JOSE RIZAL

By: Mark Lester Perez

José Rizal was the person who inspired the Filipinos to fight for independence from
Spain even though he himself was not in favor for total independence from Spain.
Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda or more commonly known as "Dr. Jose
Rizal" the national hero of the Philippines and the pride of the malayan race, was born
on june 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family
of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls) Both his parents were educated and belonged to
distiguished families.The seventh child of Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro
and his wife, Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda y Quintos, was born in Kalamba, June
19, 1861.

He was a typical Filipino, for few persons in this land of mixed blood could boast a
greater mixture than his. Practically all the ethnic elements, perhaps even the Negrito in
the far past, combined in his blood. All his ancestors, except the doubtful strain of the
Negrito, had been immigrants to the Philippines, early Malays, and later Sumatrans,
Chinese of prehistoric times and the refugees from the Tartar dominion, and Spaniards
of old Castile and Valencia-representatives of all the various peoples who have blended
to make the strength of the Philippine race.

Jose was christened in the nearby church when three days old. He was not physically a
strong child, but the direction of his first studies was by an unusually gifted mother, who
succeeded, almost without the aid of books, in laying a foundation upon which the man
placed an amount of well-mastered knowledge.

At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, showed inclinations to be
an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and
by his moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga
Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s language. In 1877, at the age
of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of "excellent" from the
Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at
the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the
degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter course on
March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878; but because
of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30,
1881. In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop
because he felt disciriminated. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued
his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he
was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of
24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of "excellent." 
Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages
and other native dialects. A versatile genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman,
cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor,
journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, opthalmic
surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and
theologian.

His emergence as a patriot, novelist, ophthalmologist, polymath, and a linguist inspired

many Filipinos not just during his time but also to later generations to fight for freedom
from the excesses of colonial rule of Spain, the United States and also the excesses of
post-colonial economic, political, and social policies. His ideas like equality among
Filipinos and the Spaniards that time caught him a significant followers regardless of
personal ideas like Andrés Bonifacio and many others.

His entire life was practically spent to fight the excesses of friar-led Spanish colonial
rule. His exceptional talents enabled him to raise the concerns of the Filipino people to
the Spanish people when he went to Spain and the entire Europe in order to awaken
not just the Spaniards but the entire world on what the grievances of the Filipino people
then. It was in Europe when José Rizal wrote his ideals and grievances like Noli me
Tangere, El Filibusterismo, and La Solidaridad.

His goals for a better Philippines incurred the ire from the people who enjoys the status
quo especially from the friars who got threatened by Rizal’s writings like the exploitation
of native Filipino women for personal benefit of some friars in their respective parishes.
His writings was the cause of his unjustified death in the hands of the friars on 30
December 1896.

Rizal's public execution was carried out in Manila on December 30, 1896, when he was
35 years old. His execution created more opposition to Spanish rule. Spain's control of
the Philippines ended in 1898, though the country did not gain lasting independence
until after World War II. Rizal remains a nationalist icon in the Philippines for helping the
country take its first steps toward independence.

After then, later generations took Rizal’s life as an inspiration to fight the excesses not
just against foreign occupiers but also against some local interests who controlled the
political, social, and economic lives of the vast majority for their personal benefit. In
spite of several interpretations on how should Rizal be remembered to the eyes of the
people, José Rizal was still the symbol and the inspiration for the Filipinos that need to
be emulated for the next generation of people to come.