RIZAL AND HIS CHILDHOOD YEARS AT CALAMBA

Calamba at the time of Rizals Birth

Calamba - agricultural town
-owned by the Dominican friars
- prosperous due to its production of sugar
Birth of the Young Jose
Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonzo Y Realonda was born on June 19, 1861.
-his mother nearly died during his delivery
owing to his very big head.
Father Rufino Collantes - baptized Jose Rizal
Father Pedro Casaas - godfather
Ancestry:
Fathers side
Domingo Lamco - Rizals great grandfather
(Chinese merchant)
Ines dela Rosa - Domingo Lamcos wife
(Chinese mestiza)
Juan Mercado - Rizals grandfather
Cirila Alejandro (Chinese-Filipino mestiza) - wife
of Juan Mercado
Don Francisco - one of the 14 children of the
couple
-father of Jose Rizal
Mothers Side
Manuel de Quintos (Chinese mestizo from
Lingayen, Pangasinan) Rizals great grandfather
Regina Ursua - a woman with Japanese
ancestry
-wife of Manuel de Quintos
Brigida -one of the daughters of Manuel and
Regina
-married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso
-the couple had 5 siblings
Teodora - one of the siblings; mother of Jose
Rizal
Parents:

Don Francisco Mercado - studied Latin and

Philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in
Manila
-became a tenant farmer at the Dominicanowned hacienda
-a model of fathers
-Rizal inherited a profound feeling of dignity,
self-respect, serenity and poise, and
seriousness
Doa Teodora Alonso - completed her
education at Colegio de Santa Rosa
-a remarkable woman, possessing refined
culture, literary talent, business ability, and
the fortitude of Spartan women.

-Rizal inherited a practical temperament of a

dreamer and fondness of poetry.
The siblings:
1. Saturnina
2. Paciano
3. Narcisa
4. Olimpia
5. Lucia
6. Maria
7. Jose
8. Concepcion
9. Josefa
10. Trinidad
11. Soledad
*Rizal was reared in a typical middle class family
in the 19th Century Philippines
*Rizal home: it was a two-storey building,
rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and
hardwoods and roofed with red tiles.
CHILDHOOD DAYS AND MEMORIES:
*He could not forget the times when the family
stayed in the garden to exchange stories.
*The daily family prayer during Angelus
*Personal servant narrated to him legends and
fairy tales
*3 years old - he learned how to pray and even
read the Bible
Father Leoncio Lopez - parish priest of
Calamba who made him develop a sound
philosophy of life.
-it was also from him that Rizal learned the
value of scholarship and intellectual
honesty.
*Rizals first sorrow: death of little Concha; Rizal
was 4 years old that time
*Even as a young boy, he witnessed everyday
acts of violence and excesses committed against
the Calambeos by the Guardia Civil and
Gobernadorcillo
The Story of the Moth and the Flame
-made the profoundest impression on Rizal died a martyr to its illusions
-Just like the moth that died a victim of its
illusion, Rizal died a martyr in search of the lights
of truth, freedom, and justice.
Early Demonstration of Inborn Talents
*3 years old - he was able to master the alphabet
*at the age of five, Rizal began to make sketches
with his pencil and to mould in clay and wax
objects which attracted his fancy.

Sa aking mga Kabata (To My Fellow

Children) - Rizals first poem in native language
at the age of eight
-reveals Rizals earliest nationalist sentiment

*One thing that he detested from his teacher was

the use of corporal punishment in making the
pupils learn the lesson for the day.
* Rizal took painting lessons under Old Juancho.

Influences on the Heros Boyhood

*Tio Jose Alberto - studied for 11 years in British
school in Calcutta, India and had travelled in
Europe
-inspired Rizal to develop his artistic ability
Tio Manuel- a husky and athletic man,
encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body by
means of physical exercises
Tio Gregorio - a book lover, intensified Rizals
voracious reading of good books.

December 17, 1870 - Rizal left Bian.

Preparations for Formal Schooling

Mother- Rizals first teacher
Maestro Celestino - first private tutor
Maestro Lucas Padua - second tutor
Leon Monroy - tutor who instructed Rizal in
Spanish and Latin
Formal Schooling at a Village School
*Sunday afternoon in June, 1869, Rizal left
Calamba for Bian accompanied by Paciano.
Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz - Rizals teacher in
school
-thin, long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body
slightly bent forward.
-expert in Latin and Spanish grammars (according
to Rizal)
Pedro - son of the teacher who challenged Rizal.
*Rizal was able to emerge to be the best in his
class in Latin, Spanish, and the rest of the
subjects in the curriculum for elementary pupils.

*Rizal was excited because he was going home

by himself on board steamship named Talim.
The First Taste of Injustice
1. Arrest and incarceration of his mother in 1871
-opened his eyes to the injustice of the regime.
-due to her alleged complicity in the attempted
murder of his uncles unfaithful wife.
-This happened right after the arrival of his uncle,
Jose Alberto from Europe. Upon arriving at Bian,
his uncle discovered the infidelity of his wife and
decided to divorce her.
*Jose Albertos wife conspired with the Spanish
lieutenant of the Guradia Civil by filing a suit
against Doa Teodora for attempting to poison
her.
*Doa Teodora was arrested and made to walk a
distance of 50 km from Calamba to Santa Cruz.
She was jailed for almost 2 and 1/2 years.
*She was freed by Gov.Gen Izquierdo as a resut of
the request of the young Soledad, whose graceful
dancing charmed the gov-gen and his guests.
2. Martyrdom of GOMBURZA
-if it were not for the unjust execution of the 3
priests, Rizal would have been a member of the
Society of Jesuits in the Philippines.