Dr Iose k|za| (18611896)

by S|r Ie||x C Gonza|es kCk

ur !ose 8lzal ls Lhe greaLesL hero of Lhe hlllpplnes Cod has rlchly blessed ur 8lzal wlLh superb lnLellecLual
moral and physlcal quallLles Pls Codglven LalenLs he hlghly consecraLed maklng hlm sacrlflce hls llfe for Lhe
redempLlon of hls own people Pe was born on !une 19 1861 !ose was Lhe sevenLh of Lhe elevenLh chlld of
lranclsco Mercado 8lzal and 1eodora Alonso 8ealonda
When !ose was born Lhe dellvery was exLremely dlfflculL Pls moLher almosL dled LaLer !ose wroLe my
arrlval ln Lhls valley of Lears would have cosL my moLher her llfe had she noL vowed Lo Lhe vlrgln of AnLlpolo
LhaL she would Lake me on a pllgrlmage Lo LhaL shrlne 1he boy was bapLlzed by 8ev 8uflno CollanLes ln Lhe
CaLhollc church ln Calamba on !une 22 1861 1he 8lzal (Mercado) famlly was blessed wlLh eleven chlldren
Lwo boys and nlne glrls 1hey were as follows SaLurnlna aclano narclsa Clympla Lucla Marla !CSL
Concepclon !osefa 1rlnldad and Soledad ln 1849 Covernor Claverla lssued a decree LhaL all llllplno famllles
should choose new famlly names from a llsL of Spanlsh famlly names !ose lranclsco Mercado chose hls own
surname 8lzal from Lhe Spanlsh word tlclol whlch means green fleld or new pasLure
!ose was very frall when he was a llLLle boy Pe geLs all Lhe aLLenLlon from boLh hls parenLs hls oyo (mald) and
Lhe resL of Lhe famlly AL nlghL Mercado famlly would gaLher LogeLher Lhe chlldren Lo pray Lhe Angelus AfLer
Lhe prayers Lhelr moLher would Lell Lhem sLorles of falrles of burled Lreasures and oLher fabulous sLorles 8uL
Lhe deaLh of !ose's llLLle slsLer Concha had hurL hlm so much 1he deaLh of hls llLLle slsLer was hls flrsL sorrow
8efore !ose wenL Lo 8lnan Laguna for formal schoollng he has been proflclenL ln Lhe brush chlsel penknlfe
and Lhe pen Pe wroLe a poem enLlLled Sa klng Mga kababaLa (1o My lellow Chlldren) lrom 1870 Lo 1871
!ose aLLended Lhe prlvaLe school of MaesLro !usLlnlano Aqulno Cruz 1he school was a nlpa house whlch ls also
Lhe house of Lhe Leacher noL Loo far away from !ose's aunL Pe excelled ln Spanlsh LaLln and oLher sub[ecLs
1lme came when !ose learned all Lhe Lhlngs LhaL MaesLro !usLlnlano could Leach hlm Pe should be senL Lo
college ln Manlla
Cn !une 10 1872 !ose Look Lhe enLrance examlnaLlons aL Lhe College of San !uan de LeLran and passed Lhem
all Pls faLher changed hls mlnd abouL sendlng !ose Lo LeLran lnsLead declded Lo send hlm Lo ALeneo Cn hls
flrsL day ln class !ose was placed aL Lhe boLLom of Lhe class AfLer Lhe flrsL week Lhe frall boy progressed
rapldly AL Lhe end of Lhe monLh he was Lhe brlghLesL ln Lhe whole class AL Lhe end of hls second year ln
ALeneo he recelved excellenL grades ln all sub[ecLs and a gold medal !ose Lopped all hls classmaLes ln all
sub[ecLs and won flve medals aL Lhe end of Lhe Lerm Pe graduaLed wlLh Lhe hlghesL grades ln all sub[ecLs !ose
recelved from ALeneo Lhe degree of 8achelor of ArLs
!ose 8lzal flnlshed hls flrsL year wlLh a course of hllosophy and LeLLers Lhen he Lransferred Lo Lhe medlcal
course aL Lhe unlverslLy of SLo 1omas 1he prlmary reason why he wanLs Lo enroll ln medlcal school ls Lo cure
hls moLher's falllng eyeslghL and Lhe laLher 8ecLor of Lhe ALeneo recommended LhaL he Lake a course ln
