RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, AND June 19, 1861

EARLY EDUCATION
Dr. Jose Rizal was born on the moonlit night of
Wednesday, June 19, 1861. Between 11 and
midnight, in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna.
Lesson 1: Rizal’s Life and Family
June 22, 1861
At the age of three (3) days old, Rizal was baptized
Intended Learning Outcomes
in the Catholic church.
At the end of the lesson, the student would be able
to:

1. Discuss the family background of Rizal.

2. Identify the important events during Rizal’s
childhood that influenced the formation of his
character.
Father Rufino Collantes was a Batangueño and he
was the parish priest who baptized Rizal.
As you read the assigned readings, take note of the
following: Father Pedro Casanas was Rizal’s godfather, was
a native of Calamba, and a close friend of Rizal
family.
1. Rizal’s Ancestry Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery was the
Governor-General of the Philippines when Rizal was
2. Rizal’s Parents
born.
3. Rizal’s Siblings

RIZAL FAMILY
Rizal’s Parents
Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo
Realonda was the full name of Rizal. Dr. because
he completed his medical course in Spain.
Jose was the name chosen by his mother who was
a devotee of Christian saint San Jose.
Protacio was from the Gervacio P which come from
Christian calendar.
Rizal was the word “Racial” in Spanish where wheat Don Francisco Mercado was Rizal’s father.
are cut while still green and sprouts again. Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado was a productive
farmer in Biñan, Laguna. He was an independent-
Mercado was the name adopted in year 1731 by minded, taciturn but dynamic gentleman from whom
Domingo Lamco, the paternal great-great Jose inherited his free-soul. He became Tiniente-
grandfather of Dr. Rizal. It means market in English. Gobernadorcillo, Lieutenant-Governor in Calamba
Alonzo was the old surname of Jose Rizal’s mother. and was nicknamed as Tiniente Kiko.

