RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD DAYS
A. Birth
B. Family and Ancestry
C. Hometown
D. Story of the Moth
E. Boyhood Influences
F. Education in Calamba and Biñan
Birth
 June 19, 1861
 Calamba, Laguna Province
“I was born in Calamba on June 19, 1861,
between 11 and midnight, a few days
before full moon. It was Wednesday and
my coming out in this vale of tears would
have cost my mother her life had she not
vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me
to her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage.”
 Baptism of Rizal: June 22, 1861
 Baptized by Fr. Rufino Collantes
 Fr. Pedro Casañas (godfather)
 Jose from Christian Saint Joseph
Fr. Collantes: “Take good care of this child,
for someday he will become a great man”
Rizal’s Parents
 Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818-1898)
 “a model of fathers” – Jose Rizal
 Born in Binan, Laguna (11 May 1818)
 Latin and Philosophy (Colegio de San
Juan, Manila)
 -Tenant-farmer of a Dominican owned
hacienda in Calamba
 hardy, independent minded, strong in
body, valiant in spirit.
 Died in Manila (5 January 1898)
 Teodora Alonso Realonda (1826-
1911)
 “a woman of more than ordinary
culture…” – Jose Rizal
 Born in Manila (8 November 1826)
 Educated at Colegio de Santa Rosa
 Has refined culture, literary talent,
business ability and fortitude.
 Died in Manila (16 August 1911)
Rizal Children
 Saturnina Rizal-Hidalgo (Neneng)
1850-1913
 Paciano Rizal 1851-1930
 Olympia Rizal-Ubaldo (Ypia) 1855-
1887
 Narcisa Rizal-Lopez (Sisa) 1852-1939
 Lucia Rizal-Herbosa 1857-1919
 Maria Rizal-Cruz (Biang) 1859-1945
 Concepcion Rizal (Concha) 1862-1865
 Jose Rizal (Pepe) 1861-1896
 Josefa Rizal (Panggoy) 1865-1945
 Trinidad Rizal (Trining) 1868-1951
 Soledad Rizal-Quintero (Choleng)
1870-1929
Calamba (El Pueblo)
 A hacienda town belonging to the
Dominican order, a picturesque
nestling on a verdant plain covered
with irrigated ricefields and
sugarlands.
 South: Mt. Makiling to Batangas; East:
Laguna de Bay to Talim Island; North:
Antipolo.
 1876 (15 y/o), Rizal wrote Un
Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of
My Town)
The Story of the Moth
 A story told by Jose’s mother.
 The old and young moths who are by
the light.
 “All my attention was fixed on the face
of the insect. I watched it with my
whole soul… It had died a martyr to its
illusions.”
 “See that you do not behave lie the
young moth. Don’t be disobedient, or
you may get burnt as it did.”
 “The light seemed to me more
beautiful. It had grown more dazzling
and more attractive. I knew why the
moths circled the flame.”
Boyhood Influences
1. HEREDITARY INFLUENCE
 Malayan: love for freedom, desire to
travel, indomitable courage.
 Chinese: serious nature, frugality,
patience, love for children.
 Spanish: elegance of bearing,
sensitivity to insult, gallantry to ladies.
 Father: profound sense of self-respect,
love for work, independent thinking
 Mother: religious nature, spirit of self-
sacrifice, passion for arts and
literature
2. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE
 Calamba, Rizal Family Garden –
stimulated inborn artistic and literary
talents.
 Religious atmosphere of his home –
fortified his religious nature.
 Paciano – love for freedom and justice
 Sisters – courtesy and kindness to
women
 Aya (Yaya) – interest in folklore and
legends.
 Tio Jose Alberto – artistic ability.
 Tio Manuel – physical wellness
through exercises, horse riding,
walking and wrestling.
 Tio Gregorio – reading of good books.
 Padre Leoncio Lopez (parish priest) –
love for scholarshp and intellectual
honesty.
 Sorrows: death of Concha (1965),
imprisonment of his mother (1871-74)
–strengthened his spirit to resist the
blows of adversities
 Spanish abuses and cruelties –
awakened his spirit of patriotism.
- Brutal acts of the Guardia Civil
- Unjust torture of innocent
Filipinos
- Execution of GomBurZa (1872)
3. AID OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
 God endowed Rizal with the versatile
gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of a
nationalist, the valiant heart to
sacrifice for a noble cause.
Education in Calamba
 Doña Teodora – Rizal’s first teacher
(reading, writing and praying)
 Maestro Celestino, Maestro Lucas
Padua – private tutors
 Leon Monroy – taught Rizal Spanish
and Latin

Education in Binan
 June 1869 – Jose left Calamba for
Binan.
 Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz
 Pedro the Bully
 Learned Spanish, Latin and painting
(through Juancho)
 17 December 1870 – Jose left Binan,
taking the steamer Talim.