medlclne
!ose ls very forLunaLe Lo be able Lo go Lo school ln Manlla Pe sLudled aL Lhe ALeneo de Manlla and Lhe
unlverslLy of SLo 1omas ln 1879 ArLlsLlc LlLerary Lyceum of Manlla a socleLy of llLerary men and arLlsLs held a
llLerary conLesL !ose 8lzal aL LhaL Llme only elghLeen years old submlLLed Lhe poem A La !uvenLud llllplna (1o
Lhe llllplno ?ouLh) where he earned flrsL prlze 1hls was Lhe flrsL poem ever wrlLLen by a naLlve llllplno and lL
arose Lhe naLlonallsLlc concepL among Lhe llllplnos
!ose 8lzal flnlshed four years ln a medlcal course aL Lhe unlverslLy of SLo 1omas Pe was expecLlng Lo have
goLLen hlgher grades buL due Lo dlscrlmlnaLlon of Lhe uomlnlcan frlars !ose dld noL galn whaL he expecLed
AgalnsL Lhe wlll of hls parenLs he lefL for Spaln on May 3 1882 AfLer several weeks passlng dlfferenL Lowns
and clLles ln lrance ur 8lzal arrlved ln 8arcelona Pe wroLe Lhe essay Amor aLrlo (Love of CounLry) Lhe flrsL
he wroLe ln Spaln Pe senL Lhls essay Lo Manlla Lo be publlshed by Lhe edlLorlal sLaff of Lhe ularlong 1agalog
Pe used Lhe pen name Laong Laan
Cn november 3 1882 8lzal enrolled ln Lhe unlversldad CenLral de Madrld ln Lwo courses Medlclne and
hllosophy and LeLLers Pe dld everyLhlng Lo learn dlfferenL skllls whlle he was ln Madrld Pe knew LhaL he has
Lo prepare hlmself for servlce Lo hls faLherland Pe sLrlcLly budgeLed hls money and Llme lL was ln Spaln where
he became a Mason Pe adopLed Lhe Masonlc name ulmasalang belonglng Lo Lhe Masonlc Lodge Acacla Cn
!une 21 1884 8lzal was awarded Lhe degree of LlcenLlaLe ln Medlclne 1he nexL academlc year he passed all
sub[ecLs leadlng Lo Lhe degree of uocLor of Medlclne
AfLer compleLlng hls sLudles ln Spaln ur 8lzal wenL Lo arls and 8erlln Lo speclallze ln ophLhalmology ln arls
he worked as an asslsLanL Lo ur Louls de WeckerL leadlng lrench ophLhalmologlsLs Cn lebruary 8 1886 he
arrlved ln Peldelberg lL was ln Peldelberg Cermany where he flnlshed hls novel noll Me 1angere 1he sequel
Ll llllbusLerlsmo followed soon when lL was prlnLed ln ChenL on SepLember 18 1891 Pe laLer moved Lo Lhe
home of asLor karl ullmer ln Wllhelmsfeld ln Peldelberg he worked ln Lhe cllnlc of ur !avler Calezowsky a
ollsh ophLhalmologlsL and sLudled under ur CLLo 8ecker a Cerman auLhorlLy on ophLhalmology Whlle ln
8erlln ur 8lzal was ln deep flnanclal Lrouble aclano could noL send hlm enough money for hls crop falled
ur 8lzal's healLh broke due Lo lack of proper nuLrlLlon
ur !ose 8lzal was abouL LwenLyfour years old when he wroLe hls flrsL novel noll Me 1angere Pe wroLe Lhe
flrsL half ln Madrld and anoLher quarLer ln arls lL was flnlshed ln Cermany on Lhe 21sL of lebruary 1887 1he
noll as lL would be affecLlonaLely called was prlnLed ln Lhe lmprenLa LeLLe ln 8erlln 1wo Lhousand coples
were prlnLed by March 1887 wlLh Lhe help of a loan of 300 coples form hls frlend ur Maxlmo vlola ur 8lzal
dedlcaLed hls novel Lo hls counLry Pe hlmself explalned LhaL he wroLe Lhe noll Lo awaken Lhe feellngs of hls
counLrymen roof of Lhe success of hls alm ln wrlLlng Lhe novel was Lhe reacLlon Lo lL by Lhe frlar and Lhe
Spanlsh governmenL ln Lhe hlllpplnes lL was pronounced hereLlcal and subverslve by Lhe Church and SLaLe
