Rizal’s Life and Work
MODULE 4- Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings
MARIA JULIANA D. ENRIQUE/ BSMT-1B
MAIN TOPIC
• CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO
• CHAPTER 2: CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA
CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO
Who is Jose Rizal?
-A unique example of a many-splendored genius
who became the greatest hero of a nation.
-A man endowed by God with versatile gifts, he
truly ranked with the world’s geniuses.
-He was a Physician (ophthalmic surgeon), poet,
dramatist, essayist, novelist, historian, architect,
painter, sculptor, educator, linguist, musician,
naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer, farmer
businessman, economist, geographer,
cartographer, bibliophile, philologist, grammarian,
folklorist, philosopher, translator, inventor, magician,
humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler,
and prophet.
-Above and beyond all these, he was a hero and
political martyr who consecrated his life for the
redemption of his oppressed people. No wonder, he
is now acclaimed as the national hero of the
Philippines.
The World When Rizal Is Born
October 22, 1860
- Convention of Peking
1861
- Pax Hispanica reigned over the archipelago.
- Gov. Jose Lemery was the governor general, a
good militarist, and established the politico military
over Visayas and Mindanao.
- Gargantuan, China was frustrated and impotent to
stop over foreign devils.
1850 - 1864
- Taiping Rebellion
- Imperialist Western Powers - victories over China and
tried it on Japan
- Commodore Matthew C. Perry unlocked Japan.
The Birth of a Hero
Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonzo Realonda
Birthdate of Jose Rizal: June 19, 1861
-Baptized in the Catholic Church at his town
June 22, 1861
-Born in Calamba, Laguna Province
-Father Rufino Collantes baptized Rizal at age of 3
days old.
-Father Pedro Casanas as Rizal's godfather
-Francisco Mercado Rizal (Father)
-Teodora Alonzo Realonda (Mother)
- “Jose” -chosen by his mother who was a devotee
of St. Joseph (San Jose)
“I was born in Calamba on June 19, 1861, between
eleven and midnight, a few days before full moon. It
was a Wednesday and my coming out in this vale
of tears would have cost my mother her life had she
not vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me to her
sanctuary by way of pilgrimage.” - Dr. Jose Rizal
Francisco Mercado Rizal(Father of Jose Rizal)
- Born on May 11, 1818
- Studied Latin and Philosophy in
College of San Jose in Manila
- His mother died, then he moved
to Calamba to become a tenant
farmer in a Dominican Estate
- June 12, 1848 - he married
Teodora Alonzo Realonda
- January 5, 1898 - he died in
Manila at age of 80
Teodora Alonzo Realonda
- Born on November 8, 1826
- Studied in a well-known
college for girls, the College of
Santa Rosa
- August 16, 1911 - died at age
of 85
 Rizal’s Life and Work
MODULE 4- Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings
MARIA JULIANA D. ENRIQUE/ BSMT-1B

Rizal’s Ancestry Saturnina

- Oldest of the Rizal children.
Paternal Side - Neneng -nickname
- Domingo Lam-Co - great great grandfather; a - She married Manuel T.
Chinese immigrant from Chinchew (China's City of Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas
Spring); married to Indes de la Rosa
- 1731 - he adopt the name “Mercado” which
Paciano
means 'market'.
- Francisco Mercado – Domingo Lam-Co's son who - Older brother and confidant of
married Cirila Bernacna Jose Rizal.
- Juan Mercado - Fransisco's son who married - Joined the Philippine
Cirila Alejandrino Revolution and became a
combat general.
- Fransisco Mercado (Rizal's Father) - son of Juan
• Died on April 13, 1930, an old
Mercado
bachelor aged 79.
- Had two children by his
Maternal Side
mistress (Severina Decena)
- Lakan-dula - descendant
- Eugenio Ursua - great-great grandfather of Rizal;
Narcisa
married to Benigna and have a daughter named -Her pet name was Sisa
Regina – married Antonio Lopez, a
- Regina - married to Manuel de Quintos and had a school teacher of Morong.
daughter named Brigida
- Brigida - married to Lorenzo Alberto and have
children named Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal's mother),
Greogorio, Jose, and Manuel Olimpia
- “Rizal” - 'racial' means 'new pasture',and 'green -Ypia was her pet name
field' -She married Silvestre Ubaldo, a
telegraph operator from Manila.
Rizal was a product of mixture of races. In his veins
flowed the blood of both east and West – Negrito,
Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and
Spanish. Predominantly, he was a Malayan and
magnificent specimen of Asian manhood. Domingo Lucia
Lameo- Rizal’s great-great-grandfather on his -She married Mariano Herbosa of
father’s side. A Chinese immigrant from the Fukien Calamba.
City of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about
1690. 0 Domingo Lameo became a Christian,
married a Chinese Christian girl of Manila named
Ines de la Rosa. 0 Assumed the surname Mercado
in 1731, which was appropriate because he was a
merchant. The Spanish term “mercado” means Maria
“market”. - Biang was her
nickname; she married
Daniel Faustino Cruz of
The Rizal Children Biñan, Laguna
11 Children: 9 girls, 2 boys
 Rizal’s Life and Work
MODULE 4- Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings
MARIA JULIANA D. ENRIQUE/ BSMT-1B
Jose
- The greatest Filipino hero and
peerless genius
- Pepe – his nickname
• During his exile in Dapitan he
lived with Josephine Bracken,
Irish girl from Hong Kong; had
a son by her, but this baby boy
died a few hours after birth;
Jose named him “Fransico”
after his father and buried him
in Dapitan.
Concepcion
- Her pet name was Concha; died of sickness at the
age of three; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in
life.
Josefa
-Her pet name was Panggoy; died
an old maid in 1951 aged 83.
Trinidad
-her pet name was
Trining
- died in 1951.
Soledad
- Youngest of the Rizal children
- her pet name was Choleng
-married Panteleon Quintero of
Calamba.
Rizal’s relation to his only brother Paciano was
more than that of younger to older brother. Paciano
was a second father to him. Jose immortalized him
in his first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise
Pilosopo Tasyo. He regarded Paciano as the “most
noble of Filipinos” and “though an Indio, more
generous and noble than all Spaniards put
together”
“He is much finer and more serious than I am; he is
bigger and more slim; he is not so dark; his nose is
fine, beautiful and sharp; but he is bow-legged.”
Rizal Family: A Well-To-Do Family
They have a large stone house.
This was wher Jose Rizal was born. Now, it is
known as Rizal Shrine in Calamba.
They have a home library with 1000 volume of
books and is the largest in Calamba then.
Their family is one of the distinguished families in
Calamba. Rizal’s parents were able to live well by
the dint of honest and hard work and frugal living.
From the farms, which were rented from the
Dominican Order, they harvested rice, corn, and
sugarcane. They raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys
in their backyard. Doña Teodora managed a
general goods store and operated a small flour-mill
and a home-made ham press. They sent their
children to Manila. They also own their own
carjuahe which was a status symbol of the
ilustrados in Spanish Philippines.
CHAPTER 2: CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA
Jose Rizal grew up in a happy home, ruled by good
parents, filled with joy, and blessed by God. His
native town is Calamba in Laguna. It had scenic
beauties and industrious, hospitable, and friendly
neighbors which impressed him during his
childhood yeards and eventually affected the
formation of his mind, personality, and character.
Calamba: The Hero’s Town
Calamba was a hacienda town which belonged to
the Dominican Order, which also owned all the
lands around it.
 Rizal’s Life and Work
MODULE 4- Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings
MARIA JULIANA D. ENRIQUE/ BSMT-1B