Realonda was the name/surname used by Doña Francisco was born in 1818 in Biñan, Laguna. When
Teodora from the surname of her godmother, based he was 8 years old, he lost his father. He was
the culture by that time. nonetheless educated as he took Latin and
Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila
where he met and fell in love with Doña Teodora
Alonzo, a student in the College of Santa Rosa. They
got married on June 28, 1848, and they settled down
in Calamba where they were granted lease of a rice
farm in a Dominican-owned Hacienda.
Francisco’s great grandfather was Domingo Lamco
who was a learned pro-poor or a ‘makamasa’
Chinese immigrant businessman.
Doña Teodora Alonzo Realonda was Rizal’s
mother. She was an educated and highly cultured
woman from the Santa Cruz, Manila. According to
different books of Dr. Jose Rizal. Doña Teodora
Alonzo was also known as Doña Lolay and she was
the first ever teacher of Dr. Jose Rizal.
Doña Lolay was educated at the College of Santa
Rosa, an esteemed school for girls in Manila. And
she was usually described as vigilant/diligent
business-minded woman, very graceful but
courageous, well-mannered, religious, and well-
read. Very dignified, she disliked gossip, and vulgar
conversation.
Lolay’s great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of
Japanese descent) who married a Filipina named
Benigna.
1. Saturnina Rizal (1850-1913)
Saturnina was known to be the eldest child of Don
Francisco and Doñ Teodora Alonzo. She and her
mother provided Jose with good basic education,
and by the age of three (3), Jose Rizal already knew
the alphabet.
2. Paciano Rizal (1851-1930)
Paciano Rizal, Jose’s only brother, was born on
March 7, 1851, in Calamba, Laguna. He was fondly
addressed by his siblings as ‘Ñor Paciano,’ short for
‘Señor Paciano’. The 10-year older brother of Jose
studied at San Jose College in Manila, became a
farmer, and later a combat general of the Philippine
Revolution. After the execution of Rizal, in
December 1896, Paciano joined the Katipuneros in
Cavite under the General Emilio Aguinaldo. As
Katipunero, Paciano was commissioned as General
of the Revolutionary courses and elected as
secretary of finance in Department Government of
Central Luzon.
Rizal regarded him as the “most noble of Filipinos”
and immortalized him in Noli Me Tangere as the wise
Pilosopo Tasio.
Paciano died as an old bachelor at the age of 79 on
April 13, 1930. There is a rumor that Paciano had
two children by his mistress, Severina Decena, a boy
and a girl.
3. Narcisa Rizal (1852-1939)
Narcisa Rizal (1852-1939) or simply ‘Sisa’ was the
third child in the family. Later in history, Narcisa (like
Saturnina) would help in financing Jose Rizal’s
studies in Europe, even pawning her jewelry and
peddling her clothes if needed.
It was said also that she could recite from memory
almost all the poems of our national hero.
She was married to Antonio Lopez (nephew of
Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong.
4. Olympia Rizal (1855-1887)
Olympia Rizal is the fourth child in the Rizal family.
Jose loved to tease her, sometimes good-humoredly
describing her as his stout sister. Jose’s first
love, Segunda Katigbak, was Olympia’s schoolmate
at the La Concordia College. Rizal confided to
Olympia (also spelled ‘Olimpia’) about Segunda, and
the sister willingly served as the mediator between
the two teenage lovers.
Ypia was her pet name. She was married to Silvestre
Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila.
5. Lucia Rizal (1857-1919)
Lucia Rizal is the fifth child in the family. She married
Mariano Herbosa (nephew of Father Casanas) of
Calamba, Laguna. Charged of inciting the Calamba
townsfolk not to pay land rent and causing unrest,
the couple was once ordered to be deported along
with some Rizal family members.
Lucia’s husband, Herbosa died of cholera in 1889
and was denied Catholic burial because for not
going to confession since he was a brother-in-law of
Rizal.
6. Maria Rizal (1859-1945)
Maria Rizal (1859-1945) is the sixth child in the
family. It was to her whom Jose talked about
wanting to marry Josephine Bracken. She was
known as Biang, and she married Daniel Faustino
Cruz of Biñan Laguna.
Rizal’s letter dated December 28, 1891, Jose Rizal
wrote to her sister Maria, “I’m told that your children
are very pretty.” Today, we have a historical proof
that Maria’s progenies were indeed nice-looking
(‘lahing maganda’).
They had five children: Mauricio, Petrona,
Prudencio, Paz, and Encarnacion.
Mauricio married Conception Arguilles and the
couple had a son named Ismael Arguelles Cruz who
was the father of Gemma Cruz Araneta, the first
