GE 9 REVIEWER

The life, works and ideals of Dr. Jose Rizal had served as an inspiration not only to Filipinos, but
also to all freedom- loving peoples throughout the world.
Endowed with superior intelligence, indeed, he can be considered a rare universal genius. As a
versatile man, he was a physician (ophthalmic surgeon), mathematician, engineer, surveyor,
poet, musician, sculpture, painter, cartoonist, cartographer, novelist, dramatist, inventor,
philosopher, linguist, businessman, economist and farmer. He epitomized the ideal
Renaissance man – a person of broad intellectual and cultural interests encompassing the full
spectrum of available knowledge. Truly, Rizal the pride of Malay race and the greatest hero of
the nation.
June 19, 1861 (Wednesday, between 11 and 12 o’clock at midnight)- Jose Rizal was born.
June 22, 1861- He was baptized at a Catholic Church of Calamba.
December 7, 1871- Rizal left Binan after staying there for one and a half years.
June 10, 1872- Rizal want to Manila to take the entrance examinations and enrolled in the
Ateneo Municipal, a college under the supervision of Spanish Jesuits. He accompanied by his
brother, Paciano.
June 1877- Rizal enrolled in the University of Santo Thomas and take his first course in
Philosophy.
June 16, 1882- He arrived in Barcelona.
September 1882- Rizal transferred to the Spanish capital tin order to continue his medical
studies.
November 15, 1890- He become a Master Mason in Lodge Solidaridad and from then, on, he
ceased going to church regularly.
June 1884- Rizal finished his medical education
June 19, 1885- Rizal completed his studies in Philosophy and letters and was awarded the
degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad Central de Madrid during his
24th birthday.
Rev. Rufino Collantes- a priest who baptized him and stood as his godfather. He was impressed
by the baby’s big head and said “take good care of this child, for someday he will become a
great man.”
Why did his mother choose Jose as Rizal’s name?

 Jose was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian Saint San Jose.
Calamba is a town named after a big native jar surrounded by a big hacienda which belong to
the Dominican Order, which also owned almost all the lands around it. Also, a perfect place to
nurture a growing child that hold promise that eventually become a cradle of a genius.
Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-1898)

 Rizal’s father
 Born in Binan, Laguna
 His great, great grandfather was a Christian Chinese named Domingo Lamco
 Studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose
 Rizal called him “a model of fathers”
 June 28, 1848- he married Teodora
NOTE: Don Francisco’s original family name was Mercado. Rizal wrote to his friend, Prof.
Ferdinands Blumentritt of Austria in 1869, that our family name was Mercado but, in the
Philippines, there were many Mercado’s who were not related to us. My father chose Rizal as
our surname because Mercado sounded common. It is in the respect; it seems as though I am
an illegitimate son.”
Teodora Alonzo Realonda (1826-1911)

 Rizal’s mother
 Born in Manila on November 8, 1826
 A woman of remarkable talent in mathematics, business, and literature
 Her father had been once a delegate to the Spanish Cortes
 Her Junedenied was educated in Europe and speak different languages
 She politely refused a life pension offered her by the government saying, “My family has
never been patriotic for money. If the government has plenty of fund and it does not
know what to do with them, it had better reduce the taxes.”
NOTE: Teodora was imprisoned by Spanish authorities for flimsy reasons, but she bravely
endured the persecutions heaped upon her and her family.
According to Rafael Palma, Rizal inherited “from his father a profound sense of dignity and self-
respect, seriousness, and self-possession; and from his mother, the temperament of the poet
and dreamer and bravery for sacrifice.”
JOSE RIZAL’S SIBLINGS
Paciano (1851-1930)- Rizal’s only brother, pilosopo Tasio in Noli Me Tangere. He joined Gen.
Aguinaldo's revolutionary army as Major General. The nine sisters of Rizal, Saturnina (1850-
1913), Narcisa (1852-1939), Olimpia (1855-1887), Lucia (1857-1919), Maria (1859-1943),
Concepcion (1862-1865), Josefa (1865-1919), Trinidad (1868-1951), Solidad (1870-1929).
NOTE: They are all born in Calamba and all of them got married except Conception who died at
age of 3. Their parents raised them with the belief “spare the rod and spoil the child.”
RIZAL’S ANCESTRY
Rizal’s vein flowed at the blood of both east and west- Chinese, Japanese, Malay and Spanish.
Rizal’s father was a great grandson of Lam-co, a Chinese immigrant from Fukien City. Laka-Dula,
the last king of Tondo was Rizal’s maternal ancestors. Eugenio Ursa was his maternal great
great grandfather, Japanese blood and ancestry. In 1849, Gov. Claveria issued a decree
directing all Filipino families to choose and adopt new surnames from a list of Spanish family
names. It should be noted that the purpose of this degree was to hispanize the Filipino
surnames. The term Rizal originated from the word racial which signifies greenfield.
RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IN CALAMBA
When Rizal was 15 years old and was a student at Ateneo de Manila, he reminisced his
beloved town and wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (in memory of my town).
“Calamba, you will remain an important and cherished part of my life.” Rizal murmured with
deep sigh of happiness.
Rizal’s first bitter memory was when little Concha (Conception) whom he fondly called died
when she was only 3 years old. He cried bitterly and for the first time, he wept tears of love and
intense grief. Rizal at the age of 3, he used to take part in the family prayers. At early school, he
learned the alphabet from his mother Rizal said, “She taught me how to read and to say
haltingly the humble prayers which I raised fervently to God.”
His three uncles, brother of his mother, concerned themselves with the intellectual artistic and
physical training of Rizal. Jose, the youngest brother of his mother was also a teacher looked
after the regular lessons. Manuel, a man of athletic built, developed the physique of young
Jose.
Maestro Joaquin Aquino Cruz- who taught Latin to Rizal.
Juancho- an old painter in Binan and owned the painting shop where Rizal learned painting.
Rizal’s painting tutor.
RIZAL AS A BEST PUPIL IN SCHOOL IN BINAN

