LESSON 6: EARLY TRAVEL AND EDUCATION IN SPAIN
On May 1, 1882, J. Rizal left Calamba by
carromata and reached Manila after 10 hours
for his departure for Spain.
SECRET MISSION
J. Rizal devised a mission that was also
approved by Paciano. His secret mission
alongside studying in Spain was to observe
keenly the life and culture, languages and
customs, industries and commerce, and
government and laws of the European
nations to prepare himself in liberating his
oppressed people from Spanish tyranny.
Shortly after his departure for Spain, he
wrote a farewell letter to his parents and
begged them for forgiveness for his
unconsented departure. He had also written
one for Leonor Rivera.
SECRET DEPARTURE FOR SPAIN
His departure for Spain was kept secret to
avoid detection by the Spanish authorities
and the friars. The following are the only
people who knew of his departure:
a) Paciano
b) Antonio Rivera
c) Sisters Saturnina and Lucia
d) Valenzuela Family
e) Mateo Evangelista (compadre)
f) Pedro A. Paterno
g) Ateneo Jesuit Fathers
h) Other Close Fri ends including
Jose M. Cecilio
**He used the name Jose Mercado in his
passport. He was on board the Spanish
steamer salvadora bound for Singapore on
May 3, 1882.
SINGAPORE
The salvadora docked at Singapore on May 9,
1882. He landed and registered in Hotel de
la Paz. He spent two days visiting the city. He
was also able to see the statue of Sir Thomas
Raffles, the founder of Singapore.
In Singapore, he transferred to another ship
called Djemnah, a French steamer, that left
Singapore for Europe on May 11, 1882. He
tried to converse in French with his fellow
passengers (mostly French) but he was
embarrassed. He used his French book from
Ateneo but it happened that they cannot
understand. He tried to converse in Spanish-
Latin with matching sketching. He was able
to improve his knowledge of the French
language through his daily conversation with
the French passengers.
Djemnah reached Point Galle on May 17,
1882. The following day, the voyage resumed
towards Colombo (capital of Ceylon) to which
they reached on the same day. From
Colombo, the Djemnah continued the voyage
crossing the Indian Ocean to Cape of
Guardafui, Africa. They had stopped in Aden
to which he described as “hotter than
Manila”. This is where he was able to see a
camel for the first time. From Aden, the
Djemnah proceeded to the city of Suez, the
Red Sea terminal of the Suez Canal that took
the travel for five days. He landed on the Port
Said, the Mediterranean terminal of the Suez
Canal.
J. Rizal reached Naples on June 11, 1882.
On the night of June 12, the steamer docked
at the French harbor of Marseilles. He stayed
there for 2 ½ days and enjoyed his every day
of sojourn.
He left Marseilles by train on June 15, 1882
for his last lap of trip to Spain. He arrived in
Barcelona on June 16, 1882. He had a bad
impression on the city upon his arrival
because of the dirty inns and inhospitable
residents. But this impression was later on
changed into a city with an atmosphere of
freedom and liberalism. He also described
the people as open-hearted, hospitable and
courageous. He was welcomed by his
schoolmates in Ateneo and gave him a party
at their favorite café in Plaza de Cataluña. He
was told the attractions in Barcelona and
customs of the Spanish in exchange of the
latest news and gossips in the Philippines.
DMBS
 LESSON 6: EARLY TRAVEL AND EDUCATION IN SPAIN
A nationalistic essay was written by Jose
entitled Amor Patrio (Love of Country) that
was sent to his friend Basilio Teodoro Moran,
a publisher of Diariong Tagalog (first Manila
bilingual newspaper – Spanish and Tagalog).
He published Amor Patrio under his pen name
Laong Laan on August 20, 1882. The Spanish
text was written by him and was translated
into tagalog by M. H. del Pilar. Basilio
Teodoro Moran congratulated Jose because
he was impressed by the essay and requested
for more articles. Jose complied and sent
“Los Viajes” (Travels). His third article
entitled “Revista de Madrid” (Review of
Madrid) was returned to him because of lack
of funds to publish.
SAD NEWS FROM HOME
 Spread of cholera that was ravaging
Manila and other provinces
 Leonor Rivera was getting thinner
because of the absence of a loved one
**Paciano advised him to finish his medical
course in Madrid. He followed his brother’s
advice and he left Barcelona.
LIFE IN MADRID
J. Rizal enrolled at Universidad Central de
Madrid (Central University of Madrid) on
November 3, 1882. He enrolled in two
courses, medicine and philosophy and
letters. Alongside with the two courses he
took, he also studied painting and sculpture
in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando,
took lessons in French, German and English
under private instructors, practiced fencing
and shooting in the Hall of Arms of Sanz y
Carbonell. He visited art galleries and
museums. He had also read books on all
subjects under the sun.
**He lived a Spartan life in Madrid. He rigidly
budgeted his money and time.
He visited the home of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey
on Saturday evenings, to where he met
Consuelo. They fell in love with each other
but he backed out before they could blossom
into a more serious affair.
THEY ASKED ME FOR VERSES
J. Rizal joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino,
a society of Spaniards and Filipino shortly his
arrival in Madrid in 1882. He was requested to
create a poem entitled “Me Piden Versos”
(They Ask Me for Verses) which he declaimed
on December 31, 1882.
RIZAL AS A MASON
J. Rizal came close contact with prominent
Spanish liberal and republican Spaniards. He
was impressed by the way Spanish Masons
openly and freely criticized the government
policies and lambasted the friars, which
couldn’t be done in the Philippines. He
joined the Masonic lodge Acacia in Madrid in
March 1883. His reason of becoming a mason
was to secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight
against the friars in the Philippines. He
transferred to Lodge Solidaridad (Madrid)
later on and became the Master Mason on
November 15, 1890. And he was awarded
the diploma as Master Mason by Le Grand
Orient de France in Paris on February 15,
1892.
FINANCIAL WORRIES
After his departure for Spain, things turned
from bad to worse in Calamba. There was an
economic disaster due to drought and locust
on rice crops and sugarcane including the
increased on the rentals of the lands
cultivated by the Rizal family. His monthly
allowances were delayed and there were also
times that it never arrived. There was also a
time when Paciano was forced to sell Jose’s
pony in order for him to send money to
Madrid.
On January 24, 1884, he was unable to eat
breakfast because he was broke. He attended
the university with an empty stomach,
participated a contest in Greek language and
won a gold medal. He was lucky that he was
invited as a guest speaker in a banquet held
in honor of Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion
Hidalgo at Restaurant Ingles, Madrid in the
same evening.
DMBS
 LESSON 6: EARLY TRAVEL AND EDUCATION IN SPAIN
TWO TITANS OF THE BRUSH
 Juan Luna – 1st price for his Spoliarium
 Felix Hidalgo - 2nd price for his
Christian Virgins Expose to the
Populace

STUDIES COMPLETED IN SPAIN

J. Rizal completed his medical studies in
Spain and was conferred the degree of
Licentiate in Medicine by the University
Central De Madrid at the age of 23 in June
21, 1884. His rating was just “fair” because
it was affected by his low grades in UST. He
took and completed additional subjects
leading to the degree, Doctor of Medicine
(1884-1885). He was not awarded the
doctorate diploma due to failure to pay the
fees and submit the required thesis. He also
finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters
and was awarded the degree of Licentiate in
Philosophy and Letters with excellent grades
exactly on his 24th birthday, June 19, 1885
in the same university.

DMBS