Jose

Segunda Katigbak and Leonor Valenzuela
Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to a town
mate- Manuel Luz. After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then came Leonor
Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that could only be
deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his departure to Spain and
bade her a last goodbye.
Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love
with other women during his travel. Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s
relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero. She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her
sweetheart. Leonor believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the
Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.
Consuelo Ortiga
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with him. He dedicated to
her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. The Ortiga's residence in Madrid was
frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked
him for romantic verses. He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance,
because he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy hid friendship with
Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.
O Sei San
O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie.
She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a
patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy
life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job.
Gertrude Beckett
While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the
Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was
the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and
sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.
Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group
carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.
Nellie Boustead
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies. While a guest of the
Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters
of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio
Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply
infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory
remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately, Luna
apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.
Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to

the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough
paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.
Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the
boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love with each other. Suzanne cried
when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid.
Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-year old petite Irish girl, with bold
blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter of
George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was
physically attracted to her. His loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what
could be a better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent
of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.
Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her
responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March
1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange
with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition
before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took
her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later give birth prematurely to a stillborn
baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.

BUOD NG TALAMBUHAY NI DR. JOSE RIZAL
Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda ang buong pangalan ni Dr. Jose Rizal. Labing-isa silang
magkakapatid at ikapito siya. Ang kanyang mga magulang ay sina Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro at
Teodora Morales Alonso Realonda y Quintos. Nakita niya ang unang liwanag noong ika-19 ng Hunyo, 1861 sa
Calamba, Laguna.
Kung susuriin ang pinagmulan niyang angkan, ang kanyang ama na si Francisco Mercado ay anak ng isang
negosyanteng Instik na nagngangalang Domingo Lam-co at ang kanyang ina ay isa ring mestisang Intsik na ang
pangalan ay Ines dela Rosa.
Intsik na Intsik ang apelyidong Lam-co kung kaya’t kung minsan ay nakararanas si Domingo Lam-co ng
diskriminasyon kaya upang makaiwas sa ganoong pangyayari at makasunod sa ipinag-uutos ni Gobernador Claveria
kaugnay ng pagpapalit ng mga pangalang Pilipino noong 1849, ang Lam-co ay pinalitan ng apelyidong Kastila at
pinili nila ang Mercado na nababagay sa kanya bilang negosyante, sapagkat ang ibig sabihin ng Mercado ay
palengke. Ang pamilyang Lam-co ay kilalang mangangalakal noon sa bayan ng Binan, Laguna.
Bagamat ang mga ninuno ni Rizal sa ama ay kilalang negosyante, ang kanyang ama ay isang magsasaka. Isa
siya sa mga kasama sa Hacienda Dominicana sa Calamba, Laguna.

Ang apelyidong Rizal ay naidagdag sa kanilang pangalan sa bias ng Kautusan Tagapagpaganap na pinalabas ni
Gob. Claveria noong 1849 at ito’y hinango sa salitang Kastila na luntiang bukid.
Masasabing mayaman ang angkang Rizal sapagkat ang pamilya ay masikap, matiyaga at talagang nagbabanat
ng buto.
Nang tumuntong si Rizal sa gulang na tatlong taon, 1864, siya ay tinuruan ng abakada ng kanyang ina at
napansin niyang nagtataglay ng di-karaniwang talino at kaalaman ang anak, kahit kulang sa mga aklat ay nagawa ng
ginang na ito ang paglalagay ng unang bato na tuntungan ni Rizal sa pagtuklas niya ng iba’t ibang karunungan.
Nang siya’y siyam na taong gulang, si Jose ay ipinadala sa Binan at nag-aral sa ilalim ng pamamahala ni Padre
Justiniano Aquino Cruz, ngunit pagkalipas ng ilang buwan ay pinayuhan na ito na lumipat sa Maynila dahil lahat ng
nalalaman ng guro ay naituro na niya kay Rizal.
Noong ika-20 ng Enero, 1872, si Jose ay pumasok sa Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Siya ay nagpamalas ng
kahanga-hangang talas ng isip at nakuha ang lahat ng pangunahing medalya at notang sobresaliente sa lahat ng
asignatura. Sa paaralang ito natamo niya ang katibayang Bachiller en Artes at notang sobresaliente, kalakip ang
pinakamataas na karangalan.
Nang sumunod na taon sa Pamantasan ng Santo Tomas ay nag-aral siya ng Filosofia y Letras at Agham sa
pagsasaka naman sa Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Kumuha rin siya ng panggagamot sa naturang pamantasan. Di pa
nasiyahan, nagtungo siya sa Europa noong ika-5 ng Mayo, 1882 upang doon ipagpatuloy ang kanyang pag-aaral.
Nagpatuloy siya sa pag-aaral ng Medicina at Filosofia y Letras sa Madrid, Espana at tinapos ang kursong ito
noong 1884 at 1885.
Noong 1884, si Rizal ay nagsimulang mag-aral ng Ingles; alam na niya ang Pranses pagkat sa Pilipinas pa lamang
ay pinag-aralan na niya ang wikang ito. Bukod sa mga wikang ito, nag-aral din siya ng Aleman at Italyano dahil
naghahanda siya sa paglalakbay sa iba’t ibang bansa sa Europa. Alam niyang mahalaga ang mga wikang ito sa pagaaral ng mga kaugalian ng mga tao roon at ng pagkakaiba nila sa mga Pilipino sa bagay na ito. At upang mapagaralan ang kasaysayan ng mga baying nabanggit na mapaghahanguan ng mga aral na alam niyang makatutulong sa
kanyang mga kababayan. Bunga nito, si Rizal ay maituturing na dalubwika.
Ayon kay Retana, ipinahayag ni Rizal na sinulat niya ang unang kalahati ng Noli Me Tangere sa Madrid noong
magtatapos ang 1884, sa Paris naman ang ikaapat na bahagi at isa pang bahagi ay sa Alemanya. Ipinalimbag ito sa
Berlin, at noon lamang Marso, 1887 ay lumabas ang 2000 sipi. Si Dr. Maximo Viola na taga-San Miguel, Bulacan ang
nagbayad ng pagpapalimbag sa halagang 300 piso.
Ang El Filibusterismo ang kasunod na aklat ng Noli Me Tangere na ipinalimbag sa Gante, Belhika noong 1891.
Itinatatag naman ni Dr. Jose Rizal ang La Liga Filipina noong ika-3 ng Hulyo, 1892. Ang kapisanang ito ay lihim na
itinatag at layuning magkaroon ng pagbabago sa palakad ng pamahalaan sa Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng
mapayapang pamamaraan at di sa paghihimagsik.
Noong ika-5 ng Agosto, 1887, siya ay nagbalik sa Pilipinas. Ngunit noong Pebrero 3, 1888, siya ay muling umalis
sapagkat umiilag siya sa galit ng mga Kastila dahil sa pagkakalathala ng Noli Me Tangere. Bumalik siya sa Maynila
noong ika-26 ng Hunyo, 1892.

Noong Hulyo 7, 1892, alinsunod sa kautusan ni Kapitan-Heneral Despujol, si Rizal ay ipinatapon sa Dapitan, isang
maliit na bayan sa hilagang kanluran ng Mindanao, dahil sa bintang na may kinalaman siya sa paghihimagsikan nang
mga araw na iyon. Sa Dapitan, nagtayo si Rizal ng isang maliit na paaralan na may labing-apat na batang taga-roon
na kanyang tinuturuan.
Habang nagaganap ang labanan sa pagitan ng Espana at Cuba, sa pangambang madamay sa kilusang ukol sa
paghihimagsik kaya hiniling niya na makapaglingkod siya sa mga pagamutan sa Cuba. Binigyan niya ng isang liham
si Kapitan-Heneral Blanco na nagpapatunay na kailanman ay di siya nakikilahok sa mga himagsikan sa Pilipinas.
Ngunit noong bago magtapos ang taong 1896, siya’y hinuli ng mga kinauukulan at ibinalik sa Pilipinas.
Ikinulong si Rizal sa Maynila sa Real Fuerza de Santiago. Nang iharap sa hukumang militar at litisin, siya ay
nahatulang barilin sa Bagumbayan.
Noong ika-29 ng Disyembre, 1896, Sinulat ni Rizal ang kanyang Mi Ultimo Adios (Huling Paalam) isang tulang
kakikitaan ng magigiting na kaisipan at damdamin.
At noong ika-30 ng Disyembre, si Rizal ay binaril sa Bagumbayan na ngayon ay tinatawag na Luneta.

