CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in

Calamba

Calamba
- natal town of Rizal
- named after a big native jar
- the happiest period of Rizal’s life was spent in this
lakeshore town, a worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like
tragic manhood

CALAMBA, THE HEROES TOWN

Calamba
- a hacienda town which belonged to the
Dominican Order who also owned all the lands
around it
- picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain
covered with irrigated ricefields and sugar-lands
- a few kilometers to the south looms the
legendary Mount Makiling and beyond this
mountain is the province of Batangas
- east of the town is the Laguna de Bay which is an
inland lake of songs and emerald waters beneath
the canopy of azure skies
- in the middle of the lake towers the storied island
of Talim and beyond it towards the north is the
distant Antipolo which is famous mountain shrine
of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage

Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)

- a poem written by Rizal in 1876, age 15, while he
was a student in Ateneo de Manila, when he
rememberes his hometown (see p. 9 for the
poem)

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
Calamba

EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

- the first memory of Rizal in his infancy was his
happy days in the family garden when he was 3
years old
- Rizal as a child was frail, sickly, and undersized
that is why he was given the tenderest care by his
parents
- Rizal’s father built a nipa cottage in the garden
for him to play in the daytime
- An aya (nurse maid) was employed to look after
him, that aya was a kind old woman
- twilight songs of the birds ( culiauan, maya,
maria
capra, martin) as he listened to them with
wonder and joy
- daily Angelus prayer
- the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the
nightly Rosary
- the imaginary tales told by the aya aroused Rizal’s
interest in legends and folklore
- the aya would threaten Rizal with asuang, nuno,
tigbalang, or a terrible bearded and turbaned
Bombay would come to take him away if he
would not eat his supper
- nocturnal walk in the town esp. when the was a
moon with his aya by the river, where the trees
cast grotesque shadows on the banks

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
Calamba

THE HERO’S FIRST SORROW

- death of Little Concha

Concha (Concepcion)
- Jose loved the most of his sisters
- Rizal was a year older than her
- Rizal played with her and upon whom Rizal
learned the sweetness of sisterly love
- Rizal was very fond of her and cried bitterly at
losing her
- died of sickness in 1865, age 3, Rizal was 4 years
old then
- “…and then for the first time I shed tears caused
by love and grief…”

Others:
- Rizal children were bound by ties of love and
companionship, they were well-bred as their
parents taught them to love and help one another

DEVOTED SON OF THE CHURCH

- Rizal grew of a good Catholic
- age 3 when he started to take part in the family
prayers
- age 5 when he was able to read haltingly the
Spanish family Bible
- he seriously devout that he was laughingly called
Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas
Terceras
- his mother was a devout Catholic

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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- town priest Fr. Leoncio Lopez was one of the men

Rizal esteemed and respected in Calamba, visiting
the priest and listening to his stimulating opinions
on current events and sound philosophy of life

PILGRIMAGE TO ANTIPOLO
- June 6, 1868 with his father, to fulfill his mother’s
vow which was made when Jose was born, his
mother could not accompany them as she has
given birth to Trinidad
- first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first
pilgrimage to Antipolo riding a casco (barge), his
first lake voyage, and did not sleep the whole
night as the casco sailed towards the Pasig River
for he was awed by “the magnificence of the
watery expanse and the silence of the night”
- Jose and his father went to Manila afterwards
(which was also his first time) after praying at the
shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo to visit Saturnina,
who was then a boarding student at La Concordia
College in Santa Ana

THE STORY OF THE MOTH (see p.13)

- story told by Doña Teodora to her favorite son
Jose that made the most profound impression on
him
- the tragic fate of the young moth which “died a
martyr to its illusions”, such noble death, “to
sacrifice one’s life for it,” which means for an
ideal, is “worthwhile”
- like the young moth, he was fated to die as a
martyr for a noble ideal
-“The Children’s Friend” (El Amigo de los Niños), a

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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Spanish reader
ARTISTIC TALENTS
- age 5, started making sketches with his pencil,
mold in clay and wax objects which attracted his
fancy (sketching and sculpturing talent)
- it is said that a religious banner always used
during fiesta was ruined; at the request of the
town mayor, he painted in oil colors a new banner
that delighted the town folks at it was better that
the original one
- he found great joy in nature; riding the pony
bought by his father; take long walks in the
meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named
Usman
- anecdote of Rizal on his clay and wax images,
age 6, laughed at by his sisters for spending time
in those images than participating in their games;
he kept silent but as they were departing, he told
them: “All right laugh at me now! Someday when
I die, people will make monuments and images of
me!”