 Excelled in all subjects especially Latin and Spanish languages.

Rizal’s mother: a victim of injustice. His mother was arbitrarily arrested on a malicious charge
that she allegedly aided her brother, Jose Alberto, in trying to poison Alberto’s wife. The judge
who had been a guest of the Rizal family on a various social gathering was ordered that
Teodora was forced to walk on foot under the scorching heat of the sun, fr5om Calamba to
Santa mother languished in jail. In spite of the injustice Teodora experienced in judicial system
at the time, she remained calm, resolute and courageous and accepted her fate with Christian
resignation.
GOM-BUR-ZA'S Martyrdom. The unjust execution of GumBurZa, accused of conspiracy of the
Cavity Mutiny and publicly garroted on February 17, 1872, when they were garroted, Paciano
quit college education. A few years later, Rizal wrote The Memory of Burgos. Rizal was just 11
years old when the unfortunate and extremely mournful of GomBurZa happened. Ae the age of
8, Revealed his God talents in literary by writing poems. The poem he wrote in Tagalog was
entitled Sa Aking Kababata (to my fellow children). He wrote this poem as an appeal to his
countrymen to love their national language.
Ateneo Municipal is a college under the supervision of Spanish Jesuits. This college was a rival
of the Dominican- owned College of San Juan de Letran, formerly the Escuela Pia (Charity
School), an educational institution established by the city government in 1917 for poor boys in
Manila. When the Jesuits returned to the Philippines in 1768 after almost a century of exile, the
management of Escuela Pia whose name was charged to Ateneo Municipal and later on
became the Ateneo de Manila. The Jesuits opened the Ateneo to everyone without any racial
or financial discrimination. However, screening of applicants was strictly observed, Rizal
reminisced in his Memorias de un estudiante de Manila that he was almost denied admission
because of poor health and short stature.
1871-1872: Rizal’s first day in Ateneo. His professor in Ateneo was Father Jose Bech. Rizal
relater became emperor at the Ateneo because he was the brightest in the class. In Jesuit
colleges, two empires were established to stimulate students, a Roman empire and a
Carthaginian or Greek empire constantly at war for supremacy in the class, who's leading posts
are won by means of challenge which are successful if the opponent committed 3 mistakes.
Because of his excellence performance, he was awarded as a saint’s picture as his prize.
My First Inspiration- a poem written by Rizal in Ateneo as an expression of good wishes which
was full of endearing filial affection on his mother’s birthday.
Rizal obtained excellent grades and received many prizes offered by school. He was very active
in co-curricular activities. He participated in literary and religious affairs, took firstin solfegio
and in drawing and painting under Don Agustin Saez. His winning pieces were To the Filipino
Youth (a poem)- was written by Rizal when he was 18 years old at the University of Santo
Thomas and The council of God’s (an allegory). He also wrote a melodrama entitled Along the
Pasig which was staged at the Ateneo auditorium on December 1880.
Father Francisco Sanchez (a great educator and scholar)- one of Rizal’s professors who inspired
him to study with seal and enthusiasm and write poetry.
Father Leonard- he requested Rizal to curve for him the image of Sacred Heart of Jesus. This
image was placed on the door of the dormitory of the Ateneo and remained there for almost 20
years.
Segundiwa Katigbak- a fourteen years old girl who captured Rizal's heart. In 1880, while
boarding the home of his uncle, Antonio Rivera, he fell in love with his beautiful daughter,
Leonor, they become sweethearts for 11 years.
Carromata- Rizal's ride from Calamba to Manila on May 1, 1882.
Salvadora- Rizal's ship from Manila to Singapore. He wrote in his diary: My Country, my love,
my people, I leave you now, you disappear. I lose sight of you.
Djemnah- a French ship which was bigger and better than Salvadora, which was sailing to
Europe.
Central University of Madrid- the university where Rizal enrolled in two courses, the
Philosophy and letters and the Medicine.
Academy of San Fernando- where Rizal taking lessons in painting and sculpture.
Hall of Arms of Sanz y Carbonell- where Rizal attending classes in French and German,
practicing fencing and shooting.
Don Pablo Ortega y Rey- a former mayor of Manila, during Gov. Carlos dela Torre’s regime. A
father of Pilar and Consuelo.
Rizal visited Don Pablo and the spark of love smile in Rizal’s heart by Consuelo’s refined manner
and lovely smile was awakened. Because of his endearing attachment to Lonor Rivera, he
suppressed his emotion and did not allow his feelings he had for Consuelo. Before he left in the
summer of 1883, he wrote a poem dedicated to Consuelo. 1884- in hailing the Spolarium of
Juan Luna and Virgin Exposed to the Populace of Hidalgo. Rizal angered Spanish authorities in
the Philippines. 1885-1886- Rizal finished Philosophy and Letters at Central University of Madrid
and traveled to Germany to specialize in ophthalmology. 1887- Rizal finished writing the Noli
Me Tangere.
IN ADDITIOOOOOONNN................

