"Laong Laan" redirects here.

For the railway station, see Laong Laan railway station.

"Philippine Propaganda Movement" redirects here. For the political reforms during late stages of the Spanish
Occupation, see Propaganda Movement. For the propaganda movement during World War 2, see Philippine
resistance against Japan.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mercado and the second or maternal family name is Realonda.

José Rizal

Rizal c. 1890s

Born José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda[1]

June 19, 1861[2]

Calamba, Laguna, Captaincy General of the

Philippines, Spanish Empire[2]

Died December 30, 1896 (aged 35)[3]

Bagumbayan, Manila, Captaincy General of the

Philippines, Spanish Empire[3]

Cause of death Execution by firing squad

Resting place Rizal Monument, Manila

Monuments Daet, Camarines Norte

Luneta Park, Manila

Calamba, Laguna

Other names Pepe, Jose (nicknames)[4][5]

Alma mater Ateneo Municipal de Manila (BA)

University of Santo Tomas

Universidad Central de Madrid (MD)

Organization(s) La Solidaridad, La Liga Filipina

Notable work Noli Me Tángere (1887)

El filibusterismo (1891)
 Movement Propaganda Movement
Josephine Bracken
Spouse

(m. 1896)

[6]

Parents Francisco Rizal Mercado (father)

Teodora Alonso Realonda (mother)

Relatives Saturnina Hidalgo (sister)

Paciano Rizal (brother)

Trinidad Rizal (sister)

Signature

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda[7] (Spanish: [xoˈse riˈsal], Tagalog: [hoˈse riˈsal]; June 19, 1861 –
December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of
the Philippines. He is considered the national hero (pambansang bayani) of the Philippines.[8]
[9] An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement,
which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.
He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution broke
out; it was inspired by his writings. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately
approved of its goals which eventually resulted in Philippine independence.
Rizal is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines and has been recommended to be so
honored by an officially empaneled National Heroes Committee. However, no law, executive order or proclamation
has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national hero.[9] He wrote the
novels Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891), which together are taken as a national epic, in addition
to numerous poems and essays.[10][11]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Education
 3Personal life, relationships and ventures

 3.1Affair
 3.2Association with Leonor Rivera
 3.3Relationship with Josephine Bracken

 4In Brussels and Spain (1890–1892)

 5Return to Philippines (1892–1896)

 5.1Exile in Dapitan
 5.2Arrest and trial

 6Execution

 6.1Exhumation and re-burial

 7Works and writings

 7.1Novels and essays

  7.2Poetry
 7.3Plays
 7.4Other works

 8Reactions after death

 8.1Retraction controversy
 8.2"Mi último adiós"
 8.3Later life of Bracken
 8.4Polavieja and Blanco

 9Criticism and controversies

 9.1National hero status

 9.1.1Made national hero by colonial Americans

 9.1.2Made national hero by Emilio Aguinaldo

 9.2Critiques of books
 9.3Role in the Philippine revolution
 10Legacy and remembrance

 10.1Species named after Rizal

 10.2Historical commemoration

 11Rizal in popular culture

 11.1Adaptation of his works

 11.2Biographical films/TV series
 11.3Other

 12Ancestry
 13See also
 14Notes and references

 14.1Explanatory notes
 14.2Citations

 15General sources
 16Further reading
 17External links

Early life

José Rizal's baptismal register

 Francisco Rizal Mercado (1818–1898)

Teodora Alonso Realonda (1827–1911)

José Rizal in P2 note

José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 to Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Alonso Realonda y
Quintos in the town of Calamba in Laguna province. He had nine sisters and one brother. His parents were
leaseholders of a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm held by the Dominicans. Both their families had adopted
the additional surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed
the adoption of Spanish surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes (though they already had Spanish
names).
Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were of mestizo origin. José's patrilineal lineage could be traced
to Fujian in China through his father's ancestor Lam-Co, a Hokkien Chinese merchant who immigrated to the
Philippines in the late 17th century.[12][13][note 1][14] Lam-Co traveled to Manila from Xiamen, China, possibly to avoid
the famine or plague in his home district, and more probably to escape the Manchu invasion during the Transition
from Ming to Qing. He decided to stay in the islands as a farmer. In 1697, to escape the bitter anti-Chinese
prejudice that existed in the Philippines, he converted to Catholicism, changed his name to Domingo Mercado and
married the daughter of Chinese friend Augustin Chin-co.