Chapter 1- "Birth of a Hero"

Jose Rizal the national hero of the Philippines was born on June 19, 1861, in
Calamba, Laguna. Rizal was the second son and seventh child; he was the lucky
seven. He was baptized by a priest, Rev. Fr. Rufino Collantes, who was a close
family friend and was also his godfather. Calamba, Laguna, the birthplace of
Jose Rizal was a scenic town which had Mt. Makiling and Laguna de Bay as its
backdrop. The Rizal family’s house in was one of the distinguished houses in
Calamba. Their family was well respected in their community and highly
regarded. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal was a hardworking farmer and
Jose Rizal regarded him as a “model of fathers”. Rizal’s mother, Doña Teodora
Alonzo who was also his first teacher was from a distinguished family. Rizal’s
parents were blessed with eleven children, with only two boys and nine girls.
Paciano was the first child and the only son other than Rizal; he came like a
father to his siblings and supported Rizal during his study in Europe. People
were saying that he was pilosopo Tasio in Jose Rizal’s Novel “Noli Me
Tangere”. The second child was Saturnina and was called by Jose Rizal as
“Maneng”. The third child Narcisa was a teacher and a musician. Olympia the
fourth child married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator. Lucia was the fifth
child and married Mariano Herbosa who was also from Calamba. The sixth
child, Maria married Daniel Faustino Cruz who was from Biñan, Laguna. Jose
Rizal, was the seventh child and the second son of the family. Concepcion the
eight-child died at the age of three. Josefa the ninth child of the family did not
marry. The tenth child, like Josefa died a spinster and was without a husband.
And lastly Soledad was the youngest and the eleventh child of the family and
married Pantaleon Quintero who was also from Calamba. The Rizal family had
mixed ancestry namely Chinese, Japanese, Malay and Spanish. Jose Rizal’s
father adopted the surname Rizal which translates in Spanish as wheat, cut
while still green, sprouts again, he originally had Mercado as a surname which
means market in Spanish. Jose Rizal’s family was definitely the one who
moulded him to become who he is, especially his mother. The Rizal family was
very religious as they always go to mass every Sunday, they were the model
family.