1hose who were caughL ln possesslon of lL were sub[ecL Lo arresL and lmprlsonmenL 1he hlllpplne
governmenL laLer purchased Lhe manuscrlpL for Lhe 8lrLh CenLennlal of ur 8lzal for Lhe sum of LwenLy flve
Lhousand pesos lL ls presenLly sLored ln a vaulL on Lhe naLlonal Llbrary
Cn AugusL 6 1887 he arrlved ln Manlla Pe reached Calamba on AugusL 8 and was recelved by hls famlly wlLh
greaL [oy Pe esLabllshed a medlcal cllnlc ln Calamba and he operaLed on hls moLher's double caLaracL news
of Lhe success of Lhe operaLlon spread far
ur 8lzal was forced Lo go abroad for Lhe second Llme ln lebruary 1888 1he reason why he lefL Lhe hlllpplnes
was because he was hounded by a loL of hls enemles Pls novel noll exposed Lhe deplorable condlLlons of
Lenancy ln Calamba 1he frlars also wanL Lo ellmlnaLe ur !ose 8lzal uurlng hls sLay ln Pong kong he wroLe Lo
hls frlend lerdlnand 8lumenLrlLL where he expressed hls blLLerness and frusLraLlons ln Lhe hlllpplnes Pe wenL
on wlLh hls [ourney and sLayed ln !apan for one and a half monLh Per arrlved ln ?okohama and proceeded Lo
1okyo Lhe nexL day Pe was favorably lmpressed ln Lhe !apanese cusLoms and culLure of Lhe people Pe was
parLlcularly lmpressed by Lhe beauLy of Lhe counLry Lhe cleanllness pollLeness and lndusLry of Lhe !apanese lL
was ln !apan where ur 8lzal meL CSelSan ur 8lzal's love for CSelSan was aLLesLed ln hls dlary Cn Aprll 13
1888 he boarded Lhe Lngllsh sLeamer Lhe 8elglc bound for Lhe unlLed SLaLes
1he sLeamer arrlved ln San lranclsco on Aprll 28 1888 AfLer a week of quaranLlne ur 8lzal was allowed Lo
land ur 8lzal reglsLered aL Lhe alace PoLel ln San lranclsco on May 4 1888 Cn May 6 1888 he lefL San
lranclsco vla a ferry Lo Cakland Pe boarded a Lraln on May 7 passlng Lhrough 8eno Cgden uenver and SalL
Lake ClLy Pe passed Lhrough Cmaha nebraska before reachlng Lhe Mlssourl 8lver Cn May 11 1888 he
passed by Chlcago Pe Lhen proceeded Lhrough nlagara lalls Canada Cn May 13 he reached new ?ork endlng
hls Lrlp across Lhe unlLed SLaLes Pe lefL new ?ork on May 16 1888 for Llverpool Lngland on board Lhe lty of
kome
ln London ur 8lzal sLayed aL Lhe home of ur AnLonlo Ma 8egldor a pracLlclng lawyer LaLer ur 8lzal was a
boarder of Lhe 8eckeLL famlly 8lzal spenL much Llme ln Lhe 8rlLlsh Museum concenLraLlng over Lhe pages of
Morga's 5ocesos Je los lslos llllploos and oLher hlsLorlcal works ln Lhe hlllpplnes Pe moved Lo arls ln March
1889 Pe found lL dlfflculL Lo flnd a place Lo llve ln for all Lhe raLes are beyond hls means Pe shared quarLers
wlLh Lwo oLher llllplnos CaplLan !usLo 1rlnldad and !ose AlberL ur 8lzal conLlnued Lo sLudy lrench and could
speak and wrlLe lL llke a lrenchman AL Lhe end of March he organlzed hls polsooos lnLo a socleLy called klJlot
lob lL was ln arls LhaL he flnlshed Lhe annoLaLed edlLlon of Morga's 5ocessos and prlnLed by Carnler lreres
1he ldea of esLabllshlng a college for llllplnos ln Pong kong was concelved ln arls unlucklly Lhe ldea never
maLerlallzed Powever ur 8lzal was able Lo esLabllsh a school for boys ln uaplLan
ur 8lzal moved Lo 8russels on !anuary 28 1890 due Lo Lwo reasons 1he cosL of llvlng ln arls ls very hlgh and
hls soclal llfe hampers hls llLerary works 8lzal was busy wrlLlng Lhe Ll llllbusLerlsmo and sLlll flnds Llme ln
