100

TRIVIAS
ABOUT RIZAL

SUBMITTED BY: IVY MEDENILLA

BSBA OM 31M1
JOSE RIZAL WAS BORN ON JUNE 19, 1861, IN CALAMBA, LAGUNA,
PHILIPPINES.
HIS FULL NAME IS JOSÉ PROTASIO RIZAL MERCADO Y ALONSO
REALONDA.
HE WAS THE SEVENTH OF 11 CHILDREN BORN TO FRANCISCO
MERCADO AND TEODORA ALONSO.
RIZAL’S PARENTS WERE WELL-EDUCATED AND OWNED A FARM IN
CALAMBA, LAGUNA.
HIS FATHER, FRANCISCO, WAS A FARMER AND A MINOR OFFICIAL IN
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WHILE HIS MOTHER, TEODORA, WAS A
HIGHLY EDUCATED WOMAN WHO WAS FLUENT IN SEVERAL
LANGUAGES.
RIZAL’S SIBLINGS WERE SATURNINA, PACIANO, NARCISA, OLYMPIA,
LUCIA, MARIA, CONCEPCION, JOSEFA, TRINIDAD, AND SOLEDAD.
RIZAL WAS A POLYMATH, A PERSON WHO EXCELS IN MULTIPLE FIELDS
OF STUDY, INCLUDING LITERATURE, MEDICINE, AND POLITICAL
SCIENCE.
HE WAS ALSO A PAINTER AND A SCULPTOR, AND HE USED THESE
TALENTS TO EXPRESS HIS IDEAS AND FEELINGS.
RIZAL IS CONSIDERED THE NATIONAL HERO OF THE PHILIPPINES FOR
HIS ROLE IN THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION AGAINST SPAIN.
HE IS ALSO KNOWN FOR HIS NOVELS, NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL
FILIBUSTERISMO, WHICH EXPOSED THE INJUSTICES AND CORRUPTION
IN THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES.
RIZAL WAS A LEADER OF THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT, A GROUP OF
FILIPINO INTELLECTUALS WHO SOUGHT REFORMS IN THE SPANISH
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH PEACEFUL MEANS.
HE STUDIED AT THE ATENEO MUNICIPAL DE MANILA, A JESUIT
SCHOOL, AND LATER AT THE UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE MADRID IN
SPAIN, WHERE HE EARNED A DEGREE IN MEDICINE.
RIZAL ALSO STUDIED IN PARIS, FRANCE, WHERE HE WAS INFLUENCED
BY THE IDEAS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE
ENLIGHTENMENT.
HE SPOKE SEVERAL LANGUAGES FLUENTLY, INCLUDING TAGALOG,
SPANISH, ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, AND JAPANESE.
RIZAL WAS A MEMBER OF LA LIGA FILIPINA, A CIVIC ORGANIZATION HE
FOUNDED IN 1892 TO UNITE FILIPINOS AND WORK FOR REFORMS IN
THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.
HOWEVER, THE ORGANIZATION WAS SHORT-LIVED, AS RIZAL WAS
ARRESTED AND EXILED TO DAPITAN, MINDANAO, BY THE SPANISH
AUTHORITIES.
WHILE IN DAPITAN, RIZAL ESTABLISHED A SCHOOL FOR LOCAL
CHILDREN, DEVELOPED A WATER SYSTEM, AND ENGAGED IN
AGRICULTURE AND OTHER PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY.
RIZAL WAS KNOWN FOR HIS LOVE OF LITERATURE, AND HE WAS
FRIENDS WITH MANY FAMOUS WRITERS AND INTELLECTUALS OF HIS
TIME, INCLUDING VICTOR HUGO AND FERDINAND BLUMENTRITT.
HE WAS ALSO A PROLIFIC WRITER HIMSELF, AND HE WROTE MANY
POEMS, ESSAYS, AND ARTICLES, AS WELL AS HIS TWO NOVELS.
RIZAL WAS A FREEMASON, AND HE JOINED THE ACACIA LODGE NO. 9
IN MANILA IN 1884.