Talambuhay ni Dr. Jose Rizal
Si Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal ay ang Pambansang Bayani ng Pilipinas. Siya ay
isinilang sa Calamba, Laguna noong Hunyo 19, 1861. Ang kanyang mga
magulang ay sina G. Francisco Mercado at Gng. Teodora Alonzo.
Ang kanyang ina ang naging unang guro niya, maaga siyang nagsimula ng
pag-aaral sa bahay at ipinagpatuloy niya ang kanyang pag-aaral sa Biñan,
Laguna. Nakapag tapos siya ng Batsilyer sa Agham sa Ateneo de Manila
noong Marso 23, 1876 na may mataas na karangalan. Noong 1877
ipinagpatuloy niya ang kanyang pag-aaral sa Unibersidad ng Santos Tomas
at Unibersidad Central de Madrid hanggang sa matapos niya ng sabay ang
medisina at pilosopia noong 1885. Natuto rin siyang bumasa at sumulat ng
iba’t ibang wika kabilang na ang Latin at Greko. At nakapagtapos siya ng
kanyang masteral sa Paris at Heidelberg.
Ang kanyang dalawang nobela “Noli Me Tangere” at “El Filibusterismo.”
naglalahad ng mga pang-aabuso ng mga prayle sa mga Pilipino at mga
katiwalian sa pamahalaan ng Kastila.
Noong Hunyo 18, 1892 ay umuwi ng Pilipinas si Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Nagtatag
siya ng samahan tinawag ito na “La Liga Filipina.” Ang layunin ng samahan

ay ang pagkakaisa ng mga Pilipino at maitaguyod ang pag-unlad ng
komersiyo, industriya at agricultura.
Noong Hulyo 6, 1892 siya ay nakulong siya sa Fort Santiago at ipinatapon sa
Dapitan noong Hulyo 14, 1892. Apat na taon siya namalagi sa Dapitan kung
saan nanggamot siya sa mga maysakit at hinikayat niya ang mamamayan na
magbukas ng paaralan, hinikayat din niya ang ito sa pagpapaunlad ng
kanilang kapaligaran.
Noong Setyem bre 3, 1896 habang papunta siya sa Cuba upang magsilbi
bilang siruhano at inaresto siya. Noong Nobyembre 3, 1896 ibinalik sa
Pilipinas at sa pangalawang pagkakataon nakulong siya sa Fort Bonifacio.
Noong Disyembre 26, 1896 si Dr. Jose Rizal ay nahatulan ng kamatayan sa
dahilang nagpagbintangan siya na nagpasimula ng rebelyon laban sa mga
Kastila.
Bago dumating ang kanyang katapusan naisulat niya ang “Mi Ultimo Adios”
(Ang Huling Paalam) upang magmulat sa mga susunod pang henerasyon na
maging makabayan.
Noong Disyembre 30, 1896, binaril si Dr. Jose P. Rizal sa Bagumbayan (na
ngayon ay Luneta).
JOSE RIZAL
MAITUTURING na nagmula sa may kayang pamilya ang ating pambansang bayaning si Dr.
Jose Rizal. Ang kanyang amang si Don Jose ay isang magsasaka ng tubo, at katiwala ng
malawak na lupain. Samantalang ang kanyang inang si Donya Teodora ay may mataas na
pinag-aralan na bihira sa kababaihan noong panahong iyon. Ang pamilya Rizal ay nakatira
sa kongkretong bahay na may malawak na hardin, pribadong aklatan, kung saan
matatagpuan ang daan-daang kolek-siyon ng aklat. Bagaman at maraming kapatid na babae
si Jose o Pepe na maaaring mag-alaga sa kanya, kumuha pa ang kanyang ama ng yaya na
siyang nag-alaga sa kanya. Si Donya Teodora naman ang sumubaybay sa panimulang
edukasyon ng batang Rizal. Tinuruan niya itong magbasa, magdasal, at magrosaryo.
Kalaunan ay kumuha rin ng pribadong tagapagturo ang kanyang mga magulang para
magturo sa pagbabasa, pagsulat, gayundin sa pag-aaral ng Latin. Dahil sa pagkakaroon ng
maraming aklat sa bahay at paghikayat ng kanyang mga magulang kung kaya't labis na
nagkahilig ang batang si Pepe sa higit pang pag-aaral at pagkatuto hanggang sa mga huling
bahagi ng kanyang buhay. Siyam na taong gulang si Jose nang dalhin siya ng kanyang ama
sa Binan, Laguna, upang ipagpatuloy ang kanyang pormal na pag-aaral. Hindi maganda ang
karanasan ni Rizal sa paaralang iyon, anupa't naisulat niya sa kanyang tala-arawan ang
pagkakatanggap ng palo mula sa kanyang guro na may istriktong pamamaraan ng

pagtuturo. Sa kabila ng kanyang pagiging mabuting bata, bihira ang araw na hindi napapalo
ang kanyang mga palad. Ayaw ni Rizal sa gayong paraan ng pagtuturo, at ito ay nabanggit
niya sa kanyang nobelang Noli Me Tangere, na tumutukoy sa hindi magandang epekto ng
ganoong paraan sa asal at isipan ng mga bata. Aniya, imposible ang makapag-isip nang
maayos sa harap ng patpat na pamalo at latigo, at matatakot maging ang isang batang
matalino. Noong 1872, nagpatala si Rizal sa Ateneo Municipal para sa digri sa Batselor sa
Sining. Ang kakaibang espiritu ng kumpetisyon at personal na disiplina ay nagpaibayo sa
panibagong interes para siya ay lalong pang matuto. Ang kanilang klase ay hinati sa
dalawang grupo. Ang unang grupo ay tinawag na Romano samantalang ang ikalawa ay
tinawag na Carthaginian. Ang mga miyembro ng grupo ay inihahanay sa kanilang tagumpay
sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na leksiyon. Nagsimula si Rizal sa grupong Carthaginian na
nasa hulihan ng talaan, pero makaraan ang isang buwan, siya ay tinanghal na emperador at
ginawaran ng estampita. Nagtamo rin siya ng mga medalya at pagkilala dahil sa kanyang
termino at nananatiling tumatanggap ng markang pinakamahusay sa halos lahat ng
kanyang mga aralin. Nang lumaon ay nag-aral siya ng medisina sa Unibersidad ng Santo
Tomas kasabay ng pag-aaral niya ng surveying sa pagtuturo ng mga Heswita. Nang siya ay
17 taong gulang ay nagtungo siya sa Espanya upang mag-aral sa Universidad Central de
Madrid. Noong 1885 ay pareho niyang natapos ang kursong medisina at pilosopiya. Dahil sa
espiritu ng liberalismo sa Europa kaya't mas lumawak ang kanyang interes. Nag-aral siya ng
iba't ibang lengguwahe, naglakbay sa maraming bansa, kasabay ng kanyang aktibong
kampanya para sa reporma sa Pilipinas. Isinulat niya ang isa pang nobela, ang El
Filibusterismo at nagsalin ng Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, kung saan kanyang itinuwid ang
mga pagkakamali sa nakatalang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Nagbigay din siya ng mga
kontribusyon sa La Solidaridad, ang pahayagan ng mga repormistang Pilipino sa Espanya.
Nang siya ay magbalik sa Pilipinas noong 1892, ipinatapon siya sa Dapitan ng pamahalaang
Espanyol, dahil sa umano'y pag-iingat ng mga subersibong papeles. Papunta siya sa Cuba
upang magsilbi bilang boluntaryong doktor nang sumiklab ang rebolusyon sa Pilipinas. Hinuli
siya at kinasuhan ng rebelyon at sedisyon. Noong Disyembre 30, 1896, binaril siya sa
Luneta. Ayaw ni Rizal na barilin siya nang nakatalikod kagaya ng isang traydor, pero hindi
pinayagan ang kanyang hiling na barilin na nakaharap sa firing squad. Sa oras ng
eksekyusyon, nang marinig ni Rizal ang mga putok, ay ipinihit niya ang kanyang katawan.
Bumagsak siyang patihaya, paharap sa sumisikat na araw sa umagang iyon ng Disyembre kagaya ng isang kagalang-galang na tao na dapat na pagkilala sa kanya.

