RIZAL'S LIFE AND WORKS

(Additional Information)

1. The reasons why they don’t want to pass Rizal Bill.

• The Catholic Church Against Rizal Law and Senator Claro M. Recto. Those who opposed the Rizal
Bill painted Recto as communist and anti-Catholic. According to Abinales and Amoroso (2005), the
Church (1) feared the bill would violate freedom of conscience and religion.
• Among the most active groups that opposed the Rizal Bill were the Catholic Action of the
Philippines, the Knights of Columbus, the Congregation of the Mission, and the Catholic Teachers
Guild. 
• In one of these symposiums, Fr. Jesus Cavanna allegedly argued the novels would (2)
misrepresent current conditions in the church.
• It came to a point when a number of Catholic schools (3) threatened to close down if the Rizal Bill
became law. 
• The Rizal Law was enacted on June 12, 1956, coinciding with the Philippines’ Independence Day.

2. Republic Act No. 229: An act prohibiting cockfighting, horse racing, and jai-alai on the 30th day of
December of each year and creating a committee to take charge of the proper celebration of Rizal
day in every municipality and chartered city, and for any other purposes

3. Josephine Bracken was remarried from a man from Cebu.

4. Who are ilustrados.

• Ilustrados belonged to the European- educated middle-class Filipinos.

• Members: (1) Juan Luna (2) Graciana Lopez Jaena (3) Marcelo H. Del Pilar (4) Felix Resureccion
Hidalgo (5) Antonio Luna, and (6) Mariano Ponce.
• These names are the names of Filipinos whose works of art shaped the society and the history of
the Philippines.

5. Leyes de Indias

• Laws of the Indies, the entire body of law promulgated by the Spanish crown during the 16th,
17th, and 18th centuries for the government of its kingdoms (colonies) outside Europe, chiefly in
the Americas; more specifically, a series of collections of decrees (cedulas) compiled and published
by royal authorization, culminating in the Recopilación de las leyes de los reinos de Indias (1680). 

6. Cadiz Constitution

• The study of the Cádiz Constitution, of liberalism, and of its manifold relations with Spanish
America during the first quarter of the 19th century has witnessed such a revival in the past two
decades that it may be a temptation to say that this is a “new” field in the Western academic world.
If this may be an exaggeration in the case of Spain and a couple of Latin American countries, it may
be correct if we consider the rest of the Western world. 

7. Teodora Alonso’s nickname : Lolay / Doña Lolay

8. Teachers of Rizal- Maestro Leon Monroy- taught Rizal Spanish and Latin

9. Family of Rizal, Uncle and Teachers

The Mercado - Rizal Family

• The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co, the
family’s paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy,
China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines
de la Rosa.
• Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay
and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.
• José Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and
Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)

• Father of José Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offspring’s of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in
Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818;
• He studied Latin and Philosophy at the San José College in Manila. After his parents death he
moved to Calamba and became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda. He was a hardy
and independent man, a hardworking man of few words.
• He died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80. Rizal called his father affectionately “a
model of fathers”.

TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)

• Dr. Rizal’s mother was born in Manila on November 8, 1826 as the second child of Lorenzo Alonso
and Brijida de Quintos. She went to school at the College of Santa Rosa. She was a remarkable
woman, she possessed refined culture, literary talent, business ability and the fortitude of Spartan
women. Rizal wrote about his loving mother “My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture;
she is a mathematician and has read many books.”
• She died in Manila on August 16, 1911, at the age of 85, in her house in San Fernando Street,
Binondo. 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 taxes.” Such remark
truly befitted her as a worthy mother of a national here !
Their Children

1. SATURNINA MERCADO (1850-1913)

• Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Her nickname was Neneng. She had five children by her
husband Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas.

2. PACIANO MERCADO (1851-1930)

• Only brother and confidant of José Rizal and the second child. He became as a second father to
Jose Rizal. Studied at San José College in Manila. Just like his father, Paciano became a farmer. It
was his idea to send Jose to continue his studies in Spain.
• After his younger brother´ excecution, he joined the Philippine revolution and became a combat
General. After the Revolution, he retired to his farm in Los Boños where he lived as a gentleman
farmer and died on April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged 79. he had two children by his mistress
(Severina Decena).

3. NARCISA MERCADO (1852-1939)

• The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.

4. OLYMPIA MERCADO (1855-1887)

• The fourth child. Ypia was her pet name. Married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from
Manila; she died in 1887 from child birth.

5. LUCIA MERCADO (1857-1919)

• The fifth child. Married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba. He was the nephew of Father Casanas.
Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was denied a Christian burial because Dr. Rizal was his brother-
in-law.

6. MARIA MERCADO (1859-1945)

• The sixth child. Her nickname was Biang. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

7. JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)

• The second son and the seventh child. The greatest Filipino hero and a tremendous genius. His
nickbname was Pepe. During his excile in Dapitan he lived together with Josephine Bracken, an
Irisch girl from Hong-Kong. They had a son with her but their baby son died a few hours after birth.
Rizal named him Francisco after his father and buried him in Dapitan. José was executed by the
Spaniards on December 30,1896.

8. CONCEPCION MERCADO (1862-1865)

• The eighth among the Rizal children, died at the age of three due to an illness. Her pet name
was Concha. As an older brother, Jose, who was four at that time (in 1865), grieved so bitterly. He
recalled having cried so hard for the first time due to love and sorrow for their loss. According to
him, “Till then I had shed tears only for my own faults which my loving, prudent mother well knew
how to correct.”
9. JOSEFA MERCADO (1865-1945)
• Josefa Rizal or Panggoy had epilepsy. She was the ninth child of the family. She died in 1945 at the
age of 80. Due to her illness she never got married and died as spinster.

10. TRINIDAD MERCADO (1868-1951)

• The tenth child. She was the longest living family member. They gave her the pet name Trining.
Like her sister Josefa, she never got married and also died an old maid at the age of 83.

11. SOLEDAD MERCADO (1870-1929)

• She was the youngest child of the Rizal-Mercado clan. Choleng was het pet name. She later got
married to Pantaleon Quintero, a native from Calamba, Laguna.

• Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development
of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great
admiration for the beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the
boy love for education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to
be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything."

10. Leoncio Lopez - Catholic town priest in Calamba who was esteemed and respected by Rizal

11. Narcisa Rizal helped in financing Rizal’s studies in Europe, even pawning her jewelry and
peddling her clothes if needed.