 Segunda Katigbak, listed as Segundiwa, Rizal’s first love. Segunda was do first move
when courting Pepe.
 2nd year Rizal got a low grade at UST. He boards at Leonardo Rivera’s home.
 In just one month, Rizal was an emperor or highest level because he was the brightest in
class. Eventually, in 1883, Rizal joined the Masonic lodge in Madrid which was called
Acacia. His central motive in joining the society was to secure the aid of the Freemasons
in his battle against the abusive friars in the Philippines. On June 21, 1884, at the age of
23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the
age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of “excellent.”
Rizal’s many loves Over a dozen women had
been romantically linked with Dr. Jose Rizal
that, in studying our National Hero from
elementary to college, we tended to picture
him as a dashing debonaire who was so
glib-tongued, he could have swept any
woman off her feet. What Rizal may have
lacked in feet and inches, he more than
made up for with suave, his superior
intellect, his inimitable way with words, and
his being a figurative colossus among
Lilliputians -- always at the center of events;
the life of the party. Add to all this his
(pomaded?) killer mustache and he would
no doubt have been the perfect catch for
the fairer sex, including the one he married
before his execution, Josephine Bracken. If
only their baby did not die, then we would
have had direct descendants of the “First
Filipino.” Segunda Katigbak, Rizal’s self-
proclaimed first love when he was at the
Ateneo and she was at La Concordia, clearly
saw Rizal’s potential as the perfect, to-die-
for husband. As historians would tell us,
Segunda did the “primera” or first move to
coax words from the then still timid Rizal
that eventually led to countless meetings
(trysts?) between them off-campus in
Manila and in her native Lipa, Batangas.
Serving as bridges or excuses for them to
see each other were Rizal being a friend of
Segunda’s brother Mariano at the Ateneo,
and Segunda being a classmate and pal of
Rizal’s sister Olimpia. It was a stillborn love
– fodder for so many what-ifs – as the
beautiful girl Rizal put on a pedestal, while
she was still on the cusp of womanhood,
was already spoken for by her parents to a
tall townmate in Manuel Luz. For Rizal,
Katigbak may have been the one who got
away, and vice versa. A frail Pepe may have
been crying in the rain when gushed forth
from his broken heart the following
lamentations: “Ended at an early hour, my
first love! My virgin heart will always mourn
the reckless step it took on the flower-
decked abyss. My illusions return, yes, but
indifferent, uncertain, ready for the first
betrayal on the path of love.” Then came
the rebound or, more accurately, rebounds.
Already a student of medicine at the
University of Santo Tomas, Rizal went on to
board with Antonio Rivera, a cousin of his
father Don Francisco. Voila! Leonor Rivera,
Antonio’s daughter, Rizal’s cousin appeared
like an apparition of Maria Makiling herself
– the deity that was to become the
mountain on folklore – inserting herself into
Pepe’s universe. She was to be Rizal’s
inspiration for Maria Clara in his novel Noli
Me Tangere, Maria being the biological
offspring of Padre Damaso and victim of
systematic rape as a nun by Padre Salvi with
his phantom-like visitations at the convent.
Decades later, Philippine jurisprudence
would have the Maria Clara Doctrine,
otherwise known as the Woman’s Honor
principle, a presumption that women,
especially Filipinos, would not go so far as
to accuse someone of rape or sexual abuse
unless the abuse really happened. But back
to Pepe and Leonor. Concede we may that
Rizal, as part of the Rivera household, got
distracted enough not to get in UST the kind
of grades that made Rizal an “emperor” at
the Ateneo as an overachiever, at the very
top of his class. Rizal’s and Leonor’s love
affair was a forbidden one between cousins,
one that later on earned much contempt
from her mother and probably grudging
acceptance from Antonio. While it was
