LESSON 3: RIZAL’S FAMILY HISTORY
• PROTACIO - taken from the almanac in
SLIDE 2
Don Francisco Mercado (April 18, 1818-
1898)
• Biñan, Laguna
• Youngest of the 13 offsprings of Juan
andCirila Mercado
• Took Philosophy and Latin(Classics) in
San Jose College, Manila
• Successful and educated farmer
• Built a stone house(Status symbol)
SLIDE 3
Doña Teodora Alonso (Nov. 14, 1827- 1913)
• 2nd child (out of 5) of Lorenzo Alonso and
Brigida deQuintos
• Studied at Colegio de Sta. Rosa
• Good mathematician and business
manager
• Owned the largest library in Sta.
Cruz,Laguna
SLIDE 4
• Rizal’s Parents. Jose Rizal was the
seventh of the eleven children of Francisco
Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso
Realonda. God blessed the marriage of the
Rizal with eleven children – two boys and
nine girls.
• They are prosperous landowner, sugar
and rice planter, of Chinese-Filipino descent
Francisco Mercado y Chinco.
SLIDE 6
JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO Y
ALONSO REALONDA
• JOSE - was chosen by his mother who
was a devotee of the Christian saint San
Jose (St. Joseph).
consideration of the day of his birth. From
Gervacio P. (Saint Gervasius and Saint
PROTASIUS) of Christian calendar.
SLIDE 7
• RIZAL – “Ricial” which means “greenfield
ready for harvest.” – Chosen from the
Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos under
Claveria Decree of 1849.
• MERCADO – Merchant/ Market.
– adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the
paternal great- great grandfather of Jose
Rizal), who was a full-blooded Chinese.
He had to drop the surname Mercado for security
reasons. His elder brother, Paciano Mercado, had been involved with
the notorious Father Burgos. Paciano worked under Fr. Burgos
who was also his teacher and friend. The execution of GomBurZa
after being implicated in the Cavite Mutiny in 1872 had a deep and
lasting impact on Paciano. Jose began to use the name Rizal instead
of Mercado, which the rest of his family used, in order to avoid the
surveillance that the Spanish authorities were already giving
Paciano because of his connections with Burgos.
SLIDE 8
• Y – and
• ALONSO – Old surname of Doña Teodora
• REALONDA - it was used by Doña
Teodora from the surname of her godmother
based on the culture by that time
The name of Rizal’s mother was Teodora Alonso Quintos,
and according to some notes of Rizal’s brother Paciano, ‘the birth
certificate of Jose bears the name Realonda because there was a
time when many Filipinos had the custom of adding the name of the
godmother or godfather to the child’s name. Thus, when his mother
Teodora was baptized, the name Realonda (her godmother’s), was
added to her name, and later to Rizal’s.’ Rizal himself gave, in a letter
to Blumentritt, the complete name of his mother: Teodora Alonso
Quintos Realonda. As regards the family name, this was a matter of
selection, in conformity with the order in force about the middle of the
19th century, to the effect that the natives choose the family name
they wished from a list provided for this purpose.
SLIDE 9
PEPE - as a name for boys is of Hebrew
origin, and the meaning of the name Pepe is
"Jehovah increases". Pepe is an alternate
spelling of Jose (Spanish, Hebrew): version
of Joseph.
SLIDE 10
• The Birth of a Hero. Jose Rizal was born
on the moonlight night of Wednesday, June
19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of Calamba,
Laguna Province, Philippines. His mother
almost died during the delivery because of
his big head.
• He was baptized in the Catholic church of
his town on June 22, aged three days old,
by the parish priest Fr. Rufino Collantes,
who was a Batangueño.
SLIDE 11
Rizal’s physical attributes
• Large, slanting eyes
• Full lips
• Prominent cheekbones
• Nose that slightly widened downward
• Medium dark complexion
• Stood 1m 61 cm
(5’3”)
SLIDE 13
Saturnina Rizal-Hidalgo (1850 – 1913)
• Neneng
• Oldest of the Rizal children
• Spouse: Manuel Hidalgo from Tanawan
Batangas
• Had five children
• Published Pascual H. Poblete’s Tagalog
translation of the Noli Me Tangere
SLIDE 14
Paciano Rizal (1851 – 1930)
• Oldest boy in the family (lived to be 79 yrs.
Old)
• Joined the revolutionary army and rose
to the rank of Major General
• Had two children, a boy and a girl, with
Severina Decena of Los Baños
• His daughter later married her 1st cousin,
Antonio Lopez (a son of Narcisa Rizal)
SLIDE 15
Narcisa Rizal-Lopez (1852 – 1939)
• Spouse: Antonio Lopez (a schoolmaster
from Morong)
• Also known as Doña Sisa
• Could recite from memory all the poems of
Jose Rizal
SLIDE 16
Olimpia Rizal-Ubaldo (1855 – 1887)
• Ypia
• Spouse: Silvestre Ubaldo (telegraph
operator from Manila)
• Albay, Bulacan and Manila
• Jose’s first love, Segunda Katigbak, was
Olimpia’s schoolmate at Colegio De La
Concordia.
SLIDE 17
Lucia Rizal-Herbosa (1857 – 1919)
• Spouse: Mariano Herbosa, a farmer from
Calamba
• Mariano died of cholera in 1889 and was
denied a Christian burial
• Children: Delfina, Jose, Concepcion
SLIDE 18
Maria Rizal-Cruz (1859 – 1945)
• Biang
• Spouse: Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan,
Laguna.
• had 3 children: Maria Antonia Mercado
Rizal and 2 other siblings.
• Maria passed away in 1945 at the age of
86.
• Grandmother of Gemma Cruz-Araneta
(Miss International 1964)