Jose Rizal Family
The Jose Rizal family was a wealthy family in Calamba, Laguna and
considered one of the largest families in those times. The 13 member of Jose
Rizal family consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II and his mother
Teodora Alonso Realonda. Jose Rizal had nine sisters and one brother. The
Jose Rizal family’s paternal ascendant was Domingo Lam-co, a full-blooded
Chinese who lived inAmoy,China and arrived in the Philippines in the closing
years of the 17th century. Domingo Lam-co was married to a Chinese halfbreed named Ines de la Rosa. The Mercado-Rizal family had also Japanese,
Spanish, Malay and Negrito blood aside from their Chinese blood.
Jose Rizal’s father was the youngest of 13 children of Juan and Cirila
Mercado. He was born in Binan, Laguna, studied in San Jose College of Manila

and died in Manila. The mother of Jose Rizal was a business -minded,
religious and hard working individual who was born in Santa Cruz,Manila on
November 14, 1827 and died in Manila in 1913. She studied at the Colegio
de Santa Rosa and was the second child of Brijida de Quintos and Lorenzo
Alonso.
Saturnina Rizal was the eldest of the offsprings of Francisco Mercado and
Teodora Alonso Realonda. She married Manuel Hidalgo who hailed from
Tanauan, Batangas. The only brother of Jose Rizal was Paciano Rizal and was
the second child. Paciano studied at the San Jose College in Manila and
worked as a farmer and later as a general of the Philippine Revolution. The
other sisters of Jose Rizal were Narcisa,Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion,
Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad. Soledad was the youngest child and later was
married to Pantaleon Quintero.
The parents of Jose Rizal were both farmers who were granted by the
Dominicans with the lease of a hacienda together with a rice farm. The
mother of Jose Rizal, Teodora, had Spanish and Japanese ancestors while the
father of Teodora was a half Spaniard engineer known as Lorenzo Alberto
Alonzo.
The Rizal surname was obtained by Francisco Mercado as suggested to him
by a provincial governor after the Governor General of the Philippines,
Narciso Claveria, issued a decree in 1849 by which native Filipino and
immigrant families were to adopt Spanish surnames from a list of Spanish
family names. Jose Rizal also obtained the surname Rizal after dropping
three other names that made up his full name. Jose Rizal also retained
Protacio as his other family name. His family never actually recognized his
Rizal surname but Jose Rizal was forced to use it so that he can travel freely
and disassociate him from his brother who was known to be notorious due to
Paciano’s links with native priests who were executed after they were found
to be subversives.

