GE 9 – THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE 3

Learning Outcomes RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD, AND

At the end of this module, you EARLY EDUCATION
should be able to:

1. Analyze Rizal’s family,

childhood, and early INTRODUCTION
education; and
In this module, the life of Rizal during his childhood days
2. Evaluate the people and
including his early education in Calamba will be discussed. This will
events and their influence on
also give insights on some of the most famous articles, struggles, and
Rizal’s early life.
experiences of Rizal in his childhood days. And this will allow you to
understand the essence of the life of Rizal that shape him to
become the National Hero.

DISCUSSION

THE MERCADO - RIZAL FAMILY

The Rizal’s 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. Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents,
Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.

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 GE 9 – THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE 3

PARENTS:

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898) Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offspring of Juan
and Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died
in Manila.

TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913) Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso
and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman,
courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827
and died in 1913 in Manila.

SIBLINGS:

 SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913) Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo
of Tanauan, Batangas.
 PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930) Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College
in Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
 NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) The third child. Married to Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and
musician.
 OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887) The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
 LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919) The fifth child. Married to Matriano Herbosa.
 MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945) The sixth child. Married to Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
 JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896) The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on
December 30, 1896.
 CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865) The eighth child. She died at the age of three.
 JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945) The ninth child. An epileptic who died a spinster.
 TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951) The tenth child. She died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
 SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929) The youngest child. Married to Pantaleon Quintero.

CHILDHOOD

 June 28, 1848. Teodora Morales Alonso-Realonda y Quintos, and dad, Francisco Rizal-Mercado y
Alejandra, married.
 June 19, 1861. Jose Rizal, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos,
was born in Calamba, Laguna. But before that Dona Teodora experience difficulty in delivering
because of Rizal big head. The family of Jose considered him as special and called him “muy bonito”.
 June 22, 1861. Christened as José Protacio Rizal-Mercado y Alonso-Realonda at the Catholic of
Calamba. By the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor.
 September 28, 1862. The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in
which Rizal’s baptismal records were entered, were burned.
 1864. At barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother. When he was still young his
aya (nurse maid) told him a lot of story about the existence of fairies, asuang, nuno and tikbalang.
 1865. When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the
age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time.
 1865 – 1867. During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate
by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of
Latin. At about this time two of his mother’s cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing
Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and taught
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 GE 9 – THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE 3

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.”
 June 6, 1868. With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to
take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of
delivery which nearly caused his mother’s life. From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister
Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.
 1869. At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was
written in tagalog and had for its theme "Love of One’s Language."

EDUCATION

Early Education in Calamba and Biñan

Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that a son of an
ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s- reading, writing, arithmetic, and
religion. Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds of the pupils by means of the
tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip. Despite the defects of the Spanish system of
elementary education, Rizal was able to acquire the necessary instruction preparatory for college work in
Manila. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to become an intellectual giant
not 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.

The Hero’s First Teacher

The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of good character and fine
culture. On her lap, he learned at the age of three the alphabet and the prayers. "My mother," wrote Rizal in
his student memoirs, "taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers which I raised
fervently to God."

As tutor, Doña Teodora was patient, conscientious, and understanding. It was she 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.

Jose Goes to Biñan

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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.

That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead of
enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed because of homesickness. "In the moonlight," he recounted, "I
remembered my home town, my idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet to me was
Calamba, my own town, in spite of the fact that was not as wealthy as Biñan."

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. Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil under him
before. He introduced Jose to the teacher, after which he departed to return to Calamba.

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 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 BrawlIn 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 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.
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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.

Early Schooling in Biñan

Jose had a very vivid imagination and a very keen sense of observation. At the age of seven he
travelled with his father for the first time to Manila and thence to Antipolo to fulfil the promise of a
pilgrimage made by his mother at the time of his birth. They embarked in a casco, a very ponderous vessel
commonly used in the Philippines. It was the first trip on the lake that Jose could recollect. As darkness fell he
spent the hours by the katig, admiring the grandeur of the water and the stillness of the night, although he
was seized with a superstitious fear when he saw a water snake entwine itself around the bamboo beams of
the katig. With what joy did he see the sun at the daybreak as its luminous rays shone upon the glistening
surface of the wide lake, producing a brilliant effect! With what joy did he talk to his father, for he had not
uttered a word during the night!