SLIDE 19
Jose Rizal (1861 – 1896)
• Second son and the seventh child
• 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.
• First to use the surname “Rizal” in their
family
• Married to Josephine Bracken and had a
son (Francisco Rizal y Bracken). (The term
common-law marriage refers to a relationship
between two people who decide to cohabitate and
present themselves as a married couple without the
benefit of a legal ceremony and marriage certificate.)
SLIDE 20
Concepcion Rizal (1862– 1865)
SLIDE 23
Soledad Rizal-Quintero (1829 – 1970)
• Choleng
• Youngest of Jose Rizal's sisters, was
educated as a teacher. His letters scolded
her for marrying without the blessing of their
parents.
• Spouse: Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba
• Studied at Colegio De La Concordia.
• Classmate of Leonor Rivera
SLIDE 24
• As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of
the mixture of races. In his veins flowed the
blood of both East and West – Negrito,
Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Japanese and
Spanish.

• Was also known as Concha

• Died at the age of three
• Her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life

SLIDE 21
Josefa Rizal (1845 – 1865)

• Panggoy
• was the ninth child in the family who was
unmarried.
• After Jose’s death, the epileptic Josefa
joined the Katipunan.

SLIDE 22
Trinidad Rizal (1851 – 1868)

• Trinidad Rizal, or ‘Trining’, was the tenth

child and the custodian of Rizal’s last and
greatest poem, "Mi Ultimo Adios.“

LESSON 4: RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD AND
EARLY YEARS IN CALAMBA
Childhood Years in Calamba
• At the age of three, he learned the
alphabet and the prayers from his
mother.
• He was a frail, sickly, and undersized child,
he was given the most tender care by his
parents.
• Typical boy (very curious in all things)
• Devoted son of the church
The Parable of the Moth
• Rizal was still young at that time when he
was being taught how to read in Spanish by
her mom, Doña Teodora.
• But because he was still young and he did
not know how to do it, he read poorly.
Moreover, he was not fully paying attention
seemingly wandering far away.
• The reason his mom told the story to Jose
was to make him realize that it is important
to listen, obey and follow what is being told
by the parents. They were the ones who
know what is right and what is wrong. They
know what's good and bad for us,so we
needed their guidance. After all, it is them
who know what is really best for us.
Doña Teodora loved to read to Pepe stories from
the book ‘Amigo de los Niños’ (The Children’s Friend).
Childhood Years in Calamba (Cont..)
• He was called “Pepe/Pepito” (townspeople
of Calamba)
• At the age of five, Rizal began to make
sketches with his pencil and to mould in clay
and wax objects which attracted his fancy.
• Sa Aking Mga Kabata (To My Fellow
Children). Rizal’s first poem in native
language at the age of eight - reveals
Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment.
Early Education in Calamba and Biñan
• Rizal had his early education in Calamba
and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that
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 minds of the pupils by
means of tedius memory method aided by
the teacher’s whip.
• Private Tutors of Rizal.
1. Maestro Celestino- Rizal’s first private
tutor
2. Maestro Lucas Padua- Rizal’s second
tutor
3. Leon Monroy- a former classmate of
