CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National

Hero

DR. JOSE RIZAL

Full name: Jose Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
Date of Birth: June 19, 1861, Wednesday
Place of Birth: Calamba Laguna Province, Philippines
Time of Birth: between eleven and midnight (11:00 – 12:00)
Parents: Don Francisco Mercado Rizal
Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda
th
(Rizal is the 7 of the eleven children of his parents)
Date of Baptismal: June 22, 1861
Age during Baptismal: 3 days old
Presider during Baptismal: Fr. Rufino Collantes (Batangueño)
Godfather: Fr. Pedro Casanas
Parish Priest of Calamba: Leoncio Lopez

DR. JOSE RIZAL AS A MANY-SPLENDORED GENIUS

- Physician - Economist
- Poet - Geographer
- Dramatist - Cartographer
- Essayist - Bibliophile
- Novelist - Philologist
- Historian - Grammarian
- Architect - Folklorist
- Painter - Philosopher
- Sculptor - Translator
- Educator - Inventor
- Linguist - Magician
- Musician - Humorist
- Naturalist - Satirist
- Ethnologist - Polemicist
- Surveyor - Sportsman
- Engineer - Traveler
- Farmer - Prophet
businessman

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

 Rizal has a big head

 According to Father Collantes: “Take good care of
this child, for someday he will become a great man.”
 September 28, 1862 – Parish books were burned
 Docket No. 1 of Baptisms, p. 49 – Where to be found

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL JOSE LEMERY

- Governor general when Rizal was born
- Former senator of Spain (member of the upper chamber
of the Spanish Cortes
- February 2, 1861 – July 7, 1862 is his tenure in office
- June 19, 1861 (same as Rizal’s birthday) he sent an official
dispatch (message) to the Ministry of War and the
Ministry of Ultamar in Madrid denouncing (reproved or
criticizing) Sultan Pulalun of Sulu and several powerful
Moro datus for fraternizing (associating) with a British
Consul
- Achievements:
o fostering the cultivation of cotton in the
provinces
o establishing the politico-military governments
in the Visayas and in Mindanao

RIZAL’S PARENTS
Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-1898)
Place of Birth: Biñan, Laguna
Date of Birth: May 11, 1818
Date of Death: January 5, 1898, age 80, Manila
Studies: Latin and Philosophy,
College of San Jose in Manila
Date of Marriage: June 28, 1848

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Others:
-tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned
hacienda during his early manhood following
his parent’s death
- hardy and independent-minded man
- talked less and worked more
- strong in body and valiant in spirit
- “a model of fathers” according to Rizal in his
writing entitled Memoirs of a Student in Manila
- lost his father at the age of 8 and grew up to
manhood under the care of his mother
- met Teodora Alonso Realonda while studying
in Manila
- he and his wife settled down in Calamba where
they engaged in farming and business and reared
a big family

Teodora Alonso Realonda (1826-1911)

Place of birth: Manila
Date of Birth: November 8, 1826
Date of Death: August 16, 1911, age 85, Manila
Studies: College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college
for girls in the city
Others:
- remarkable woman
- refined culture
- literary talent
- business ability
- fortitude of Spartan women
- mathematician
- was offered a life pension by the Philippine
government but declined it
- a worthy mother of a national hero

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

THE RIZAL CHILDREN

- 11 children (2 boys, 9 girls)

1. Saturnina (1850-1913) – oldest among them; oldest sis of R

Nickname/Petname: Neneng
Spouse: Manuel T. Hidalgo from Tanawan, Batangas

2. Paciano (1851-1930)
Date of Death: April 13, 1930, old bachelor, age 79
Mistress: Severina Decena (2 children, boy & girl)
Others: – older brother and confidant of Rizal
– part of the Philippine Revolution and a
combat general after Rizal’s execution
– gentleman farmer and retired to his farm
in Los Baños after the Revolution

3. Narcisa (1852-1939)
Nickname: Sisa
Spouse: Antonio Lopez, nephew of Fr. Leoncio Lopez
and also a school teacher of Morong

4. Olimpia (1855-1887) – older sister of Rizal

Nickname: Ypia
Spouse: Silvestre Ubaldo, telegraph operator in
Manila

5. Lucia (1857-1919)
Spouse: Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, nephew of Fr.
Casanas
Cause of Death of Herbosa: Cholera (1889), denied
of Christian burial for the reason that he
was Rizal’s brother-in-law
6. Maria (1859-1945)

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Nickname: Biang
Spouse: Daniel Fautisno Cruz of Biñan, Laguna

7. Jose (1861-1896)
Nickname: Pepe
Pertinent Facts:
- greatest Filipino hero, peerless genius
- lived with Josephine Bracken during his exile in
Dapitan
On Bracken:
- Irish girl from Hong Kong
- mother of the son of Rizal but this baby-boy
died a few hours after birth; he was named
“Francisco” after Rizal’s father and was buried
in Dapitan

8. Concepcion (1862-1865)
Nickname: Concha
Cause of Death: Sickness, age 3
Others: Her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life

9. Josefa (1865-1945)
Nickname: Panggoy
Others: Died an old maid, age 80

10. Trinidad (1868-1951)

Nickname: Trining
Others: Died an old maid, age 83

11. Soledad (1870-1929)

Nickname: Choleng
Spouse: Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba
Others: Youngest of the Rizal children

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)

