RIZAL, THE WONDER

CHILD
PROF. JET CASTILLO
PROF. BETH MORALES-NUNCIO
 SOME NOTABLE
ANECDOTES ON
RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD
BASED ON STORIES TOLD BY HIS MOTHER AND SISTERS DURING
THE AMERICAN PERIOD
PHYSICAL
APPEARANCE • Rizal’s childhood nickname was Pepe.
• His sisters would make fun of little Pepe
because he was short for his age, and he
had a big head that was not
proportional to his body.
EARLY
LITERACY • He learned how to read and write
before the age of 5
• His mother was his first teacher
FAVORITE
STORY
• The Story of the
Moth(Gamo-gamo)
• Told by his mother
• Happened to Pepe in
his adulthood
RIZAL AND HIS DOG

• Rizal has a male black dog named

Usman
• He would walk his dog every
afternoon up to the lake shore
(aplaya) of Calamba.
• He would talk to his dog about
social issues such as the abuses of
the Spaniards on his country-mates.
LITTLE PEPE’S
POETRY
• When he was a little
boy, Rizal would
write poems.
• His priest-uncle Fr.
Leoncio wouldn’t
believe Pepe wrote
those poems.
• Pepe would raise his
voice and argue that
they were really his
writings.
 SCHOOLING
IN BINAN
• He was sent to his mother’s
hometown of Binan to study
under a native maestro,
Justiniano Aquino Cruz
• During the Spanish Era, there
were no elementary schools
similar to our public and
private schools.
• There were only private
tutors who teach kids in
their backyards.
SCHOOLING
IN BINAN
• Pepe excelled here
over his other
classmates.
• He became a better
Spanish writer and
speaker here.
THE CONTROVERSIAL
POEM
• Rizal’s most famous line: “Ang hindi
magmahal sa sarilig wika ay mabaho
pa sa malansang isda.”
• Came from the poem “Sa Aking Mga
Kabata”
• Allegedly written by Rizal when he
was 8 years old.
THE CONTROVERSIAL
POEM
• But Rizal’s sisters wouldn’t confirm
this.
• They said they never remember
Pepe writing such a poem.
• Actually, “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” first
came out in 1906; that’s one decade
after his death!
THE
CONTROVERSIAL
POEM

• In those years, many

other poems &
writings came out
with the “Jose Rizal”
by-line.
• He was so popular
during that time;
writers were glad to
attribute their works
to Rizal.
THE
CONTROVERSIAL
POEM

• Clue that Rizal

didn’t write it: Sa
Aking Mga Kabata
was written in
Tagalog.
• All of Rizal’s
poems, novels, and
essays were
written in Spanish.
 THE CONTROVERSIAL POEM

• Another clue: the word “kalayaan” in the poem.

• It’s hard to imagine an 8-year old boy to have
understanding of this word.
• The “K” sound was spelled with a “C” in Rizal’s time
 THE CONTROVERSIAL POEM

• The word “kalayaan” wasn’t in the Tagalog vocabulary yet

when Rizal was a little boy.
• He admitted in a letter that he first heard of the Spanish
word “libertad” when he was a 20-year old student in
Spain.
THE CONTROVERSIAL POEM

• But the biggest clue is…

• His sisters wouldn’t agree that it was little Pepe who wrote
this.
Pepe didn’t
write it.
PROPHETIC PEPE

• When Pepe was a little boy, he would

often hangout by himself in the bahay
kubo in their yard.
• One day, his sisters found him there
molding clay into a little statue of
Napoleon.
• They laughed at him for idolizing
Napoleon, who was also short.
PROPHETIC PEPE

• Pepe snapped back at his sisters, saying…

• “Don’t be surprised, one day, people will be making statues
of me!”
PROPHETIC PEPE

• His sisters were the guests of honor

during the inauguration of Rizal’s statue
in Luneta during the American Period.
• They were also present in the unveiling
of several other Rizal statues all over the
country during the American Period.
PROPHETIC PEPE

• What could the sisters have felt

during these occasions?
• Who had the last laugh?