HE ALSO WROTE A POEM ENTITLED “MY LAST FAREWELL,” WHICH HE
WROTE THE NIGHT BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, AND WHICH IS
CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS POEMS IN PHILIPPINE
LITERATURE.
RIZAL WAS EXECUTED ON DECEMBER 30, 1896, BY A FIRING SQUAD IN
BAGUMBAYAN, NOW KNOWN AS RIZAL PARK, IN MANILA.
HIS EXECUTION WAS A TURNING POINT IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND
INSPIRED THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION AGAINST SPAIN.
RIZAL’S DEATH ALSO MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE PHILIPPINE-
AMERICAN WAR, AS THE UNITED STATES TOOK CONTROL OF THE
PHILIPPINES AFTER SPAIN CEDED IT TO THEM AS PART OF THE
TREATY OF PARIS IN 1898.
RIZAL’S EXECUTION IS COMMEMORATED EVERY YEAR IN THE
PHILIPPINES AS RIZAL DAY.
RIZAL’S SISTER, NARCISA, RETRIEVED HIS BODY FROM THE
EXECUTION SITE AND SECRETLY BURIED IT IN PACO CEMETERY IN
MANILA.
RIZAL'S REMAINS WERE LATER EXHUMED AND INTERRED IN RIZAL
MONUMENT IN RIZAL PARK, MANILA IN 1912.
RIZAL'S LIFE AND WORKS INSPIRED MANY REVOLUTIONARIES AND
NATIONALISTS, INCLUDING ANDRES BONIFACIO AND EMILIO
AGUINALDO.
RIZAL'S WORKS WERE BANNED BY THE SPANISH COLONIAL
GOVERNMENT, BUT THEY WERE SMUGGLED INTO THE PHILIPPINES AND
CIRCULATED UNDERGROUND.
THE PUBLICATION OF RIZAL'S NOVELS, NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL
FILIBUSTERISMO, HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
AND PAVED THE WAY FOR THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION.
RIZAL'S NOVELS ARE REQUIRED READING IN PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS AND
UNIVERSITIES AND ARE CONSIDERED IMPORTANT WORKS OF
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE.
RIZAL WAS A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR EDUCATION, AND HE BELIEVED
THAT IT WAS THE KEY TO THE PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES.

RIZAL'S MOTHER, TEODORA ALONSO, IS CONSIDERED A HERO IN HER

OWN RIGHT FOR HER ROLE IN INSTILLING IN RIZAL A LOVE OF
LEARNING AND A SENSE OF NATIONAL PRIDE.
RIZAL WAS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND
BELIEVED IN THE EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN.
RIZAL WAS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND
BELIEVED IN THE EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN.
RIZAL'S SISTER, SATURNINA, WAS THE FIRST FILIPINO WOMAN TO
EARN A DEGREE FROM A UNIVERSITY, GRADUATING FROM THE
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS IN MANILA IN 1884.
RIZAL WAS ALSO A SKILLED FENCER AND WAS TRAINED IN THE ART OF
EUROPEAN SWORDSMANSHIP.
RIZAL WAS A MEMBER OF THE CIRCULO HISPANO-FILIPINO, A
LITERARY SOCIETY THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER FILIPINO AND SPANISH
WRITERS AND INTELLECTUALS.
RIZAL'S ESSAYS AND ARTICLES ON PHILIPPINE CULTURE AND SOCIETY
ARE STILL STUDIED AND ANALYZED BY SCHOLARS AND HISTORIANS
TODAY.
RIZAL WAS A GIFTED MUSICIAN AND WAS PROFICIENT IN PLAYING THE
PIANO, GUITAR, AND FLUTE.
RIZAL'S TRAVELS TO EUROPE AND ASIA EXPOSED HIM TO DIFFERENT
CULTURES AND IDEAS, WHICH HE INCORPORATED INTO HIS WRITING
AND THINKING.
RIZAL WAS DEEPLY INFLUENCED BY THE WORKS OF THE GERMAN
PHILOSOPHER FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, AND HIS IDEAS ON
INDIVIDUALISM AND SELF-REALIZATION CAN BE SEEN IN RIZAL'S
WRITINGS.
RIZAL WAS ALSO INFLUENCED BY THE IDEAS OF THE ITALIAN
NATIONALIST GIUSEPPE MAZZINI, AND HIS BELIEF IN THE IMPORTANCE
OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION.
RIZAL'S LIFE AND WORKS CONTINUE TO INSPIRE FILIPINOS AND
PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE, FREEDOM, AND
EQUALITY.
RIZAL IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE "PRIDE OF THE MALAY RACE"
FOR HIS ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO PHILIPPINE HISTORY
AND CULTURE.
RIZAL'S DEATH WAS A CATALYST FOR THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION
AGAINST SPAIN, WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO THE COUNTRY'S
INDEPENDENCE IN 1898.
RIZAL'S LEGACY IS CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR IN THE PHILIPPINES
DURING NATIONAL HEROES DAY AND RIZAL DAY.
RIZAL'S IDEAS AND WRITINGS CONTINUE TO BE STUDIED AND
ANALYZED BY SCHOLARS AND STUDENTS OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND
LITERATURE.
RIZAL'S LOVE FOR HIS COUNTRY AND HIS PEOPLE IS REFLECTED IN
HIS WRITINGS, WHICH ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND POLITICAL
REFORM.
RIZAL'S WRITINGS ALSO REFLECT HIS DEEP FAITH IN GOD AND HIS
BELIEF IN THE POWER OF EDUCATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT.
RIZAL'S LIFE AND WORKS CONTINUE TO INSPIRE FILIPINOS TO WORK
FOR A BETTER FUTURE AND TO FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION AND
INJUSTICE.
RIZAL'S IMAGE IS FEATURED ON PHILIPPINE PESO BILLS AND COINS
AND IS A SYMBOL OF THE COUNTRY'S NATIONAL PRIDE AND IDENTITY.
RIZAL'S STATUE STANDS IN FRONT OF MANY PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND
UNIVERSITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES AS A REMINDER OF HIS
CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY AND CULTURE.
RIZAL WAS A POLYGLOT, FLUENT IN 22 LANGUAGES INCLUDING
TAGALOG, SPANISH, ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, AND CHINESE.
RIZAL WAS A PROLIFIC WRITER, WITH OVER 100 PIECES OF WORK,
INCLUDING ESSAYS, POETRY, AND NOVELS.
RIZAL WAS A MAN OF MANY TALENTS, IN ADDITION TO BEING A
WRITER, HE WAS ALSO A PAINTER, SCULPTOR, AND A MEDICAL
DOCTOR.
RIZAL'S NOVEL NOLI ME TANGERE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN BERLIN,
GERMANY IN 1887.
RIZAL WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE FREEMASONRY, A FRATERNAL
ORGANIZATION THAT PROMOTES MORAL AND PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
RIZAL'S LETTERS TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS PROVIDE A GLIMPSE
INTO HIS PERSONAL LIFE AND HIS THOUGHTS ON POLITICS AND
SOCIETY.
RIZAL WAS AN ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL REFORMS,
INCLUDING THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY AND THE PROMOTION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS.
RIZAL'S LIFE AND WORKS CONTINUE TO INSPIRE ARTISTS, WRITERS,
AND MUSICIANS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND AROUND THE WORLD.
RIZAL'S IDEAS ON EDUCATION, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND NATIONAL
IDENTITY ARE STILL RELEVANT TODAY AND CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE
FILIPINO SOCIETY.
RIZAL'S ADVOCACY FOR SOCIAL REFORMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS MADE
HIM A TARGET OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH SAW
HIM AS A THREAT TO THEIR AUTHORITY.
RIZAL'S EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD ON DECEMBER 30, 1896,
BECAME A SYMBOL OF THE STRUGGLE FOR PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE.
RIZAL'S DEATH INSPIRED THE KATIPUNAN, A REVOLUTIONARY
MOVEMENT LED BY ANDRES BONIFACIO, WHICH SOUGHT TO
OVERTHROW SPANISH COLONIAL RULE.
RIZAL'S LEGACY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE FILIPINOS TO FIGHT FOR
THEIR RIGHTS AND TO WORK TOWARDS A BETTER FUTURE FOR THEIR
COUNTRY.
JOSE RIZAL WAS A NAUGHTY BOY IN THE FAMOUS “MOTH AND LAMP”
STORY
THE YOUNG JOSE RIZAL EXPERIMENTED WITH DRUGS
HERE ARE THREE ANIMALS NAMED AFTER RIZAL
 THE RIZAL MONUMENT IN LUNETA WAS NOT MADE BY A FILIPINO
ARTIST
RIZAL CURED HIMSELF OF TUBERCULOSIS AND WAS LATER
RECOGNIZED AS A TUBERCULOSIS EXPERT
HE WAS ALREADY A TERRIFIC SCULPTOR EVEN AT A VERY YOUNG AGE
WHEN HE WAS STUDYING IN SPAIN, RIZAL HAD TO PAWN A RING
OWNED BY HIS SISTER SATURNINA JUST TO PAY FOR HIS EXAMS
BUT HE DIDN’T WANT HIS LOVED ONES TO GET WORRIED, SO HE ONLY
MENTIONED HIS VICTORIES AND EXCELLENT GRADES IN THE LETTERS
ADDRESSED TO HIS FAMILY.
“MI RETIRO”, THE NAME OF HIS PLACE IN DAPITAN, WAS INSPIRED BY
HIS FAVORITE PARK IN SPAIN, THE PARQUE DEL BUEN RETIRO.
JOSE RIZAL’S ANTI-CHINESE SENTIMENT
RIZAL IS REGARDED BY MANY AS THE “FATHER OF PHILIPPINE COMICS”
BECAUSE OF SOME HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATIONS HE MADE IN GERMANY
RIZAL WAS WIDELY FEATURED IN CIGARETTE WRAPPERS
RIZAL WAS EXCEPTIONAL AND PROLIFIC IN A WIDE RANGE OF
SUBJECTS–EXCEPT MUSIC
VITAL STATISTICS: RIZAL WAS ABOUT FIVE FEET THREE INCHES TALL
AND HAD A WAISTLINE OF ABOUT 25″ TO 26.”
IT WAS RUMORED THAT BOTH ADOLF HITLER AND MAO ZEDONG WERE
THE ILLEGITIMATE SONS OF JOSE RIZAL
RIZAL HAD A THIRD, UNFINISHED NOVEL
RIZAL PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF ONCOMELANIA
CUADRASI, A PHILIPPINE SNAIL THAT HARBORS THE PARASITE THAT
CAUSES SCHISTOSOMIASIS
WHILE IN DAPITAN, RIZAL WROTE AN EXTENSIVE WRITTEN DISCOURSE
ON KULAM
A DESCENDANT OF ONE OF THE EXECUTIONERS, ADOLFO PASTOR
QUETCUTI, REVEALED THAT THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS PUT ONLY
ONE LIVE BULLET IN ONE OF THE RIFLES WHILE PLACING BLANKS IN
THE OTHERS
NOT ALL OF RIZAL’S SKELETAL REMAINS WERE BURIED UNDER THE
MONUMENT IN LUNETA
RIZAL’S ORIGINAL EXECUTION PHOTO FEATURES A DOG, THE MASCOT
OF THE FIRING SQUAD
RIZAL STUFFED UNKNOWN PAPERS IN HIS POCKETS AND SHOES ON
THE EVE OF HIS EXECUTION
HE LEFT SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW HE WANTED TO BE
TREATED AFTER HIS DEATH

REFERENCE:
65 FACTS ABOUT JOSE RIZAL: THE NATIONAL HERO OF THE
PHILIPPINES. (N.D.). HTTPS://WWW.FACTSCRUSH.COM/2023/03/FACTS-
ABOUT-JOSE-RIZAL.HTML
FILIPIKNOW. (2019, JUNE 18). 36 AMAZING FACTS YOU PROBABLY
DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT JOSE RIZAL. FILIPIKNOW.
HTTPS://FILIPIKNOW.NET/JOSE-RIZAL-FACTS/