JOSE RIZAL

From BoyhooD
to adulthood
Rizal at age 11
This is a photograph
of a young boy from
Calamba who would
later be this country’s
contribution to the
world.
Source: (11) Rizal in Barong Tagalog - Posts |
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Rizal at age 16
Rizal at 18 years old while a student of
medicine at the U.S.T
Rizal in Madrid at the age of 25
Dr. José Rizal, Fundador de la Liga Filipina
Dr. Jose Rizal, Founder of the Philippine League
Rizal at age 35
WOMEN
IN RIZAL’S LIFE
 RIZAL, THE ROMANTIC
There were at least nine women linked with Rizal,
namely:
(1) Segunda Katigbak,
(2) Leonor Valenzuela,
(3) Leonor Rivera,
(4) Consuelo Ortiga,
(5) O-Sei San (Japanese),
(6) Gertrude Beckett (English),
(7) Nelly Boustead (French),
(8) Suzanne Jacoby (Belgian),
(9) Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (Irish)
18-year-old Irish girl whom he married while on exile in Dapitan
 Gertrude Beckett
Daughter of a London organist.
She fell in love with Rizal.
While Rizal was in London annotating the Succesos de las
Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family,
within walking distance of the British Museum.

Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three
Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him
in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London
for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.

Gertrude Beckett
Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving
of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as
a sign of their brief relationship.
Rizal stayed in this house located in Chalcot Crescent,
Primrose Hill in London. Here, he had a fling with Gertrude
Becket, daughter of his landlady. He called her “Gettie”,
while she called him “Pettie”!
In a nearby street lived Dr Reinhold Rost, who invited Rizal
to have afternoon teas in his house. Dr Rost described
Rizal as “a pearl of a man”. Rizal said Dr Rost’s house
was “a real home for me”.
 Josephine Leopoldine Bracken
She loved Rizal and stood by him up to his last hour
 JOSEPHINE LEOPOLDINE
BRACKEN
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal
met an 18-year old petite Irish girl, w i t h b o l d b l u e ey es ,
brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine
Bracken, the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong
Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment.

Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness and

boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could
be a better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal
sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and
they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.
Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to
make a decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer.

Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hong Kong

on March 1895.

Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her return to

Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for
their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a
precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his
family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his
wife even without the Church blessings.

Josephine later give birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result

of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.
 Rizal relic — the famous wood sculpture
depicting the likeness of Josephine
Leopoldine Bracken masterfully made by
Rizal in Dapitan in 1895.
 Very few researchers had the chance to
study this work of art up close and personal.
 The wood plank measures 8 inches in width,
13 inches in length, and 1-1.5 inches in
thickness, and weighs about 1.2 kilograms.
 It is made of solid molave wood, without any
visible inscriptions on all sides.
 The use of masilla (most likely bakhaw
paste) is obvious.
 Looking at this sculpture, one can have a
good idea of how Josephine Bracken really
looked like.
 She was beautiful!
 Leonor Rivera
Crayon sketch by Rizal

Sweetheart of Rizal
 A full-length
portrait of Rivera, c.
1880s

Leonor Rivera-Kipping
Sweetheart of Rizal
 LEONOR RIVERA
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest
influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women
during his travel.

Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s

relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero.

She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor
believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented
her to marry the Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.
 She was the childhood sweetheart, and
“lover by correspondence "of Jose Rizal.
Rivera was the “greatest influence” in
preventing Rizal from falling in love with
other women while Rizal was traveling
outside the Philippines.

Rivera's romantic relationship with Rizal

lasted for many years. She was immortalized
by Rizal as the character Maria Clara in the
Spanish-language novel Noli Me Tangere.
Rivera died on 28 August 1893 shortly
after giving birth to her second child with
Kipping.

Shortly before she died, her last wish

was to have the silver box containing the
ashes of Rizal's burned letters be buried
with her.
 Leonor Valenzuela
Friend of Rizal during his student days at University of Sto. Tomas
After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then
came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan.

Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that could only be
deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her
on the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.
 Segunda Katigbak
Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love
was engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel Luz.
 Nelly Boustead of Biarritz
whom Rizal almost married in 1891, after learning that Leonor Rivera got married
 NELLIE BOUSTEAD
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies.
While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of
Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo
Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna.

Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads,
courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by
Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against
Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately,
Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.

Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal
refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and
Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a
son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.
 O-Sei Kiyo San
whom Rizal met during his one and a half month sojourn in
Japan in the spring of 1888. She taught him Japanese.
O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter, taught Rizal the
Japanese art of painting known as su-mie. She also helped
Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language.

If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have

married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable
and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation
there offered him a lucrative job.
 A Rizal monument in Japan that marks the
site of the former Tokyo Hotel where Rizal
stayed in 1888.
 Stayed at Japan and Study Judo and was
amaze and Found on the Bushido Code of
Conduct... His Japanese Journey Added on his
Martial Arts Philosophy that he have applied to
Master the "De Cadena" Form... Continuous
Barrage of Attack to overwhealm the Enemy
after anticipating an Attack...
 Few to Many, Our National Hero is a Grand
Mas t er w i t h 25 y ear s o f Co m b i n ed Sel f
Defense Skill tuning it on one Martial Arts... He
also created a Movement Called "Kumpas"
where in he create an illusion of Speed of
Attack to confuse his Opponent...
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey
 CONSUELO ORTIGA
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s
daughters, fell in love with him.

He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became

one of his best poems. The Ortiga's residence in Madrid was
frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in
love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for
r o m an t i c v er s es . He suddenly backed out before the
relationship turned into a serious romance, because he
wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want
to destroy hid friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was
madly in love with Consuelo.
 Suzanna (Susan) Jacoby
Rizal stayed in the house of the Jacoby's in
Brussels, Belgium
 SUZANNE JACOBY
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because
of the high cost of living in Paris.

In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house

of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell
deeply in love with each other. Suzanne
cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote
him when he was in Madrid.
In the book, Belgian Rizalist, Rizal’s address in Brussels
(Rue Philippe de Champagne, 38) as mentioned in books
was wrong and that Rizal’s girlfriend was the young
Suzanne and NOT the Aunt Suzanne.

Three ladies were registered in this address: Catherine

Jacoby (55), Suzanne Jacoby (45) and Suzanne Thill
(“Petite Suzanne”) who was merely 18 years old that time
when Rizal arrived in Brussels. Rizal then was 29 years
old.. Catherine and Suzanne are sisters. Suzanne T. is
their niece. All love letters written and sent to Rizal bears
inscription of “Suzanne T.”
 Memorable as it was however, Rizal’s stay in Brussels was short-
lived, as he had to move to Madrid. On his departure, he left the
young Suzanna a box of chocolates.

 After Rizal wrote a letter to the Jacoby family from Madrid, the
young Suzanna, signing as Petite Suzanne answered back in
French, saying: “After your departure, I did not take the chocolate.
The box is still intact as on the day of your parting.”

 Teasingly referring to Rizal as le petit diable or “little bad boy,”

the young Suzanna in her second letter dated Oct. 1, 1890 wrote:
“Don’t delay too long writing us because I wear out the soles of
my shoes for running to the mailbox to see if there is a letter from
you.” She also added, “There will never be any home in which you
are so loved as in that in Brussels, so, you little bad boy, hurry up
and come back…”
But alas, Rizal never wrote or came back.

At that time, he learned that his girlfriend

of 11 years, Leonor Rivera was about to
marry an English engineer.

Heartbroken, he instead wrote to his

friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, saying that
he almost lost his mind over the sad news.
The Acquaintances
Jose Maria Basa, was one of those exiled as a result
of the execution of Fathers Burgos, Gomez, and
Zamora. he became a resident of Hong Kong and
helped Rizal in propaganda work.
Filipino Illustrados in Spain
 Places

Universidad Central de Madrid - In this

University, Rizal finished Medicine and
Philosophy and letters, 1882-1885
 Miscellaneous

