Calamba at the Time of Rizal’s birth

A.Palma (1949)
It is an enchanted town.
B. Romero et al. (1978)
• It was an agricultural town
• Virtually owned by the Dominican friars
• A prosperous town due to its specialization in the
production of sugar
Calamba at the Time of Rizal’s birth

Provided the young Rizal the inspiration Had ingrained in his young mind hatred
and springboard to hone his poetic and of oppression and exploitation of the
artistic sensibilities weak by the strong
 Birth of Young Jose
(Zaide & Zaide 1999)
• Jose was born on June 19, 1861.
• He has a very big head.
• He was baptized by Father Rufino
Collantes at Calamba Catholic Church
• Godfather: Father Pedro Casanas
1 3 5 7 9

2 4 6 8
 Rizal’s Ancestry
Father’s side
Rizal came from a mixture of races.
Don Francisco’s Parents

Domingo Ines dela Juan Cirilla

Lamco Rosa Mercado Alejandro

Great Great
Granfather Grandmother
granfather grandmother

A wealthy Became a
Chinese A Chinese-Filipino
Chinese Gober-nadorcillo
merchant
mestiza
mestiza
of Binan, Laguna

• In 1731, Domingo Lamco assumed the surname Mercado.

• The couple moved from Parian, Manila to Binan, ending up as
tenants in the Dominician hacienda.
Rizal’s Ancestry
Father’s side
 Rizal’s Ancestry
Mother’s side
Manuel de Regina
Quintos Ursua

Great Great
granfather grandmother

A Chinese
A woman with
mestizo from
Japanese
Lingayen,
ancestry
Pangasinan

• Brigida married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso.

• The couple had five children, one of them is Teodora, Rizal’s
mother.
 Rizal’s Immediate Family
Rizal was reared in a typical middle class family
(19th century) (Capino Et al, 1977)

The affluence of Rizal’s family can clearly be gleaned from the ff:
1. Family’s predilection for studies
2. Its stone house of adobe and hardwood
3. Ownership of carriage and horses
4. A home library with numerous volumes of books
5. Presence of personal servants
Don Francisco Mercado
• Was an educated man
• Took courses in Latin and Philosophy
@ Colegio de San Jose in Manila
•A model father owing to his Honesty
Frugality
Industry

Rizal inherited a profound

feeling of dignity, self-respect,
serenity and poise, and
seriousness. (De Ocampo, 1960)
Dona Teodora
• Was an educated woman
• Completed her education at the
Colegio de Santa Rosa
• A disciplinarian, a woman of more
than average education, a woman of
culture and religion, a sacrificing and
industrious housewife.
Rizal inherited a practical
temperament, stoicism, self-
sacrifice, temperament of a
dreamer and fondness for poetry.
(Ville Abrille, 1969)
Childhood days and Memories
Unforgettable times
A. The family stayed in the garden to exchange stories
B. The daily family prayer during Angelus
C. His personal servant narrated to him legends and
fairy tales at the azotea

3 years old – Rizal learned how to pray and read the Bible.

4 years old – Rizal experienced his first sorrow.

As a young boy, he spent many hour down the shore of Laguna de Bay.