 was cut short
when he was targeted by police.

Rizal returned to Europe and continued to write, releasing his follow-up novel, El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) in
1891. He also published articles in La Solidaridad, a paper aligned with the Propaganda Movement. The reforms Rizal
advocated for did not include independence—he called for equal treatment of Filipinos, limiting the power of Spanish friars
and representation for the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes (Spain's parliament).

Exile in the Philippines

Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892, feeling he needed to be in the country to effect change. Although the reform society
he founded, the Liga Filipino (Philippine League), supported non-violent action, Rizal was still exiled to Dapitan, on the
island of Mindanao. During the four years Rizal was in exile, he practiced medicine and took on students.

Execution and Legacy

In 1895, Rizal asked for permission to travel to Cuba as an army doctor. His request was approved, but in August 1896,
Katipunan, a nationalist Filipino society founded by Andres Bonifacio, revolted. Though he had no ties to the group, and
disapproved of its violent methods, Rizal was arrested shortly thereafter.
After a show trial, Rizal was convicted of sedition and sentenced to death by firing squad. Rizal's public execution was carried
out in Manila on December 30, 1896, when he was 35 years old. His execution created more opposition to Spanish rule.

Spain's control of the Philippines ended in 1898, though the country did not gain lasting independence until after World War
II. Rizal remains a nationalist icon in the Philippines for helping the country take its first steps toward independence.

Works and writings

Rizal wrote mostly in Spanish, the lingua franca of the Spanish Philippines, though some of his letters (for
example Sa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos) were written in Tagalog. His works have since been translated into
a number of languages including Tagalog and English.
Novels and essays

 Noli Me Tángere, novel, 1887 (literally Latin for 'touch me not', from John 20:17)[51]
 El Filibusterismo, (novel, 1891), sequel to Noli Me Tángere
 Alin Mang Lahi ("Whate'er the Race"), a Kundiman attributed to Dr. José Rizal[52]
 The Friars and the Filipinos (Unfinished)
 Toast to Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo (Speech, 1884), given at Restaurante Ingles, Madrid
 The Diaries of José Rizal
 Rizal's Letters is a compendium of Dr. Jose Rizal's letters to his family members, Blumentritt, Fr. Pablo
Pastells and other reformers
 "Come se gobiernan las Filipinas" (Governing the Philippine islands)
 Filipinas dentro de cien años essay, 1889–90 (The Philippines a Century Hence)
 La Indolencia de los Filipinos, essay, 1890 (The indolence of Filipinos)[53]
 Makamisa unfinished novel
 Sa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos, essay, 1889, To the Young Women of Malolos
 Annotations to Antonio de Moragas, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (essay, 1889, Events in the Philippine
Islands) Poetry

 A La Juventud Filipina (To The Philippine Youth)

 El Canto Del Viajero
 Briayle Crismarl
 Canto de María Clara
 Himno Al Trabajo (Dalit sa Paggawa)
 Felicitación
 Kundiman (Tagalog)
 Me Piden Versos
 Mi primera inspiracion
 Mi Retiro
 Mi Ultimo Adiós
 Por La Educación (Recibe Lustre La Patria)
 Sa Sanggol na si Jesus
 A Mi Musa (To My Muse)
 Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
 A Man in Dapitan
Plays

 El Consejo de los Dioses (The council of Gods)

 Junto Al Pasig (Along the Pasig)[54]:381
 San Euistaquio, Mártyr (Saint Eustache, the martyr)[55]
Other works
Rizal also tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural work was "The Triumph of Science
over Death", a clay sculpture of a naked young woman with overflowing hair, standing on a skull while bearing a
torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of humankind during the Dark Ages, while the torch she
bore symbolized the enlightenment science brings over the whole world. He sent the sculpture as a gift to his dear
friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, together with another one named "The Triumph of Death over Life".
The woman is shown trampling the skull, a symbol of death, to signify the victory the humankind achieved by
conquering the bane of death through their scientific advancements. The original sculpture is now displayed at the
Rizal Shrine Museum at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. A large replica, made of concrete, stands in front of
Fernando Calderón Hall, the building which houses the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines
Manila along Pedro Gil Street in Ermita, Manila.
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TUTOR, ALYSSA MAY
SILVERIO, MA. KRISHNA CLAIRE
EROJO, KYHIA
CABAJES, BERNADETH
MACEDA, DONNA MAE
MONTILLA, JONA TRICIA
DE JESUS, DAISY RHEA
OTAZA, DIA GRACE
ROA, LAICA JANE
SALUDO, MARY RODELYN
ROBUCA, MARIUS
BELMORES, LUCKY
BUAL, CHRISTOPHER
DALANON, MARIO
LAWAN, BRYAN