RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

RIZAL’S FAMILY,
CHILDHOOD AND
EARLY EDUCATION

Prepared by:
DIWATA V. DONATO
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BIRTH
o José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda was born on a moonlit night a
few days before full moon of June 19,
1861, Wednesday, between 11 and 12
midnight in Calamba, Laguna.
o Rizal was sooner baptized by Fr. Rufino
Collantes on June 22, 1861 at the
Calamba church.
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NAME
o Doña Teodora named her son ‘José’ in honor
of St. Joseph the Worker, the town’s patron, to
whom she was a firm devotee.
o Don Francisco gave him a second name
‘Protacio’ taken from a calendar of names of
saints – Sts. Gervasius and Protasius, twin
Christian martyrs, patrons of Milan and of
haymakers.
o Don Francisco chose St. Protasius because it is
closer to ‘protesto’, which means “I protest”.
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NAME
o Rizal’s father thought that Mercado as a
surname does not suit well with his status
as inquilino or tenant farmer. He decided
to adopt and add the word “ricial” which
means “greenfields” to their family name.
He just Hispanicized the spelling to “Rizal”
and gave the children that name for the
sake of appropriateness and
independent spirit.
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FAMILY
o Rizal was of mixed racial origin: Tagalog,
Spanish, Chinese and Japanese ancestry.
o Rizal’s family belongs to the Illustrado
class.
o Rizal’s ancestry had history of heroic
tendencies and liberal-mindedness.
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FAMILY
o Father: Don Francisco Rizal Mercado
y Alejandro
o José regarded him as a “model of
fathers”.
o He was a tenant and also a
landowner of the Dominican estate
(hacienda) in Calamba, Laguna.
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FAMILY
• Mother: Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda
y Quintos
o José considered her a remarkable
woman.
o She possessed business ability, refined
culture, literary giant, and the courage
of a frugal woman.
GRIZAL - RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS
FAMILY
11 children, 2 boys and 9 girls.
o 1. Saturnina (1850 - 1913)
o 2. Paciano (1851 - 1930)
o 3. Narcisa (1852 - 1939)
o 4. Olympia (1855 - 1887)
o 5. Lucía (1857 - 1919)
o 6. Maria (1859 - 1945)
o 7. José (1861 - 1896)
o 8. Concepcion (1862 - 1865)
o 9. Josefa (1865 - 1945)
o 10. Trinidad (1868 - 1951)
o 11. Soledad (1870 - 1929)
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CHILDHOOD
Personal Childhood Influences:
o Uncle Manuel – a husky and athletic man who
encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body by means
of physical exercises like fencing and wrestling.
o Uncle Jose Alberto – studied in eleven years in British
school in Calcutta, India and had traveled in Europe
who inspired Rizal to develop his artistic ability
through sketching, painting, and sculpture.
o Uncle Gregorio – a book lover who intensified Rizal’s
voracious reading of good books.
o Fr. Leoncio Lopez – the old and learned parish priest
of Calamba fostered Rizal’s love for study,
scholarship, and intellectual honesty.
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CHILDHOOD
o The picturesque Calamba was a
favorable environments which honed
Rizal’s artistic inclinations.
o He wrote in his diary: “I spent many, many
hours of my childhood down on the shore
of the lake…I was thinking of what was
beyond. I was dreaming of what might
be over the other side of the wave.”
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CHILDHOOD
o The frequent sight of abuses by the Civil Guards
developed Rizal’s heroic imaginations.
o He wrote in his diary: “[…] Almost everyday in
our town, we saw the Guardia Civil lieutenant
coming and injuring some unarmed and
inagressive villagers whose only fault was they
failed to take off their hats and made their
bows. The Alcalde treated the poor villagers
the same way whenever he visited us.”
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CHILDHOOD
The Imprisonment of Rizal’s mother
o Recalling his mothers’ incarceration, Rizal wrote this in
his memoirs:
“Our mother was unjustly snatched away from us, and
by whom? By some men who had been our friends and
whom we treated as honored guests. We learned later
that our mother got sick, far from us and at an
advanced age... She finally succeeded to be
acquitted and vindicated in the eyes of her judges,
accusers, and even her enemies, but after how long?
After two and a half years.”
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EARLY EDUCATION
o Rizal’s early education was at home with his
mother as his first teacher.Rizal wrote in his
student memoirs:
"My mother taught me how to read and to say
haltingly the humble prayers which I raised
fervently to God.“
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EARLY EDUCATION

The Moth and the Flame

o One of his profound
memories was when his
mother narrated to him
the story of the moth
which had deeply
stirred his thoughts.
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EARLY EDUCATION
o Rizal wrote in his student memoirs:
“My mother finished the fable. I was not listening; all
my attention, all my mind, and all my thoughts were
concentrated on the fate of the moth, young, dead,
and full of illusions . . . the light seems to be more
beautiful, dazzling, and attractive. I understand why
the moth flutter around lights . . . what preoccupied
me most was the death of the moth, but at the
bottom of my heart, I did not blame it.”
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EARLY EDUCATION
o The Rizal family had the largest library in the
town of Calamba with an extensive
collection of books which kindled José’s
interest in reading and literature.
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EARLY EDUCATION
Education at home:
o Maestro Celestino – Rizal’s first tutor.
o Maestro Lucas Padua – Rizal’s second tutor.
o Leon Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s
father, became Rizal’s third tutor – teaching
him Spanish and Latin.
o After a Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents
decided to send their gifted son to a private
school in Biñan.
RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS