Rizal in Barcelona and Madrid

 Rizal’s departure was kept a

secret to avoid detection by
the Spanish Government and
the friars.
 Even his own parents didn’t
know of his plan.
 Those who knew about this
trip was Leonor’s father,
Paciano, his sisters and some
close friends.
 Paciano gave him 700
pesos. He also promise to
send Jose P35 as monthly
allowance.
 Saturnina, later sent him a
diamond ring..
 Rizal used a passport obtained by a cousin
named Jose Mercado.
 To outwit the Spanish government, he went to
Calamba to attend a town fiesta.
 A telegram from Manuel Hidalgo arrived
announcing the arrival of the Spanish steamer
– “Salvadora”. This steamer will leave for
Singapore in the next few days.
 May 1, 1882, he left Calamba
for Manila.He booked a ticket
for his trip.
 He wrote letters to his family
and friends.
 He bid goodbye to some of
his friends particularly the
Jesuit fathers of the Ateneo
who in turn, gave him letters
of recommendation.
 He also had a tearful farewell
meeting with Leonor.
 On his last night in Manila, he
rode a calesa with his
younger sister Soledad for
five hours.
 Before embarking, Rizal attended mass at the Sto.
Domingo Church.
 He had a hurried breakfast then went to the
harbor.
 A few friends were there to send him off.
 He was sad when he left. As the steamer sailed,
he took paper and pencil and sketched his parting
view of Manila.
During his trip, Rizal keenly observed the persons and
things around him.
Rizal was the only Filipino on board the steamer.
After five days, they reached Singapore. He was
impressed by its progress and beautiful sights.
He stayed at the Hotel de Paz for his two days stay in this
country. He visited the interesting places in the area and
wrote all his sojourn in his diary and letters.
 In Singapore, Rizal boarded the Djemnah – a
French steamer bound for Europe. It was
larger and cleaner compared to the Salvadora.
 He tried to speak French. To his surprise the
French he learned from the books couldn’t be
understood by the French Passengers. So he ,
he combined it with Latin and Spanish.
 By persistently speaking French daily, he was
able to improve his French.
 A week after leaving Singapore, the steamer
reached Point de Galle.
 Rizal described this place as “sad and sleepy”
 In the afternoon of May 18, the voyage
continued .. Then they reached Colombo, Ceylon
(presently – Sri Lanka)
 From Colombo, they crossed the Indian Ocean to
Café Guardafui in Africa.
 The trip was difficult because it was stormy. Rizal
called Africa as “inhospitable but famous land.
 In Aden (near Yemen), Rizal suffered terribly from
heat. It was hotter than the Philippines.
 On June 2, he arrived at the City of Suez, the Red
Sea terminal of the Suez Canal. This place
reminded him of his family in Calamba.
 It took the Djemnah- 5 days in sailing this famous
canal which was constructed by Ferdinand de
Lesseps.
 At Port Said, the Mediterranean terminal of the
canal, Rizal heard multi-racial residents
speaking different languages – Arabic,
Egyptian, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish etc.
 He saw numerous cafes, churches, temples,
mosques.
 On June 11, Rizal reached the Italian City of
Naples.He was pleased by its business
activities, lively people and panoramic view.
 On June 12, the steamer docked at Marseilles,
France. He disembarked here. In his short stay,
he visited some of its famous places including
the Chateau d’If mentioned in the book of
Alexander Dumas.
 From Marseilles, he took a train for Spain. His
first stop was Barcelona.
 Rizal’s first impression of Barcelona was
unfavorable. He thought it was ugly, with dirty inns
and inhospitable residents. This was so because
he stayed the town’s most ugly side.
 Later he changed his impression. He found
Barcelona to be a really great city, with an
atmosphere of freedom and liberalism. Its people
were open hearted, hospitable and courageous.
 He enjoyed promenading in Las Ramblas.
 The Filipinos in Barcelona welcomed Rizal.
Majority of them were his schoolmates at the
Ateneo.