Rizal’s longest at over one decade, it was
not to be his last. Neither would it stop Rizal
from being “appreciative” of the beauties
that invariably were attracted to him like
moths to a gas lamp’s deadly flame. Pre-
dating Rivera was Rizal trying to woo
another Leonor – “Orang,” surnamed
Valenzuela, someone he’d written letters to
using invisible ink even when he was
already with Rivera. The two Leonors’ story
came to a head when Jose “Chenggoy”
Cecilio, Rizal’s eyes and ears in the
Philippines while he was finishing his
medical studies in Madrid, sent Pepe a
missive about an exchange of words
between Rivera and Valenzuela. According
to Chenggoy, Rivera tried to stalk
Valenzuela during a procession but the
latter was wearing a veil. Having heard of
Rivera’s interest in her, Valenzuela told
Chenggoy to pointedly tell Rivera, “the little
kasera (landlord) that I am not trying to be
her rival for Rizal’s affection.” Ending his
letter to Rizal, Chenggoy wrote, according
to historian Jensen DG. Manebog: “Que
gulay, tukayo, anong kaguluhan ang
ginagawa natin sa mga kababaihang ito!?
(My veggies, namesake, what troubles are
we causing these women?!) ### On self-
exile to Europe with the heat generated by
the Noli’s publication in 1887, thanks to
money loaned by his friend Maximo Viola,
Rizal passed by Japan and had a one-month
affair with Seiko Usui or “Osei San,” a
French and English-speaking daughter of a
Samurai. In parting, Rizal told Osei San that,
“No woman has ever loved me, no woman
has ever sacrificed so much for me.”
Whatever Osei San may have offered, it
may have been love for Leonor Rivera that
prompted Rizal to end thoughts of staying
in Japan to raise a family with the Japanese.
Had he done that, he would have lived life
to the fullest – with a lucrative medical
practice, maybe, instead of facing a firing
squad at age 35. Rizal had many loves, yes,
and he may well be the “Pambansang
Gigolo.” But there’s no taking away from
him his foremost love – la Patria Adorada –
or love of the fatherland. A meaningful
National Heroes’ Day to all tomorrow, 30
August.   1. dr.jose rizal - rizal's
specialization in medical field?
Ophthalmology and general medicine 2.
what mountain did rizal grew up? Mount
makiling 3. why did rizal chosed by don
francisco? Rizal could develop his
knowledge in studying in Letran but he
realized that for Rizal to attain his
capabilities, he should study in Ateneo
where he can manage his abilities and
improve all his skills with the kind ... 4. how
many children did don francisco and
teodora had? 11 5. what was the title of
juan luna's painting - spolarium 6. what was
the painting of felix hidalgo in madrigal?
Hidalgo won a silver medal at the Madrid
Exposition of Fine Arts in 1884 for La
Pintura, 7. what was the primary reason
rizal pursue medicine? His desire to cure his
mother growing blindness due to cataract.
8. t or f - for whom did rizal address my first
inspiration? Mi Primera Inspiracion was the
first poem written by Dr. Jose Rizal during
his third academic year in Ateneo de
Municipal. He wrote the poem in 1874,
before he turned 14. He was delighted to
see his mother, Doña Teodora Alonso,
released from prison that same year so he
dedicated the poem to her. 9. who was
rizals first proffesor in ateneo? Fr. Jose
Bech. 10. this poem rizal nationalistic
sentiment and this is an appeal to his
countrymen to love their own language? Sa
Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow
Children)  First poem and first tagalog
poem 11. what was the name of the story
that her mother taught him that gave him
the concept of martyrdom - 12. what was
pasyano and father burgos fighting for?
Abuse of the Spanish friars 13. why was
rizals mother arrested? Their matriarch,
Doña Teodora, was arrested on suspicion
that she had tried to help her brother, Don
Jose Alberto, in poisoning his wife 14. in the
noli me tangere who charactered rizal -
crisostomo ibarra 15. who is pasyano in noli
me tangere? pilosopo tasio José Protacio
Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda