ACTIVITY FOR WEEK 3- Kabanata 3

REVIEWER ON THE LIFE OF DR. JOSE RIZAL

1. DR. JOSE PROTACIO MERCADO RIZAL ALONZO Y REALONDA:
• Doctor- completed his medical course in Spain and was conferred
the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de
Madrid
• Jose- was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian
saint San Jose (St. Joseph)
• Protacio- from Gervacio P. which come from a Christian calendar
• Mercado- adopted in 1731 by Domigo Lamco (the paternal great-
greatgrandfather of Jose Rizal) which the Spanish term mercado means
‘market’ in English
• Rizal- from the word ‘Ricial’ in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut
while still green, sprouts again • Alonzo- old surname of his mother
• Y- and
• Realonda- it was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her
godmother based on the culture by that time
2. PARENTS: Francisco Rizal Mercado (father) and Teodora Alonzo
Realonda (mother)
3. THE RIZAL SIBLINGS: Saturnina, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria,
Concepion, Josefa, Trinidad, Soledad, Paciano and Jose.
4. The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado. True as they did not
used it because during those times, Mercado was a hot name targeted by the
Spaniards, so he used his adopted surname to protect his family.

5. Rizal’s family acquired a second surname Rizal, which given by a

Spanish alcalde mayor of Laguna, who was a family friend.

6. Rizal cultivated his literary talent under the guidance of Father

Francisco De Paula Sanchez, a Spanish Jesuit and his teacher in Ateneo.

7. Father Jose Vilaclara advised Rizal to stop communing with the muse
and pay more attention to practical studies.

8. Rizal studied painting under Agustin Saez, a famous Spanish painter and
sculpture under Romualdo De Jesus, a notable Filipino sculptor.
9. Rizal carved an image of the Virgin Mary on a piece of “batikuling”, a
Philippine hardwood, with his pocketknife.

10. Father Lleonart asked Rizal to carve him and sculpture of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus; was impress by Rizal’s sculptural talent.

11. ANECDOTES ON RIZAL, THE ATENEAN

Felix M. Roxas – one of Rizal's contemporaries in Ateneo which related an
incident of Rizal’s schooldays that reveals a hero’s resignation to pain and
forgiveness.
Manuel Xerez Burgos – it illustrates Rizal’s prediction to help the helpless at
the expense of his own life.
12. POEMS WRITTEN IN ATENEO

It was Doña Teodora who was first discovered the poetic genius and it was also
she who encouraged him to write poems. But it was Father Sanchez who
inspired Rizal to make full use of his God-given gift.

13. Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First Inspiration) 1874

Most likely, it was the first poem Jose Rizal had written during his stint at
Ateneo. This poem was written in honor of his mother’s birthday as suggested
by the terms “perfume of the flowers”, “the songs of the birds”, “feast your
day of bloom” and “festive day”. Jose Rizal’s poetic verses show his eternal
love and appreciation for his mother. This was somewhat his way of paying
tribute to all the efforts for him of her dear mother.

14. In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez, Rizal wrote more poems, as such:

1. Felicitation (Felicitacion, 1875)

The hero wrote it in 1875 during his schooling in the Ateneo de

Municipal. The 14-year old Rizal wrote this poem to congratulate his
brother-in-law, Antonio Lopez, husband of his sister Narcisa.

2. The Embarkation, A Hymn to Ferdinand Magellan’s Fleet (El Embarque:

Himno A La Flota De Magallanes, 1875)
 Rizal wrote this poem while he was a boarding student at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila. It was believed to have been his first poem that
had the honor of being read in a public program held at that school.
“Hymn to Magellan’s fleet”talked about the departure of Ferdinand
Magellan, the first man to colonize the Philippines.

3. And He Is Spanish: Elcano, The First To Circumnavigate The World (Y Es

Espanol: Elcano, El Primero En Dar La Vuelta Al Mundo, December 1875)

This poem is about Juan Sebastián Elcano, a Spanish Basque, Ferdinand

Magellan is second in command, who upon Magellan’s death on the
shores of Mactan in the Philippines, took over and completed the first
circumnavigation of the world.

4. The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo (El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror

De Jolo, December 1875)

The poem is a reflection of Rizal likes for history. Written to hail

Urbiztondo for the successful battle against the Muslims. In the poem,
the hero narrated how the great warrior defeated the Moros under
Sultan Mahumat of Jolo.

5. The Tragedy of St. Eustace (La Tragedia De San Eustaquio, June 1876)

This poem recounts the tragic story of St. Eustace. The original
manuscript of this poem no longer exists however as it may have been
destroyed during the WWII bombings. Nonetheless, the poem been
published in installments in a magazine, “Cultura Social” of the Ateneo.

15. In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various topics such as religion, education,
childhood memories and war. They were as follows:

1. In Memory of My Town (Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo, 1876)

Rizal loved his hometown Calamba in Laguna. He fondly remembered his

memories of the said town. In 1876, Rizal as a 15-year old student in the
Ateneo Municipal de Manila wrote the poem “In Memory of My Town”.
It written to express his love and appreciation for the place where he
grew up.
 2. Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education (Alianza Intima
Entre La Religion Y La Buena Educacion, 1876)

Jose Rizal believed that religion and good education go together.

Believing that there is a strong relationship between academics and
faith, he wrote the poem “Intimate Alliance between religion and good
education” at the age of fifteen while he was in Ateneo.

3. Education Gives Luster To The Motherland (Por La Educacion Recibe

Lustre La Patria, 1876)

Our national hero, despite his young age, had expressed high regards for
education. He believed in the significant role education plays in the
progress and welfare of a nation as evident in his poem “Education Gives
Luster to the Motherland”.

4. The Captivity and the Triumph: Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment
of Boabdil (El Cautiverio y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y Prision de
Boabdil, December 1876)

At 12 years of age, Rizal was believed to have read “El Ultimo

Abencerraje,” a Spanish translation of Chateaubriand's novel, “Le
Dernier des Abencérages.” This is the story of the last member of a
famous family in the Muslim Kingdom of Granada in the 15th century,
which later inspired Rizal to compose “The Captivity and the Triumph:
Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil” while studying in
Ateneo. In this poem, he described the defeat and capture of Boabdil,
last Moorish sultan of Granada.

5. Triumphant Entry of The Catholic Monarchs Into Granada (Entrada

Triunfal De Los Reyes Católicos En Granada, December 1876)

This poem of Jose Rizal relates the triumphant entry of Ferdinand and
Isabella, Spain’s “Most Catholic Kings,” into the city of Granada in 1492.
This entry is one of the most powerful symbolic moments in Spanish
history.

16. A year later, in 1877, Rizal wrote more poems. It was his last years in
Ateneo. Among the poems written that year were:

1. The Heroism of Columbus (El Heroismo De Colon, 1877)

 Jose Rizal wrote this epic poem in December 1877 during his academic
years in Ateneo Municipal de Manila. This poem praises Columbus, the
discoverer of America.

2. Columbus and John II (Colon y Juan II)

This poem relates how King John II of Portugal missed fame and riches by
his failure to finance the projected expedition of Columbus to the new
world.

3. Great Solace in Great Misfortune (Gran Consuelo En La Mayor

Desdicha, 1878)

This is a legend in verse of the tragic life of Columbus, the person

credited for discovering America.

4. A Farewell Dialogue of the Students (Un Dialogo Alusive A La

Despedida De Los Colegiales)

This was the last poem written by Rizal in Ateneo which again amazed
his teachers. It was a poignant poem of farewell to his classmates,
written just before he graduated from the Ateneo.

17.

1. Child Jesus (Al Nino Jesus, November 1875)

During his student days, the 14-year old Jose Rizal wrote “Al Niño Jesus”
(Child Jesus), a brief religious ode which expressed his devotion as a child
to Catholicism.

2. To the Virgin Mary (A La Virgen Maria, To Our Lady of Peace and Good
Voyage)

This undated poem was another religious writing Jose Rizal wrote in
praise of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

3. St. Eustace, the Martyr (San Eustacio, Martir)

Rizal wrote the religious drama in poetic verse during the summer of
1876 in Calamba and finished the manuscript of the same year in June. He
 then submitted it to Father Sanchez during his last academic year in
Unibersidad de Santo Tomas (UST).

18. UNHAPPY DAYS AT UST

Rizal was unhappy in the Dominican institution because:

• The Dominican professors were hostile to him.

• The Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the
Spaniards.
• The method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.
• He failed to win high scholastic honors due to the attitude of his
professors.