 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

FACTS ON RIZAL CHILDREN

- affectionately cordial was the sibling rel. bet. Them
- Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single) was
the term added by Rizal to his sisters when he grew to
manhood e.g. Doña Ypia, Señora Saturnina, Señorita
Josefa and Señorita Trinidad for his unmarried sisters
- Paciano was ten years older to Rizal
- Paciano was not just a brother to Rizal but also a second
brother to him
- Paciano was respected by Rizal throughout his life and
greatly valued his sagacious advice
- Paciano was the wise Pilosopo Tasio in Rizal’s first novel,
the Noli Me Tangere
- Letter to Blumentritt, June 23,1888, London: Paciano was
regarded by Rizal as the “most noble of Filipinos”
- Letter to Blumentritt, October 12, 1888, London: Paciano
was described by Rizal as more serious than he is, bigger
and more slim that he is, not so dark, nose that is fine,
beautiful and sharp, but is bow-legged

RIZAL’S ANCESTRY
- Rizal was a product of the mixture of races like a typical
Filipino
- east and west blood flowed in Rizal veins (Negrito,
Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish)
- a predominant Malayan and a magnificent specimen of
Asian manhood

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Domingo Laméo (Domingo Mercado

in 1731) - Ines de la Rosa

Franciso Mercado - Cirila Bernacha

Juan Mercado (one of their sons) -

Cirila Alejandro

Francisco Mercado (13 children, with

Francisco as the youngest) - Teodora
Realonda

RIZAL’S
PARENTS!

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)

 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Lakundala (said to be)

Eugenio Ursua - Benigna

Regina - Manuel de Quintos

Brigida (one of their daughters)

- Lorenzo Alberto Alonso

Narcisa

Teodora

Gregorio
RIZAL’S
MOM!
Manuel

Jose Alberto

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)

 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Domingo Laméo
- Rizal’s great-great grandfather on his father side
- full-blooded Chinese
- Chinese immigrant from the Fukien city of Changchow
who arrived in Manila about 1690
- became a Christian
- married to Ines de la Rosa
- assumed the surname Mercado (the mercado Spanish
term means “market”) during 1731 and is appropriate
for him as he is a merchant

Ines de la Rosa
- well-to-do Chinese Christian girl of Manila
- married to Domingo Laméo

Francisco Mercado
- son of Ines de la Rosa and Domingo Mercado
- resided in Biñan and is married to Cirila Bernacha
- elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town

Cirila Bernacha
- a Chinese-Filipino mestiza

Juan Mercado
- Rizal’s grandfather
- one of the son’s of Francisco Mercado and Cirila
Bernacha
- married Cirila Alejandro, having 13 children, the
youngest of which is Francisco Mercado who is Rizal’s
father
- also elected as a governadorcillo of Biñan like his
father
- a Capitan

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)

 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Cirila Alejandro
- Chinese-Filipino mestiza
- married Juan Mercado
- a Capitana

Lakandula
- the last native king of Tondo

Eugenio Ursua
- Rizal’s maternal great-great-grandfather and of
Japanese ancestry
- married to Benigna

Manuel de Quintos
- a Filipino-Chinese lawyer from Pangasinan

Lorenzo Alberto Alonso

- a prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Biñan

THE SURNAME RIZAL

- the real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado
- Mercado as surname was adopted in 1731 by Domingo
Laméo
- the second surname Rizal was given by a Spanish
alcalde mayor (provinvial governor) of Laguna who was
also a family friend
- in a letter to Blumentritt, Rizal said to him that he is
the only Rizal as at home, his family preferred their old
surname and that there are also many Mercados in the
Philippines who are not related to their family

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 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero

- distinguished Rizalist and diplomat
- stated that “his choice was prophetic for Rizal
in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut
while still green, sprouts again”

THE RIZAL HOME

- one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba
during the Spanish times
- two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of
adobe stones and hard-woods, and roofed with red
tiles
- behind the house were the poultry yard full of turkeys
and chickens and a big garden of tropical fruit trees
e.g. atis, balimbing, chico, macopa, papaya, santol,
tampoy

Dr. Rafael Palma

- one of Rizal’s prestigious biographers
- gave a description of the Rizal’s home (see p.6)

A GOOD AND MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY

- the Rizal family belonged to the principalia, meaning, a
town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines
- one of the distinguished families in Calamba
- from the farms which were rented from the Dominican
Order, they harvested rice, corn, and sugarcane and
they raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their
backyard (farming and stockraising)
-Doña Teodora managed a general goods store and
operated a small flour-mill and a home-made ham
press

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)

 CHAPTER 1: Advent of A National
Hero

Evidence of their Affluence:

- Rizal’s parents were able to build a large stone
house situated near the town church and to
buy another one
- they owned a carriage which was a status
symbol on the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines
- they owned a private library which is the
largest in Calamba and which also consisted of
more than 1000 volumes
- they sent their children to the colleges in
Manila

HOME LIFE OF THE RIZALS

- simple, contented, and happy life
- family ties were intimately close
- their parents loved them but never spoiled them
- strict parents and trained their children to love God, to
behave well, to be obedient, and to respect people,
especially the old folks
- if the Rizal siblings got into mischief, they were given a
sound spanking and they believed in the maxim:
“Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
- they hear Mass in the town church every day esp.
during Sundays and Christian holidays
- they prayed together daily at home (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
- they were given ample time and freedom to play
(merrily in the azotea or in the garden by themselves)
- the older ones were allowed to play with the children
of other families

Summary on Life and Works of Rizal Ron Cabz© (2013)