Maikling Talambuhay ni Jose Rizal

Jose Rizal: National Hero of the Philippines
On June 19, 1861, the Mercado Family from the town of Calamba in the province of
Laguna in the Philippines, happily greeted the birth of their newest member — a baby
boy born as the seventh child to proud parents Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro
and Teodora Alonza y Quintos. They named the bouncing baby boy Jose Protacio
Rizal Mercado. Being the seventh of a brood of eleven, Jose Rizal Mercado
demonstrated an astounding intelligence and aptitude for learning at a very young age
when he learned his letters from his mother and could read and write at the age of five.
Educational foundations
The Mercado family enjoyed relative wealth as landowners who rented the land of
theirhacienda to the Dominican friars in Laguna. Hence, education was a priority for the
Mercado family and young Jose Protacio was sent to learn from Justiniano Aquino Cruz,
a tutor from nearby Binan, Laguna. But the education of a small town and a tutor did not
sufficiently quench the young man’s thirst for knowledge and soon, the family began to
make preparations for his admission to the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, in the capital of
the Philippines.
The school was run by the Jesuit Order and was one of the most prominent and
academic institutions in the country which catered to the rich, the powerful and most
intelligent students that country had, certainly a place for a young man like Jose
Protacio Mercado.
Studying in Manila
Prior to his enrollment in this prominent learning institution, his older brother Paciano
Rizal Mercado, insisted that Jose drop the surname “Mercado”, to ensure that the
younger Mercado would be disassociated with the outspoken and borderline subversive
reputation of his older brother. As such, the young man known as Jose Protacio Rizal
enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila.
Being the child of a family of wealthy landowners, Jose Rizal decided to study for a
degree in Land Surveying and Assessment at the Ateneo de Municipal de Manila where
he graduated on March 14, 1877, with honors or sobresaliente. He took and passed
the licensure exam for land surveying and assessment in 1878 but was not given a
license until 1881 when he turned 21.

In 1878, after his completion of his degree from Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he
pursued, his passion for the arts as he enrolled at the Faculty of Arts and Letters for a
degree in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas. Although he excelled at
philosophy, the news of his mother’s impending blindness convinced him to study
Medicine, and in 1878 he enrolled in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at University of
Santo Tomas to specialize in ophthalmology. Citing discrimination against Filipino
students by the Dominican professors in Medicine, Rizal left the medical program in
1882.
Believing that education in the country was limited, he boarded a ship to Spain with the
support of his older brother Paciano but without informing his parents. The ten years he
would spend on the European continent would leave an indelible mark on his
personality and open his eyes to the world, develop his natural talents and strengthen
his devotion to his motherland.
Academics in Europe
In Spain, he continued the studies that were stalled in the Philippines and enrolled at
the Universidad Central de Madrid where he graduated in 1884 with a degree in
Medicine, and a year later with a degree in Philosophy and letters from the same
institution. Even after the completion of these two degrees, he still was not satisfied and
traveled to France and studied at the University of Paris.
In his pursuit to further increase his knowledge in his chosen field of specialization —
ophthalmology — he studied at the University of Heidelberg under the distinguished
eye specialist, Professor Otto Becker.
Recognition in Europe
Born a few centuries too late, Rizal could have been an ideal Renaissance Man, he
was a polymath who excelled at anything he put his considerable mind and talents to.
The study of land assessment, medicine, and literature are just a few of his known
accomplishments but he also excellent in arts such as sculpting, painting, architecture;
physical activities such as martial arts, fencing, pistol shooting were also where he
demonstrated his prowess; he was well read could discuss agriculture, economics,
sociology, anthropology and history at will.

Photo courtesy of Lopez Museum
117 years after Rizal’s death, the government where his family hailed in Calamba,
Laguna recognized Rizal’s ability in various sports during his lifetime.
READ: Jose Rizal as a hero sportsman, the great “eskrimador” or dueler.
Apart from these, he was also multilingual and was known to have been able to
converse in over 10 languages including Filipino, Spanish, English, French, German,
and Dutch, among others.
Rizal was also a member of the Freemasons. It is therefore no surprise that wherever
he went, people were drawn to his charm, wit, intelligence and personality. He made
friends and lovers wherever he went and left an impression and reputation that would
outlive him.
Foundations for reform
Even as a youth, Jose Rizal had been exposed to the difficulties of being under the
Spanish colonial government, which had instilled in him the need for change in the
system of how the country was being run. Jose Rizal spent most of his time with his
older brother Paciano, a man who had been linked to Filipino priests, Gomez, Burgos
and Zamora, who sought reform within the catholic church by advocating equal rights
for Filipino and Spanish priests in the Philippines. The three priests were later accused
of being subversive and were executed by the Spanish colonial government.
Even closer to home, Rizal saw the treatment accorded to his beloved mother by the
Spanish authorities who accused her of attempting to poison her cousin and sent her to
jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Teodora Mercado was made to walk sixteen kilometers from