19. SHATTERING THE MYTH ABOUT RIZAL AND THE PONTIFICAL UST

Fact: 1. Rizal entered the UST in 1877, enrolling in the Pre-Law Course, which
was made up of philosophical subjects. The course was commonly called
metaphysics. He passed the course brilliantly with the highest grades in spite of
his initial indifference to philosophy and his youthful distractions through the
year. Then he opted for the career of medicine. And in 1878-1879 he took
simultaneously the Pre-Medical Course and the First Year of Medicine; this was
against the rules, but Rizal was favored with a dispensation. The Pre-Medicine
Course was also called Ampliacion, because the student, having taken already
Physics, Chemistry and Natural History in the high school, now took an
advanced course on the same subjects (Rizal did not take in Santo Tomas the
“class of physics” described in El Fili but rather in Ateneo).

Fact 2. It can hardy be said that Rizal was discriminated and treated shabbily by
the Dominicans since he was granted the rare privilege of studying
simultaneously in the Preparatory Course of Medicine and the First Year of
Medicine.

Fact 3.. Rizal’s inclinations and abilities must be taken into account. While he
was undoubtedly inclined to, and remarkably fitted for, the arts and letters, he
was not much attracted to Medicine. “Perhaps – says Leon Ma. Guerrero –
Medicine was not his real vocation”. Medicine was a convenient career taken
up in consideration of the poor health of Rizal’s mother, whom he wanted to
help, and eventually helped as a physician.
Fact 4. When Rizal transferred to Spain and continued his studies at the
University of Madrid, he showed there similar characteristics. He was
sobresaliente in the humanistic studies (literature, languages, history), while in
Medicine he fared worse than at the University of Santo Tomas. Ye no historian
or biographer has ever complained about his poor performance in Madrid or
hinted that Rizal was discriminated against in that Central University.

Fact 5. Rizal had Dominican friends in the persons of Fr. Evaristo Arias and Fr.
Joaquin Fonseca. It was while studying at UST that Rizal obtained public
recognition as a poet. It was the Dominican, Fr. Arias who helped him cultivate
his craft in poetry. During his Thomasian years, Rizal composed the best poems
of his pre-European period, one of them being A la Juventud Filipina, winner of
the first prize in the contest organized by the Liceo Artistico-Literario in 1879.

20. RIZAL AS BOY MAGICIAN

Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in magic. He learned various
tricks such as making a coin appear or disappear in his fingers and making a
handkerchief vanish in thin air. He entertained his town folks with magic-
lantern exhibitions.

21. RIZAL AS LOVER OF BOOKS

Rizal grew up in a home with a large library—a rarity in the nineteenth century
Philippines. Thus, he developed a liking for books and learning. In Europe,
though he was on a shoestring budget, with his allowance sometimes arriving
late, he would still scrimp and save to buy books.

22. RIZAL AS A MASON

Rizal was a freemason who condemned the corrupt ways of the Church and
upheld individual and national liberty. When Rizal arrived in Spain in 1882, he
found a country that was strongly influenced by Masonic thought.

23. RIZAL AS MUSICIAN

Rizal was not deemed as an excellent flutist or singer but he went on with his
musical inclinations by composing his own songs. Most of the songs were his
poems that were set to music. His popular novels, Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo also contained several passages and references concerning
music.
24. RIZAL AS HISTORIAN

For Rizal, although not a professional historian, was a dedicated student of

history and made significant contributions to Philippine historiography, among
which were the annotated edition of Dr. Antonio Morga's Sucesos , and the
essays "Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años" and "La Indolencia de los Filipinos."

Week 2:
Read, understand, and analyze the poem written by Rizal. (1) Relate it in your
life as friend of Dr. Jose Rizal and (2) relate it in our way of socializing with our
co-cadets inside the academy. Lastly, (3) what is the implication of the poem to
our society at present.
Kapagka ang baya'y sadyáng umiibig
Sa kanyáng salitáng kaloob ng langit,
Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan

Sabayan, sa nayo't mga kaharián,
Atang isáng tao'y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaán.

Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salitâ

Mahigit sa hayop at malansáng isdâ,
Kayâ ang marapat pagyamaning kusà
Na tulad sa ináng tunay na nagpalà.

Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin

Sa Inglés, Kastilà at salitang anghel,
Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingín
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.

Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba

Namay alfabeto at sariling letra,
Nakaya nawalá'y dinatnan ng sigwâ
Ang lunday sa lawà noóng dakong una.