 They gave him a party at the Plaza de Cataluna.
 After the customary exchange of toast, they shared
stories about the Philippines and Spain.
 Rizal’s first Nationalistic essay written in Spain was
“Amor Patrio” (Love of Country)
 The editor of the Diariong Tagalog – Francisco Calvo was
delighted to received a copy of the essay.
 He asked Jose if he could contribute more articles.
 Rizal kindly obliged and sent Revista de Madrid (Review of
Madrid) and Los Viajes (Travels). These were never printed
in the Diariong Tagalog because it ceased publication
already.
 Before moving to Madrid, Rizal received two
news from the Philippines: (1) there was a
cholera epidemic in Manila and the provinces
and (2) Leonor was getting thinner because of
Rizal’s absence.
 On November 3, Rizal enrolled at the
Universidad Central de Madrid in two courses:
Philosophy and Medicine.
 Rizal studied painting and sculpture in the
Academy of San Carlos.
 He took lessons in French, German and English.
 He practiced fencing and shooting at the Hall of
Arms of Sanz y Carbonell.
 He attended operas and concerts to improve his
knowledge of music
 He visited art galleries and museums and read
books on all subjects including military
engineering.
 Rizal led a spartan life in Madrid.
 He strictly budgeted his money and time.
 He spent his money on food, clothing and books. Never
on wine or women.
 His only extravagance was the lottery. He invested 3
pesetas every draw.
 He was a frequent visitor of the home of Don Pablo
Ortega y Rey – a liberal minded Spaniard and former
Civil Governor of Manila.
 In his visits to the Ortega home, Rizal was
entertained by the two lovely daughters of
the host: Pilar and Consuelo.
 It was Consuelo who caught Rizal’s
attention.
 The relationship didn’t materialized
because: (1) he was still engaged to
Leonor and (2) his friend Eduardo de Lete
was also in love with Consuelo.
Upon the request of the
members of the Circulo Hispano
Filipino, Rizal wrote the poem Me
Piden Versos (They asked me for
verses).
Rizal had accumulated a good
number of books.
His favorite novels were: Uncle
Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher
Stowe and The Wandering Jew by
Eugene Sue.
 Rizal joined the Masonic Lodge Acacia in 1883.
 His masonic name was Dimasalang.
 He joined the masons for two reasons: (1) because of
the bad friars in the Philippines and (2) he needed the
help of the masons to fight the bad friars.
 Rizal became a Master Mason in Lodge Solidaridad on
November 15, 1890.
 He became a Master Mason of Le Grand Orient France
in Paris on February 15, 1892.
 Rizal experienced financial problems while in Spain.
 The rice and sugarcane harvest in Calamba failed. The price
of the sugar went down and the rents in the Dominican
hacienda increased.
 Due to hard times, the regular monthly allowance of Rizal in
Madrid had decreased and at times, no allowance arrived.
 Paciano had to sell Rizal’s pony just to send him his
allowance.
 Several times, Paciano had to work as tutor so that he could
send money to Jose.
  On June 25, 1884, Rizal won a prize in
Greek on an empty stomach.
 In the evening, he delivered a beautiful
speech to honor the two Filipino painters-
LUNA Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo won both won
Spolarium a painting competition In Madrid.
 Luna’s Spolarium won first place and
Hidalgo’s Christian Virgins Exposed to the
Populace won second place.
 The event took place in the Restaurant
Ingles.

Hidalgo
 Rizal finished his medical course in Spain.
 He was awarded the degree of Licentiate in
Medicine by the Universidad Central de
Madrid On June 21, 1884.
 The next academic year, he studied and
passed all subjects leading to the degree of
Doctor of Medicine.
 He was not awarded his diploma because of
(1) he did not present his thesis and (2) did
not pay his corresponding fees.
 Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy
and letters with higher grades. He was
awarded the degree of Licentiate in
Philosophy and Letters by the same institution
on his 24th b-day with the rating
“sobresaliente”.