Filipina to win the Miss International title, the first
Southeast Asian to win in an international beauty
pageant.
8. Concepcion Rizal (1862-1865)
Also called ‘Concha’ by her siblings, Concepcion
Rizal (1862-1865) was the eight child of the Rizal
family. She died at the age of three. The young Jose
Rizal loved most the little Concha who was a year
younger than Jose. They usually played games and
shared children stories and from her, he felt the
beauty of sisterly love at a young age.
The death of little Concha was Rizal’s sorrow in life.
9. Josefa Rizal (1865-1945)
Josefa Rizal’s nickname is Panggoy was the ninth
child in the family. Panggoy died a spinster. Among
Jose Rizal’s letters to Josefa, the one dated October
26, 1893, is perhaps the most fascinating. Written in
English, the letter addressed Josefa as Miss
Josephine Rizal.
After Jose’s martyrdom, the epileptic Josefa joined
the Katipunan and was even supposed to have been
elected as president of its women section. She was
one of the original 29 women admitted to the
Katipunan along with Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of
Andres Bonifacio.
➢ Died an old maid at age of 80
10. Trinidad Rizal (1868-1951)
Trinidad Rizal or ‘Trining’ was the tenth child.
Historically, she became the custodian of Rizal’s last
and greatest poem.
Right before Jose’s execution, Trinidad and their
mother visited him in the Fort Santiago prison cell.
As they were leaving, Jose handed over to Trining
an alcohol cooking stove, a gift from Pardo de
Tavera, whispering to her in a language which the
guards could not understand, “There is something in
it.”
That something was Rizal’s elegy now known as “Mi
Ulti Mo Adios.”
Like Josefa, Paciano, and two nieces, Trinidad
joined Katipunan after Rizal’s death.
➢ Died an old maid in 1951 aged 83
11. Soledad Rizal (1870-1929)
Also called ‘Choleng,’ Soledad Rizal, was the
youngest child of the Rizal family. Being a teacher,
she was arguably the best educated among Rizal’s
sisters.
In his long, and meaty letter to Choleng, Jose told
her sister that he was proud of her for becoming a
teacher. He thus counseled her to be a model of
virtues and good qualities “for the one who should
teach should be better than the persons who need
her learning.”
Rizal nonetheless used the topic as leverage in
somewhat rebuking her sister for getting married to
Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba without their
parents’ consent. “Because of you,” he wrote, “the
peace of our family has been disturbed.”
Choleng’s union with her husband resulted in Rizal
family’s becoming connected by affinity to Miguel
Malvar, the hero who could have been listed as the
second Philippine President for taking over the
revolutionary government after Emilio Aguinaldo’s
arrest in 1901.
RIZAL’S ANCESTRY (FATHER SIDE)
RIZAL’S ANCESTRY (MOTHER SIDE)
RIZAL’S HOME
A two-story building, rectangular in shape, build of
adobe stones and hard woods, and roof with red
tiles.
In morning, usually hummed with the voices of
children at play, and songs of the birds in garden.
In evening, it echoed with the dull set notes of family
prayers.
Rizal’s mother taught them to pray always.
Rizal’s family belonged to the Principalia which is an
aristocracy in Spanish Philippines during that time.
The Rizal family had a simple, contented, and a
happy life. They showed love and respect to each
other.
 RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, AND
EARLY EDUCATION
Lesson 2: Rizal’s Childhood Days “The Childhood of
a Phenom”
As you read the assigned readings, take note of the
following:
1. Rizal’s Ancestry
2. Rizal’s Parents
3. Rizal’s Sibling
4. Influences on Rizal’s childhood
5. Poems written by Rizal
Phenom – exceptionally talented, or admired
especially an up-and-comer which especially during
his childhood was none less than phenom
Calamba is named after a big native jar and
Calamba was also known as a hacienda town which
belonged to the Dominican order which also owned
the lands around it during the Spanish era.
Rizal’s first memory in his infancy was his happy
days in the family garden when he was 3 years old
during the time.
The Rizal’s Home
➢ It was one of the distinguished stone houses in
Calamba during the Spanish times
➢ It was a two-storey building, rectangular in
shape, built of adobe stones and hard-woods
and roofed with red tiles
➢ 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
During the time, their courtyard contained tropical
fruits, trees, poultry yard, carriage house, and a
stable for the ponies.
Since Jose Rizal (nicknamed Pepe) in his childhood
was a weak, sickly, and undersized, he was given