When they proceeded to Antipolo, he experienced the sweetest emotions upon seeing the gay
banks of the Pasig and the towns of Cainta and Taytay. In Antipolo he prayed, kneeling before the image
of the Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage, of whom he would later sing in elegant verses. Then he saw
Manila, the great metropolis, with its Chinese sores and European bazaars. They visited his elder sister
Saturnina in Sta. Ana, who was a boarding student in the Concordia College.

When he was nine years old, his father sent him to Biñan to continue studying Latin, because his first
teacher had died. His brother Paciano took him to Biñan one Sunday, and Jose bade his parents and sisters
good-bye with tears in his eyes. Oh, how it saddened him to leave for the first time and live far from his
home and his family! But he felt ashamed to cry and had to conceal his tears and sentiments. "O Shame,"
he explained, "how many beautiful and pathetic scenes the world would witness without thee!"

They arrived at Biñan in the evening. His brother took him to the house of his aunt where he was to
stay, and left him after introducing him to the teacher. At night, in company with his aunt’s grandson
named Leandro, Jose took a walk around the town in the light of the moon. To him the town looked
extensive and rich but sad and ugly.

His teacher in Biñan was a severe disciplinarian. His name was Justiniano Aquino Cruz. "He was a tall
man, lean and long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward. He used to wear a
sinamay shirt woven by the deft hands of Batangas women. He knew by memory the grammars of Nebrija
and Gainza. To this add a severity which, in my judgement I have made of him, which is all I remember."

The boy Jose distinguished himself in class, and succeeded in surpassing many of his older
classmates. Some of these were so wicked that, even without reason, they accused him before the
teacher, for which, in spite of his progress, he received many whippings and strokes from the ferule. Rare
was the day when he was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or punished with five or six blows on
the open palm. Jose’s reaction to all these punishments was one of intense resentment in order to learn and
thus carry out his father’s will.

Jose spent his leisure hours with Justiniano’s father-in-law, a master painter. From him he took his first
two sons, two nephews, and a grandson. His way life was methodical and well regulated. He heard mass at

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 GE 9 – THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE 3

four if there was one that early, or studied his lesson at that hour and went to mass afterwards. Returning
home, he might look in the orchard for a mambolo fruit to eat, then he took his breakfast, consisting
generally of a plate of rice and two dried sardines.

After that he would go to class, from which he was dismissed at ten, then home again. He ate with
his aunt and then began at ten, then home again. He ate with his aunt and then began to study. At half
past two he returned to class and left at five. He might play for a short time with some cousins before
returning home. He studied his lessons, drew for a while, and then prayed and if there was a moon, his
friends would invite him to play in the street in company with other boys.

Whenever he remembered his town, he thought with tears in his eyes of his beloved father, his
idolized mother, and his solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet was his town even though not so opulent as Biñan!
He grew sad and thoughtful.

While he was studying in Biñan, he returned to his hometown now and then. How long the road
seemed to him in going and how short in coming! When from afar he descried the roof of his house, secret
joy filled his breast. How he looked for pretexts to remain longer at home! A day more seemed to him a day
spent in heaven, and how he wept, though silently and secretly, when he saw the calesa that was flower
that him Biñan! Then everything looked sad; a flower that he touched, a stone that attracted his attention
he gathered, fearful that he might not see it again upon his return. It was a sad but delicate and quite pain
that possessed him.

SUMMARY

This module discusses the childhood life of Rizal and how he acquire things that would make him more
knowledgeable and skilled in life to effectively deal with all the challenges that he might encounter
along the way. Early education is the foundation of our life and because of this he intends to do well in
studying and to achieve his dream he need to encounter different person in his life to teach and
educate him to succeed. In his childhood days he met different person that made him realize and
solve things better because of their guidance and teaching.

ACTIVITY

A. Essay

1. From what you have read, how was Rizal as a student?

2. Who are the people who had great contributions to Rizal during his childhood? And what did they
contribute to him?

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 GE 9 – THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE 3

 REFERENCES

CAC Part Time Lecturers, GE 9: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL MODULE. University of Eastern Philippines –
Main Campus.

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