Who was the hero of Noli me Tangere?

Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin , commonly called Ibarra, is

Filipino-Spanish and the only descendant of the wealthy
Spaniard Don Rafael Ibarra. He was born and grew up in the
Philippines, but during his adolescence, spent seven years studying
in Europe.

Ibarra was an earnest and idealistic young man. Influenced by his

European education, he sought to improve the country; as part of
this, he believed in the power of education to enact reforms and made
efforts to establish a school in San Diego to this end.

What kind of a person was he?

A wealthy young man of mixed Spanish and Filipino ancestry who has
recently returned to the Philippines from Europe after spending
seven years studying abroad. Ibarra is cultured and well-respected,
though the friars in his hometown of San Diego are suspicious of him
Crisostomo Ibarra exemplified the vision that Jose Rizal had aimed
for the youth of the Philippines during his time. Others
attribute Ibarra as Rizal's reflection of himself.

Why was Rizal's hero a creole?

Creole

noun. a person born in the West Indies or Spanish America but of

European, usually Spanish, ancestry. a person born in Louisiana but of
usually French ancestry. (sometimes lowercase) a person of mixed
Black and European, especially French or Spanish, ancestry who
speaks a creolized form of French or Spanish.

During Rizal's youth, it looked as if what happened in America would

happen in the Philippines: the Creoles were restive, were rising, were
apparently headed for an open clash with the Peninsulars. So,
when Rizal wrote his novels, he was writing about an actual
movement, and writing to animate it.

The article why was Rizal Hero a Creole explained used the character

of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra aka Simoun, a Creole, as his hero in his
novels Noli Mi Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Rizal himself was also
a Creole of Spanish, Native and Chinese descent.