the fondest care by his parents. In fact, his
father, Don Francisco Mercado Rizal built a Nipa
cottage for Pepe to play in the daytime.
There are lots of memories that Rizal had in their
town at Calamba, Laguna.
Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My
Town)
A poem about Rizal’s beloved town written by Rizal
in 1876 when he was 15 years old and was student
in the Ateneo de Manila.
In Memory of My Town
Tender childhood, beautiful town,
rich fountain of rejoicing
and harmonious music
that drove away all pain:
return to this heart of mine,
return my gracious hours,
return as the birds return
when flowers spring again!
That’s why he remembered all those childhood
memory that he had during the time he was in
Calamba such as angelus prayer. When he
happened to led angelus prayer.
Another memory of Rizal during his infancy was the
nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there
was a moon.
The death of little Concha which brought him his first
sorrow. At the age of 3, Rizal was able to take part
in their prayers. When Rizal was 5 years old, he was
able to read the Spanish Family Bible.
The Hero’s First Sorrow
➢ Of Rizal’s sisters, Jose loved most little
Concha (Concepcion).
➢ He was one year older than Concha.
➢ Concha died of sickness in 1865 when he
was 3 years old.
Devoted Son of Church
➢ Young Rizal was a religious boy.
➢ Rizal grew up a good Catholic.
➢ 3 years old - he began to take part in the
family prayers.
➢ 5 years old – read family bible
➢ Join religious processions.
➢ Manong Jose – called him by the Hermanos
and Hermanas
➢ Father Leoncio Lopez - the scholarly father
As a child, Rizal loved to go to the chapel. He usually
prays, participate in novenas, enjoying religious
possessions. In Calamba, one of the men he
esteemed and respected in Calamba during his
childhood was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez,
the town priest.
He used to visit him, listen to his sparring opinions
on current events and thorough his life__. That’s why
during his 3 years old days, Rizal already began to
take part in the family prayers.
The Story of the Moth
Usually, during the days that Rizal was still young,
Dona Lolay, wanted to have this regular story-telling
sessions with the young Rizal. Just to impart some
essential life lessons.
One day, Dona Lolay loved to read Pepe stories.
Lolay chose the story about a daughter moth who
was warned by her mother against going too near a
lamp flame. Though the young moth promised to
comply, she later succumbed to the pull of the light’s
mysterious charm, believing that nothing bad would
happen if she would approach it with caution.
The moth then flew close to the flame. Feeling
comforting warmth at first, she drew closer and
closer, bit by bit, until she flew too close enough to
the flame and perished.
Incidentally, Pepe was watching a similar incident
while he was listening to the storytelling. Like a live
enactment, a moth was fluttering too near to the
flame of the oil lamp on their table. Not merely acting
out, it did fall dead as a consequence. Both moths in
the two tales paid the price of getting near to the fatal
light.
Many years later, Rizal himself felt that the moths’
tale could serve as an allegory of his own destiny.
That’s why the story of the moth became a
profoundness impression on Dr. Jose Rizal. Years
had passed since then, and the child became a man,
and that was Dr. Jose Rizal.
Prodigy of the Pen
➢ Rizal was born poet.
➢ His mother encouraged him to write poetry.
➢ At an early age, Rizal was already writing
poems.
➢ The first known poem that he wrote was “Sa
Aking Mga Kababata” or “To My Fellow
Children”
Sa Aking Mga Kabata (To My Fellow Children)
➢ Rizal’s first poem in native language at the
age of eight
➢ reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment
➢ at the age of eight (8), Rizal wrote his first
dramatic work which was a Tagalog comedy
Contrary to the former common knowledge, there
was a clarification that it was Rizal did not write the
Filipino poem “Sa aking mga Kabata.” The poem
was previously believed to be Rizal’s first written
poem at the age of 8 and was said to have been
published years after Rizal’s death. However, Jose
had a preserved correspondence or letters with his
brother, Paciano, admitting that he had only
encountered the word “kalayaan” when he was ➢ Before 8 years old – he wrote a Tagalog
already 21 years old. The termed “kalayaan” was drama
used not just once in the poem, “Sa aking mga
Kabata.” So, that’s why that there is a rumor until
now that there is clarifications about this issue
whether Rizal was really the one who wrote this
poem.

Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood

Uncle/Tio Gregorio – reading of good book
Uncle/Tio Jose Alberto – artistic ability
Uncle/Tio Manuel – physical exercises
Three uncles on his mother side.

Tio Jose Alberto studied for 11 years in British

School in Calcutta, India (now Kolkata). Had
travelled in Europe which inspired Rizal to develop
the artistic ability.
Tio Manuel was a husky and athletic man,
encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body by means
of physical exercises.
Tio Gregorio, a book lover, intensified Rizal's
voracious reading of good book.
Father Leoncio Lopez - The old and learned parish
priest of Calamba who fostered Rizal's love for
scholarship and intellectual honesty.

Artistic Talents
➢ He drew sketches and pictures on his books of
his sisters.
➢ He carved figures of animals and persons out of
wood.
➢ Jose had a soul of a genuine artist.

Lakeshore Reveries
➢ Rizal was born poet.
➢ His mother encouraged him to write poetry.
➢ At an early age, Rizal was already writing
poems.
➢ The first known poem that he wrote was “Sa
Aking Mga Kababata” or “To My Fellow
Children”
 RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, AND
EARLY EDUCATION
Lesson 3: Early Education in Calamba and Biñan,
Laguna
Dr. Jose Rizal had his early education in Calamba
and Biñan. It was characterized by the 4 R’s.
➢ Reading
➢ Writing
➢ Arithmetic
➢ Religion
The instructions was rigid and strict. Knowledge was
forced into the minds of the pupils by means of
tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip.
Rizal was born a physical weakling, rose to become
an intellectual giant because of, but rather in spite of,
the outmoded and backward system of instruction
obtaining in the Philippines during the last decades
of Spanish regime.
Doña Teodora
➢ The first teacher of Rizal
➢ She encouraged Rizal to write poems
Doña Teodora who was a remarkable woman of
good character and fine culture. As tutor, Doña
Teodora was patient. She was conscientious and
understanding. It was Doña Teodora who first
discovered that her son had a talent for poetry.
Accordingly, she encouraged him to write poems to
lighten the monotony of memorizing the ABC’s and
to stimulate her son’s imagination, she related many
stories.
As Jose grew older, his parents employed private
tutors to give him lessons at home. The first was
Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas
Padua. Later, an old man named Leon Monroy, a
former classmate of Rizal’s father, became the boy’s
tutor. This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and
instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately,
he did not lived long. He died five months later.
After a Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided
to send their gifted son to a private school in Biñan.
Maestro Celestino - Rizal’s first private tutor
Maestro Lucas Padua - Rizal’s second tutor
Leon Monroy - a former classmate of Rizal’s father
became Rizal’s tutor that instructed Jose in Spanish
and Latin. He died five months later
Jose Goes to Biñan
One Sunday afternoon in June 1869, Jose, after
kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful
parting from his sister, left Calamba for Biñan. He
was accompanied by Paciano, who acted as his
second father. The two brothers rode in a
carromata, reaching their destination after one and
one-half hours’ drive. They proceeded to their
aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It was
almost night when they arrived, and the moon was
about to rise.
First Day in Biñan School
The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his
younger brother to the school of Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
The school was in the house of the teacher, which
was a small nipa hut about 30 meters from the home
of Jose’s aunt.
Immediately, Jose was assigned his seat in the
class. The teacher asked him:
"Do you know Spanish?"
"A little, sir," replied the Calamba lad.
"Do you know Latin?"
"A little, sir.
The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the
teacher’s son laughed at Jose’s answers.
The teacher sharply stopped all noises and begun
the lessons of the day.
Jose described his teacher in Biñan (Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz) as follows: "He was tall,
thin, long-necked, with sharp nose and a body
slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay
shirt, woven by the skilled hands of the women of
Batangas. He knew by the heart the grammars by
Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this severity that in my
judgement was exaggerated and you have a picture,
perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but I
remember only this."
First School Brawl, in the afternoon of his first day in
school, when the teacher was having his siesta,
Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully
for making fun of him during his conversation with
the teacher in the morning.
Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The latter readily
accepted, thinking that he could easily beat the
Calamba boy who was smaller and younger.
The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom,
much to the glee of their classmates. Jose, having
learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio
Manuel, defeated the bigger boy. For this feat, he
became popular among his classmates.
After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named
Andres Salandanan challenged him to an arm-
wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a house
and wrestled with their arms. Jose, having the
weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head on the
sidewalk.
In succeeding days, he had other fights with the boys
of Biñan. He was not quarrelsome by nature, but he
never ran away from a fight.
Juancho – an old an old painter who was the father-
in-law of the school teacher; freely give Rizal lessons
in drawing and painting
Jose Guevara – Rizal’s classmate who also loved
painting, became apprentices of the old painter
Rizal was “the favorite painters of the class” because
of his artistic talent
Daily Routine in Biñan
➢ Hears mass at 4 a.m. or studies lesson
before going to mass
➢ Goes to orchard to look for mabolo to eat
Breakfast
➢ Goes to class at 10 a.m.
➢ Lunch break
➢ Goes back to school at 2 p.m.
➢ Goes home at 5 p.m.
➢ Prays with cousins
➢ Studies lessons, then draws a little
➢ Has supper
➢ Prays again
➢ Plays in the street if moon is bright
➢ Sleep
Best Student in School
In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He
surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and other
subjects.
Some of his older classmates were jealous of his
intellectual superiority. They wickedly squealed to
the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the
school, and even told lies to discredit him before the
teacher’s eyes. Consequently, the teacher had to
punish Jose.
End of Biñan Schooling
Christmas in 1870 – Rizal received a letter from his
sister Saturnina, informing him of the arrival of the
steamer Talim (a vehicle) which would take him from
Binan to Calamba
Saturday afternoon, December 17, 1870 – Rizal
left Binan after one year and a half of schooling
Arturo Camps – a Frenchman friend of Rizal’s
father who took care of him on board