FIRST POEM BY RIZAL

- gift in literature
- his mother, being a lover of literature noticed his
poetic inclination and encouraged him to write poetry
- age 8, he wrote his first poem in the native language
entitled Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow
Children) (see p.16) that revealed his earliest
nationalist sentiment
- in poetic verses he proudly proclaimed that a people

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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who truly love their native language will surely strive

for liberty and that Tagalog is the equal of Latin,
English, Spanish, and any other language
FIRST DRAMA BY RIZAL
- after writing his first poem, Rizal, age 8, wrote his first
dramatic work, a Tagalog comedy
- said to be staged in a Calamba festival and was
delightfully applauded by the audience
- a gobernadorcillo from Paete (town in Laguna famous
for lanzones and woodcarvings) witnessed the comedy
and like it so he purchased the manuscript for P2.00
and brought to his home town and was staged in Paete
during its town fiesta

RIZAL AS BOY MAGICIAN

-his interest in magic started since early manhood with
him owning a dexterous hands
- tricks such as making coin appear or disappear in his
fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air
- magic-lantern exhibitions (ordinary lamp casting its
shadows on a white screen; enlarged shadows on the
screen resembling certain animals and persons)
-manipulating marionettes (puppet shows)
-El Filibusterismo (Treason), his second novel,
Chapter 17 and 18 showed his wide knowledge in
magic
- read many books on magic and attended the
performances of the famous magicians of the world

LAKESHORE REVERIES
-during twilight hours of summer time, Rizal and
Usman, shore of Laguna de Bay, meditate on the sad
conditions of his oppressed people

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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-as he became a man, he write to Mariano Ponce, his

friend, that fact that young as he was, he is already
awakened to the unhappy situation of his fatherland
and was determined to fight this injustices, to avenge
the many victims of these misdeeds, this being the
idea in his mind, he studied and it can be seen in all his
writings, that someday, God will give him the
opportunity to fulfill his promise

INFLUENCES ON THE HERO’S BOYHOOD

A. Hereditary Influence
- according to biological science, there are
inherent qualities which a person inherits
from his ancestors and parents
A.1. Malayan Ancestors
- love for freedom
- desire to travel
- indomitable courage
A.2. Chinese Ancestors
- serious nature
- frugality
- patience
- love for children
A.3. Spanish Ancestors
- elegance of bearing
- sensitivity to insult
- gallantry to ladies
A.4. Father
- sense of self-respect
- love for work
- habit of independent thinking
A.5. Mother
- religious nature

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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- spirit of self-sacrifice
- passion for arts and literature

B. Environmental Influence
- according to psychologists, environment,
as well as heredity, affects the nature of a
person; includes places, associates, events
B.1. Scenic beauties of Calamba and
beautiful garden of the Rizal family
- literary talents of Rizal
B.2. Religious atmosphere at his home
-religious nature
B.3. Paciano
-love of freedom and justice:
B.4. Rizal’s sisters
-courteous and kind to women
B.5. Fairy tales told by his aya during his
early childhood
-interest in folklore and legends
B.6.Tio Jose Alberto
-artistic ability
-studied 11 years in a British
school in Calcutta, India;
travelled Europe
B.7. Tio Manuel
-develop his frail body by means
of physical exercises, including
horse riding, walking, and
wrestling
- a husky and athletic man
B.8.Tio Gregorio
- Rizal’s voracious reading of
good books

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
Calamba

- a book lover
(Note: Tio Jose, Manuel, & Gregorio are Rizal’s uncle; brothers of his
mother, who exerted a good influence on him)
B.9. Father Leoncio Lopez
- Rizal’s love for scholarship and
intellectual honesty
- old and learned parish priest of
Calamba
B.10. Death of Concha in 1865 and
imprisonment of Rizal’s mother in
1871-74
- contributed for Rizal to
strengthen his character,
enabling him to resist blows of
adversity in later years
B.11. The Spanish abuses and cruelties he
witnessed in his boyhood, e.g. brutal
acts of the lieutenant of the Guardia
Civil and the alcalde, unjust tortures
inflicted on innocent Filipinos,
execution of the GOMBURZA in 1872
- awakened Rizal’s spirit of
patriotism and inspired him to
consecrate his life and talents
to redeem his oppressed
people

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 CHAPTER 2: Childhood Years in
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C. Aid of Divine Providence

- greater than heredity and
environment in the fate of man
- a person cannot attain greatness in
the annals of the nation despite having
everything life (brains, wealth, and
power) without this
- Rizal was providentially destined to be
the pride and glory of his nation;
endowed by God with versatile gifts of
a genius, vibrant spirit of a nationalist,
and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a
noble cause

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