Rizal’sfather became Rizal’s tutor that
instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. He
died five months later.
• Jose Goes to Biñan. On June 1869, Jose
left Calamba for Biñan. He was
accompanied by Paciano, who acted as his
second father.
• 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.
• First School Brawl. In 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.
• 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.
• Another boy named Andres Salandanan
challenged him to an arm-wrestling match.
Unfortunately, Jose lose the fight since he
had a weaker arm. Since then, Jose had
other fights with boys of Biñan as he prove
himself to be a laudable opponent.
• ATENEO MUNICIPAL DE MANILA –
obtained Bachelor of Arts with an average
of “sobresaliente” /excellent (Sa edad na 16,
umani si Rizal ng maraming sobresaliente, isang
markang iginagawad sa mga mag-aaral na nagpakita
ng pambihirang kakayanan sa pag-aaral ng
asignatura.
Nakamit ni Rizal ang mga markang sobresaliente
noong 1877 sa kaniyang preparatory course para sa
Theology at Law)
• Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and
soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old
and was a student of Ateneo de Manila, he
remembered his beloved town.
• Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un
Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My
Town).
–
Martyrdom of the 3 Catholic Priests
• Night of January 20, 1872 - about 200
Filipino soldiers and workmen of the Cavite
arsenal under the leadership of Lamadrid,
Filipino sergeant, rose in violent mutiny
because of the abolition of their usual
privileges.
• Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and
Jacinto Zamora - were executed at sunrise
of February 17, 1872, by order of Governor
General Izquierdo
• The martyrdom of GomBurZa in 1872 truly
inspired Rizal to fight the evils of Spanish
tyranny and redeem his oppressed people.
• Rizal dedicated his second novel, El
Filibusterismo, to GomBurZa
Injustice to Jose’s Mother
• Before June, 1872 - Dona Teodora was
suddenly arrested on a malicious charge
that she and her brother, Jose Alberto, tried
to poison the latter’s perfidious wife.
• Antonio Vivencio del Rosario - Calamba’s
gobernadorcillo, help arrest Dona Teodora.
• After arresting Dona Teodora, the sadistic
Spanish lieutenant forced her to walk from
Calamba to Santa Cruz (capital of Laguna
province), a distance of 50 kilometers.
• Dona Teodora was incarcerated at the
provincial prison, where she languished for
two years and a half.
• Messrs. Francisco de Marcaida and
Manuel Marzan - the most famous lawyers
of Manila that defend Dona Teodora.
(messieurs/

• Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo – freed her

upon the request of Soledad, whose
graceful dancing charmed him and his
guests.

Conclusion

• Jose Rizal, just like a typical Filipino

boy, had many beautiful memories of
childhood.
He have a happy home, filled with parental
affection, impregnated with family joys, and
sanctified by prayers.

• The childhood of Jose Rizal can be

characterized by his desire to learn, even
frequenting the church nearby his home to
watch and observe people but not to be
religiously inclined.

• Jose Rizal was not physically blessed or a

strong child, however, he had a strong will
guided and taught by his mother, his first
teacher.

• He even experienced sorrow at the early

age.