Artistic Talents

Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-

given talent for art. At the age of five, he
began to make sketches with his pencil and to
mold in clay and wax objects.
House of Rizal in Calamba

Earliest Childhood Memories

The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his

happy days in the family garden when he was three
years old. Because he was a sick child, he was
given the tenderest care by his parents. His father
built a little nipa cottage in the garden for him to
play in the day time.

The Hero’s First Sorrow

Jose loved most the little Concha (Concepcion). He

was a year older than Concha. He played with her
and from her he learned the sweetness of a sisterly
love. Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in
1865 when she was three years old. Jose, who was
very fond of her, cried bitterly at losing her.
“When I was four years old, I lost my little sister
Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears
caused by love and grief...”

Devoted Son of the Church

At the age of three, he began to take part in the

family prayers. His mother was a devout Catholic,
taught him the Catholic prayers, when he was five
years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish
family Bible. Father Leoncio Lopez was the town
priest. Jose Rizal used to visit him and listen to his
stimulating opinions on current events and sound
philosophy of life.
On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba
to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill
his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was
born. It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de
Bay. After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of
Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. It was
the first time Jose saw Manila. They visited
Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La
Concordia College in Sta. Ana.
First Poem By Rizal
Rizal possessed a God-given gift for
literature. Since early boyhood he had scribbled
verses on loose sheets of paperand on the
textbooks of his sisters. His mother who was a
lover of literature, noticed his poetic inclination and
encouraged him to write poetry.
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the
native language entitled Sa Aking mga Kababata
(To My Fellow Children).
 Rizal’s Life and Work
MODULE 4- Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings
MARIA JULIANA D. ENRIQUE/ BSMT-1B

First Drama By Rizal religious nature.

Rizal, who was eight years old, wrote his first
dramatic work which was in Tagalog comedy. It is
said that it was staged in a Calamba festival and
was delightfully applauded by the audience.
Rizal As Boy Magician
Since early manhood, Rizal had been interested in
magic. With his dexterous hands, he learned
various tricks. He entertained his town folks with
magic-lantern exhibitions. In later years when he
attained manhood, he continued his keen
predilection for magic. He read many books on
magic and attended the performances of the
famous magicians of the world.
- His brother, Paciano, instilled in his mind the love
for freedom and justice. From his sisters, he
learned to be courteous and kind to women.
✣ His three uncles, inspired him to develop his
artistic ability, to develop his frail body and
intensified his voracious reading of good books.
- Father Leoncio Lopez, fostered Rizal’s love for
scholarship and intellectual honesty.
- The death of his sister Concha and the
imprisonment of his mother, contributed to
strengthen his character, enabling him to resist
blows of adversity in later years.
- The Spanish cruelties and abuses awakened his
spirit of patriotrism and inspired him to consecrate
his life and talents to redeem his oppressed people.

Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood Aid of Divine Providence

1. Hereditary Influence Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride

2. Environmental Influence and glory of his nation. God had endowed him with
3. Aid of Divine Providence the versatile gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of a
nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a
Hereditary Influence noble cause.

- From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal inherited his

love for freedom, his innate desire to travel, and his
indomitable courage.
- From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his
serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for
children.
- From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance
of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to
ladies.
- From his father, he inherited a profound sense of
self-respect, the love for work, and the habit of
independent thinking.
- And from his mother, he inherited his religious
nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the passion
for arts and literature.

Environmental Influence

-The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful

garden of the Rizal family stimulated the inborn
artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal.
- The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his