CHILDHOOD OF JOSE RIZAL

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo

Realonda de Quintos ( Suyom version )
June 19, 1861

Calamba, Laguna
He was baptized JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO y Alonso
Realonda at the Catholic church of Calamba by the parish priest
Fr. Rufino Collantes , and Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor.
He was the 7th child in a family of 11 children (2 boys & 9 girls).
Both his parents were educated & belonged to distinguished
families.
 Teodora Alberto Alonso Realonda
(1826-1911)

Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-

1898)
SIBLINGS
• SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonso marriage. Married Manuel
Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.

• PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)

Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied
at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later a
general of the Philippine Revolution.

• NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)

The third child. married Antonino Lopez of Morong, Rizal; a
teacher and musician.

• OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)

The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from
childbirth.

• LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)

The fifth child. Married MarianoHerbosa.
• MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan,
Laguna.
• JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by
the Spaniards on December 30,1896.

• CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

The eight child. Died at the age of three.

• JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)

The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

• TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)

The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to
die.

• SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero..
EDUCATION
• Jose Rizal's first teacher was his mother, who had taught him
how to read and pray and who had encouraged him to write
poetry. Later, private tutors taught the young Rizal Spanish
and Latin, before he was sent to a private school in Biñan.
• Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan,
Laguna before he was sent to Manila. As to his father's
request, he took the entrance examination in Colegio de San
Juan de Letran but later changed his mind and brought Jose
in the Ateneo instead.

• Rizal entered the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He earned

excellent marks in subjects like philosophy, physics, chemistry,
and natural history. At this school, he read novels; wrote prize-
winning poetry (and even a melodrama—"Junto al Pasig");
and practiced drawing, painting, and clay modeling, all of
which remained lifelong interests for him.
• José was designed by
nature to be an artist. This he
revealed before he was five
years of age, for without any
assistance from others he
began to draw with his pencil
and to mould in wax or clay
any object he saw about him.
Fortunately, his mother,
father, and uncles
recognized this unusual
talent and gave him every
encouragement.
 • There was a also a time when Rizal was able to
draw a bird flying nearby without lifting the pencil
he was using from the paper till the picture he
drew was finished. He can also draw a running
horse and a chasing dog.

• Jose Rizal also owned a pony and used it to have

long rides into the surrounding country which was
rich in scenery. He also took long walks together
with his big black dog named Usman. He also loved
to pray with the doves in his neighborhood.

• He learned about the myths and legends in Laguna after sleeping through
nut in a little straw hut used by Laguna farmers during the harvest season.
Rizal was also good in hand, tricks which he perfected to amaze the simple
folk and performed magic lantern exhibitions.
• The little boy spent also much of his time in
the church, which was conveniently near,
but when the mother suggested that this
might be an indication of religious
inclination, his prompt response was that he
liked to watch the people.

• Even in his childhood, Rizal already knew

how to respect the rights of others and
requested his elders to reason with him
rather than get mad at him for small
offenses. He became a welcome
companion for adults even at his, young
age since he respected their moods and
was never a hindrance to their activities.
Three uncles who were
brothers of his mother also had
much influence on the early
childhood of Jose Rizal. The
youngest uncle named Jose,
took care of teaching regular
lessons to Rizal. His huge uncle
Manuel developed his physique
until he had a body of silk and
steel and no longer a skinny
and sickly boy. The last uncle,
Gregorio instilled in the mind of
Rizal that it was not easy to
obtain something until you put
effort into it.
The childhood of Jose Rizal can be
characterized by his desire to learn, even
frequenting the church nearby his home to
watch and observe people but not to be
religiously inclined. Jose Rizal was not a
physically blessed or strong child however,
he had a strong will guided and taught by
his mother, his first teacher. He learned
almost without the use of books. His
mother was the one who laid the
foundation of his great knowledge
achieved in such a short time. His brilliance
was also the character of the young Jose
Riza.