their home to the prison and was incarcerated for 2 and a half years until a successful
appeal at the highest court of the Spanish government cleared her of the charges.
Novels
During his stay in first stay in Europe, Rizal wrote his novel, Noli Me Tangere.The
book was written in Spanish and first published in Berlin, Germany in 1887. The Noli, as
it is more commonly known, tells the story of a young Filipino man who travels to
Europe to study and returns home with new eyes to the injustices and corruption in his
native land.
Rizal used elaborate characters to symbolize the different personalities and
characteristics of both the oppressors and the oppressed, paying notable attention to
Filipinos who had adopted the customs of their colonizers, forgetting their own
nationality; the Spanish friars who were portrayed as lustful and greedy men in robes
who sought only to satisfy their own needs, and the poor and ignorant members of
society who knew no other life but that of one of abject poverty and cruelty under the
yoke of the church and state. Rizal’s first novel was a scalding criticism of the Spanish
colonial system in the country and Philippine society in general, was met with harsh
reactions from the elite, the church and the government.
Upon his return to the country, he was summoned by the Governor General of the
Philippine Islands to explain himself in light of accusations that he was a subversive
and an inciter of rebellion. Rizal faced the charges and defended himself admirably, and
although he was exonerated, his name would remain on the watch list of the colonial
government. Similarly, his work also produced a great uproar in the Catholic Church in
the country, so much so that later, he was excommunicated.
Despite the reaction to his first novel, Rizal wrote a second novel, El Filibusterismo,
and published it in 1891. Where the protagonist of Noli, Ibarra, was a pacifist and
advocate of peaceful means of reforms to enact the necessary change in the system,
the lead character in Fili, Simeon, was more militant and preferred to incite an armed
uprising to achieve the same end. Hence the government could not help but notice that
instead of being merely a commentary on Philippine society, the second novel could
become the catalyst which would encourage Filipinos to revolt against the Spanish
colonizers and overthrow the colonial government.

Arrest, exile, and incarceration
Upon his return to the Philippines in 1892, he was arrested by the Spanish government
for being a subversive and for his reported involvement in the rebellion. He was then
exiled to the island of the Dapitan in the southernmost island group of the Philippines,
Mindanao. There he established a school that taught English to young boys, he worked
on agricultural projects on abaca, a plant used for rope, and he continued to practice
medicine, eventually meeting one of the most famous women in his life, Josephine
Bracken.
Although Jose Rizal had repeatedly said that he advocated peaceful reforms in the
Philippines, the Spanish government were correct in assuming that his novels would
indeed stir up a hornet’s nest of unrest in the islands. One of the leaders of the
revolutionary group called Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, had read the Rizal’s novels
and had used these as a basis for the revolution. So influential was Rizal that even
without his permission they named him as a member and Katipuneros shouted his
name as part of the their battlecry.
With no wish to be further implicated in the revolution, Rizal asked and was granted
permission by then governor General Ramon Blanco to travel to Cuba, another Spanish
Colony at the time, to support in the medical efforts needed to suppress an outbreak of
yellow fever. On the way to Cuba, Rizal was arrested and incarcerated in Barcelona due
to the political manoeuvrings of the friars which saw Blanco removed from office and
replaced by Camilo de Polavieja.
Execution and death
READ: Rizal on trial
Rizal was then brought back to the Philippines to face charges of rebellion due to his
reported association with the revolutionary movement. The court found him guilty and
sentenced him to death. Jose Rizal was executed by a firing squad on December 30
1896, at 7:00am, in Bagumbayan (now called Rizal Park) and his remains were buried
in an unmarked grave in the nearby Paco Cemetery.
Through the years, Rizal’s works and ideals have been cited by many reformists, such
as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sun Yat Sen and even Ghandi as the means for peace reforms.