Actual picture of Jose Rizal's execution

 RIZAL FAMILY PICTURE
TAKEN AFTER JOSE'S BURIAL
JOSE'S TOMB
RIZAL SISTERS
JOSE'S DEATH CELL IN FORT
SANTIAGO
JOSE'S DEATH CELL IN FORT
SANTIAGO
HOUSE OF RIZAL FAMILY IN LAGUNA
 THE LAST
PHOTOGRAPH OF
DOñA TEODORA
ALONSO Y
REALONDA BEFORE
SHE DIED IN HER
BINONDO HOME IN
AUGUST 1911 AT
THE AGE OF 80
 PERHAPS RIZAL'S BEST PROSE,
BUT ONE CAN ONLY SAVOR IT IN THE ORIGINAL SPANISH:
"¿DóNDE ESTá LA JUVENTUD QUE HA DE CONSAGRAR SUS ROSADAS HORAS, SUS ILUSIONES Y
ENTUSIASMO AL BIEN DE SU PATRIA? ¿DóNDE ESTá LA QUE HA DE VERTER GENEROSA SU
SANGRE PARA LAVAR TANTAS VERGüENZAS, TANTOS CRíMENES, TANTA ABOMINACION? ¡PURA
Y SIN MANCHA HA DE SER LA VíCTIMA PARA QUE EL HOLOCAUSTO SEA ACEPTABLE!… ¿DóNDE
ESTAIS, JóVENES, QUE HABEIS DE ENCARNAR EN VOSOTROS EL VIGOR DE LA VIDA QUE HA
HUIDO DE NUESTRAS VENAS, LA PUREZA DE LAS IDEAS QUE SE HA MANCHADO EN NUESTROS
CEREBROS Y EL FUEGO DEL ENTUSIASMO QUE SE HA APAGADO EN NUESTROS CORAZONES?…
¡OS ESPERAMOS, O JóVENES, VENID QUE OS ESPERAMOS!" - PADRE FLORENTINO, EL
FILIBUSTERISMO

ENGL ISH TRA NSL A TION:

′′ WHERE IS THE YOUTH THAT CONSECRATE THEIR PINK HOURS,
THEIR ILLUSIONS AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR
HOMELAND WHERE IS THE ONE WHO HAS TO POUR GENEROUS
BLOOD TO WASH SO MANY SHAME, SO MANY CRIMES, SO MUCH
ABOMINATION? PURE AND SPOTLESS MUST BE THE VICTIM FOR
THE HOLOCAUST TO BE ACCEPTABLE!... WHERE ARE YOU,
YOUNG PEOPLE, WHO WILL EMBODY IN YOU THE VIGOR OF LIFE
THAT HAS FLED OUR VEINS, THE PURITY OF IDEAS THAT HAVE
BEEN STAINED IN OUR BRAINS AND THE FIRE OF THE
ENTHUSIASM THAT HAS BEEN PUT OUT IN OUR HEARTS?... WE
WAIT FOR YOU, OR YOUNG PEOPLE, COME THAT WE WAIT FOR
YOU!"-FATHER FLORENTINO, THE FILIBUSTERISM
 THIS LITTLE GIRL IS
DOL ORES B L UMENTRITT,

THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF RIZAL'S

BEST FRIEND PROF. FERDINAND
BLUMENTRITT.

LOLENG, AS SHE WAS

AFFECTIONATELY CALLED, WAS BORN
ON 24 JUNE 1880. SHE WAS 6 YEARS
OLD IN THIS PHOTO. RIZAL MET 7-
YEAR-OLD LOLENG WHEN HE VISITED
THE BLUMENTRITT FAMILY IN
LEITMERITZ (NOW UNDER THE CZECH
REPUBLIC) IN 1887. RIZAL WAS FOND
OF THE BLUMENTRITT CHILDREN
CALLING THEM "MY LITTLE
BLUMENTRITTS" WHILE THEY
ADDRESSED HIM AS "UNCLE RIZAL'.
 IN JUNE 2016, RIZAL’S
SCULPTURE OF A WILD BOAR (JABALI)
WAS SOLD AT AUCTION FOR 17.5M
PESOS (WITH STARTING BID AT 3.8M).
IN JUNE 2018, A THREE-FOOT
WOODEN TRAY DEPICTING A MAN
LIFTING WEIGHTS ALSO MADE BY
RIZAL WAS ALSO SOLD FOR 17.5M
PESOS. BOTH ARTWORKS WERE MADE
BY THE NATIONAL HERO WHILE HE
WAS IN EXILE IN DAPITAN.
YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT HOW
ENTHUSIASTIC, AND COMPETITIVE,
ART COLLECTORS ARE IN THE
PHILIPPINES, ESPECIALLY THOSE
WITH DEEP POCKETS!

RIZAL’S SCULPTURE OF A WILD BOAR (JABALI) -

THIS IS A REPLICA DISPLAYED AT THE NATIONAL
MUSEUM.
THREE FEET ITONG TRAY NA ITO. ITO RAW AY
POSIBLENG LECHON TRAY!