QUERIDAS

DE
RIZAL

The Loves of Dr. Rizal

LEONOR RIVERA A.K.A. TAIMIS
 In one of the photos given by Rivera to Rizal, there is an inscription “To Jose from his faithful
cousin at fifteen years, eight months, and twenty seven days. Leonor Rivera.”
 They met when she was 13 and got engaged before she turned 15.
 “To my unforgettable and dearest lover this picture is dedicated by his devoted Taimis.”
 She is immortalized as Maria Clara in the Noli Me Tangere.
 Rizal accused Rivera of unfaithfulness when she married Charles Henry Lipping, an engineer.
 But Leonor waited for Rizal for more than 11 years before she actually married.
 All of Rizal’s letters were intercepted at the Post Office but one got through and Leonor
realized that Rizal still loved her (Austin Coates)
 But due to filial piety, she pushed through with the marriage.
 According to people around Rizal, he was crushed by the news of the marriage.
 He cried like a child after reading her letter.
 She burned all of Rizal’s letters which were kept from her by her mother.
 It is said that shortly before her wedding, Leonor gathered the ashes of of Rizal’s letters and sewed
them in the hem of her wedding dress so that as she walked towards the altar, she walked on the
crumbling remains of her first love.
 Leonor Rivera had two conditions for the marriage: she would never play the piano nor sing again;
second, her mother would stand by them during the church ceremony.
 When Rizal was informed of Rivera’s death many years later, he stayed in his room for a day,
thinking of her while fondling a lock of Leonor’s hair.
 She died in Tarlac in 1893.
LEONOR VALENZUELA
 Rizal was engaged to Leonor Rivera and Leonor Valenzuela at the same time.
 He was dubbed “Doble Leonor” (Double Leonor)
 A historian jokingly said that Rizal worried about talking in his sleep so in order to avoid Rivera from
discovering his other loves it was best if all of them were named Leonor.
 Rivera – the little landlady
 Valenzuela – the winsome Orang (charming)
 Both women were deeply in love with the doctor.
 Ceferino de Leon was Rizal’s proxy for visits to Orang.
SEGUNDA KATIGBAK A.K.A “K”
 She was Rizal’s first love and first crush
 His description of her “ She was short, with expressive eyes, ardent at times, and drooping at other times,
pinkish, with a smile so enchanting, and provocative that revealed some very beautiful teeth; with an air of
sylph, I don’t know what alluring something was all over her being. She was not the most beautiful woman I
had seen, but I had never seen one more enchanting and alluring.”
 She was 14 yrs old when Rizal had a crush on her.
 She was from the famous clan of Katigbaks of Lipa, Batangas
 A significant pattern with Rizal appears here, when he becomes close to a woman or to a point of intimacy he
runs away.
 Rizal was a “torpe” during these times.
 “…My virgin heart will always mourn the reckless step it took…I realized that she was the woman who
satisfied completely the yearnings of my heart, and I told myself I had lost her.
CONSUELO ORTIGA Y REY
 Daughter of a former mayor of Manila.
 “Crush ng Bayan”
 She flirted with Rizal in Madrid, messed with his feelings, and played Rizal with another Filipino
named Eduardo de Lete. (The Phil. Daily Inquirer)
 A cruel woman who ended up loveless and died of tuberculosis.
 Rizal wrote a very beautiful poem for her entitled “Miss C.O y R.”
O-SEI-SAN
 Full name was USUI SEIKO and nickname was O-sei
 Daughter of a veteran samurai
 Decribed as being shy but served as Rizal’s interpreter and accompanied him on sightseeing trips
around Japan.
 She spoke fluent English and a bit of French
 A woman of “high culture” she taught him Japanese characters and painting in Japanese style.
 She died in 1947 at the age of 80.
GERTRUDE AND BLANCHE BECKETT
 Gertrude (Tottie or Gettie) was 18 and Blanche (Sissie) was around 17.
 Daughters of Rizal’s landlord in London.
 She developed a crush on the handsome Filipino lodger.
 Gertrude was a buxom young lady with blue eyes and brown hair.
SUZANNE JACOBY
 She was not pretty and may be mistaken for a man.
 A decade older than Rizal.
 Mistaken as Rizal’s girlfriend
 Rizal’s real girlfriend was Suzanne Thill, a niece of Suzanne Jacoby.
 Suzanne Thill was Little Suzanne, 18 years old.
 Aunt and niece were Belgian.
 In his heart, he was still faithful to Leonor Rivera (Carlos Qurino).
 She called him “a little bad boy.”
NELLY BOUSTEAD
 She was loved by Rizal and Gen. Antonio Luna.
 The two heroes almost came to a duel.
 She fell for Rizal and not to Luna.
 Half-Filipina and half-French
 “Nelly Me Tangere” – Marcelo H. del Pilar
 Highly-educated, athletic, beautiful, cheerful, and morally upright
 Lived in Biarritz, France
JOSEPHINE BRACKEN
 Step daughter of George Taufer, a patient of Rizal and a British subject.
 A very controversial figure
 They were married according to Catholic priests but were not married according to the family of Rizal.
 In her tomb in Hongkong, it is written “a spinster.”
 She stole some of her husband’s possessions like paintings according to the Rizal family.
 They never wanted her in the family.
 One of the first cases of “live in” partners in the country.
 In the “Last Farewell” she is addressed by Rizal as “mi estrangera.”
 No proof of their marriage.
 She had a miscarriage.
 These are the recorded relationships of Rizal. We do not know of his undocumented exploits.
 These multiple relationships maybe indicative of small sex organ (Nick Joaquin)
 This string of relationships reflect a kind of psychology of Rizal.
 Many geniuses are known for their womanizing like Einstein.