As the national hero of the Philippines, his works, are required reading for all students
and streets, buildings, and parks have been named after him and the 30th of December,
his death anniversary, was declared a national holiday.
Rizal’s legacy
What made Jose Rizal worthy of becoming the Philippines’ national hero was not merely
his intelligence, personality, literary acumen, or his pacifist ideals. Rather, it was his
patriotism, optimism, undying love for his country and his belief in his countrymen which
set him apart. He believed not merely in freedom but in the potential of the Filipino
people to surpass what they were under the Spanish colonial government, and all he
wished was for them to be given the chance to tap that potential. And for that, he has
earned his right place as a symbol of what a Filipino can do in one short lifetime.

Si Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(Hunyo 19, 1861–Disyembre30, 1896) ay ang pampito sa
labing-isang anak ng mag-asawang Francisco
EngracioRizal Mercado y Alejandro at ng asawa nitong si
Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda yQuintos. Ipinanganak
si José Rizal sa Calamba, Laguna. Sina Saturnina,
Paciano, Narcissa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Jose,
Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad at Soledad angkanyang mga
kapatid.Ang ina ni Rizal ay siyang kaniyang unang guro
at nagturo sa kaniya ng abakada noongsiya ay tatlong taon
pa lamang. Noong siya naman ay tumuntong ng siyam na
taon, pinadala siya sa Biñan, Laguna upang mag-aral sa
ilalim ng pamamatnubay ni JustianoAquino Cruz. Ilang
buwan ang nakalipas, pinayuhan niya ang magulang ni
Rizal na pag-aralin siya sa Maynila.Ang
Ateneo Municipal de Manila

ang unang paaralan sa Maynila na kaniyang pinasukan
noong ikadalawa ng Enero 1872. Ayon sa isang salin ng
Noli me tangere
niGuzman atbp., sa kaniyang pananatili sa paaralang ito,
natanggap niya ang lahat ng mga pangunahing medalya at
notang sobresaliente sa lahat ng aklat. Sa paaralan ding ito
niyanatanggap ang kaniyang Batsilyer sa Sining na may
notang sobresalyente kalakip ang pinakamataas na
karangalan. Nang sumunod na taon, siya ay kumuha ng
Pilosopiya at Panitikan sa
Pamantasan ngSanto Tomas
. Sa Ateneo, kasabay niyang kinuha ang agham ng
Pagsasaka. Pagkaraan,kinuha niya ang kursong
panggagamot sa nasabing Pamantasan (Santo
Tomas) pagkatapos mabatid na ang kaniyang ina ay
tinubuan ng katarata. Noong Mayo 5, 1882,nang dahil sa
hindi na niya matanggap ang tagibang at mapansuring
pakikitungo ng mga paring Kastila sa mga katutubong
mag-aaral, nagtungo siya sa Espanya. Doo'y pumasok siya
sa
Universidad Central de Madrid
, kung saan, sa ikalawang taon ay natapos niyaang
karerang Medisina, bilang "sobresaliente" (napakahusay).
Nang sumunod na taon,nakamit niya ang titulo sa
Pilosopiya-at-Titik. Naglakbay siya sa Pransya
atnagpakadalubhasa sa paggamot ng sakit sa mata sa
isang klinika roon. Pagkatapos aytumungo siya sa
Heidelberg, Alemanya, kung saan natamo pa ang isang

titulo.Sa taon din ng kaniyang pagtatapos ng Medisina,
siya ay nag-aral ng wikang Ingles, bilang karagdagan sa
mga wikang kaniya nang nalalaman gaya ng Pranses.
Isangdalubwika si Rizal na nakaaalam ng Arabe, Katalan,
Tsino, Inggles, Pranses, Aleman,Griyego, Ebreo, Italyano,
Hapon, Latin, Portuges, Ruso, Sanskrit, Espanyol,
Tagalog, atiba pang mga katutubong wika ng Pilipinas.