wrlLlng arLlcles for Lhe La Solldarldad Pe Look a parL Llme [ob ln Lhe medlcal cllnlc Pe recelved sad news
regardlng hls famlly and so he made Lhe declslon Lo go back Lo Lhe hlllpplnes 8y early AugusL 1890 8lzal
arrlved ln Madrld Lo Lry all legal means Lo seek [usLlce for hls famlly and Lhe Calamba LenanLs Pe asked Lhe
help of Lhe AssoclaLlon Plspanollllplna and Lhe Spanlsh newspaper La !usLlcla Ll ula Ll Clobo La 8epubllca
and Ll 8esumen noLhlng came ouL of 8lzal's efforLs Lo seek [usLlce for hls fellow men back home Pls
frusLraLlons Lurned hlm back Lo 8rlarrlLz 8elglum Lo sLay for a whlle wlLh Lhe 8ousLead famlly Powever he
declded Lo go back Lo 8russels Lo flnlsh hls second novel
Pe began wrlLlng Lhe Ll llllbusLerlsmo ln Calamba Whlle ln London he made some changes ln Lhe ploL and
revlsed some chapLers Pe made more chapLers ln arls Madrld and 8rlarrlLz Pe flnlshed Lhe manuscrlpL on
March 29 1891 and had lL prlnLed ln ChenL 1he Ll llllbusLerlsmo came ouL of Lhe press on SepLember 18
1891 Cn CcLober 18 1891 ur 8lzal boarded Lhe sLeamer Melbourne for Pong kong uurlng hls voyage he
sLarLed Lo wrlLe hls Lhlrd novel ln 1agalog 1hls novel was lnLended for Lhe 1agalog readers buL never flnlshed
Lhe work Pe arrlved ln Pong kong where he was [olned by hls famlly who was ln exlle due Lo persecuLlon from
Lhe Spanlsh auLhorlLles ur 8lzal concelved Lhe esLabllshmenL of a llllplno colony ln 8orneo Pe planned Lo
move Lhe landless llllplno famllles ln LhaL vlrgln wllderness and call lL new Calamba ln Aprll 1892 ur 8lzal
wenL Lo 8orneo Lo negoLlaLe wlLh Lhe 8rlLlsh auLhorlLles and hls mlsslon was a success Pe planned Lo seLLle aL
8engkoka 8lver ln Maradu 8lver 1he 8rlLlsh governmenL was wllllng Lo glve Lhe llllplno colonlsL 100000 acres
of land free of all charges for 999 years
Cn !une 26 1892 8lzal arrlved ln Manlla A week laLer he founded Lhe Llga llllplna lour days laLer he was
arresLed and exlled Lo uaplLan Pe wasLed no Llme durlng hls deporLaLlon where he even enrlched hls llfe
Lhere by pracLlclng medlclne conducLlng sclenLlflc researches engaglng ln buslness and farmlng ln lebruary
1893 uona 1eodora reLurned Lo Manlla upon her requesL he wroLe a poem ln uaplLan enLlLled Ml 8eLlro
!osephlne 8racken arrlved ln uaplLan on lebruary 1893 wlLh a bllnd man named Mr 1aufer 1hey came all Lhe
way from Pong kong Lo geL medlcal help from ur !ose 8lzal ur 8lzal and !osephlne fell ln love wlLh each
oLher buL were refused by laLher Cbach wlLhouL Lhe permlsslon of Lhe 8lshop of Cebu Slnce no prlesL would
marry Lhem ur 8lzal and !osephlne held hands LogeLher and marrled Lhemselves before Lhe eyes of Cod
!osephlne had a mlscarrlage Lo an elghLmonLh baby boy who llved only for Lhree hours ur 8lzal named hls
losL son lranclsco ln honor of hls faLher 1he baby boy was burled ln uaplLan Cn !uly 31 1896 ur 8lzal's exlle
was over
ur 8lzal lefL for Cuba where he hoped Lo conLrlbuLe hls medlcal sklll Lo combaL Lhe yellow fever epldemlc Pe
was arresLed and was broughL back Lo Manlla and lmprlsoned aL lorL SanLlago Pls Lrlal by courLmarLlal on
uecember 26 1896 was a farce ur 8lzal was glven Lhe only rlghL Lo choose hls own counsel Pe chose uon
Luls 1avlel de Andrade who ls Lhe broLher of hls own bodyguard ln Calamba ln 1887 Pe was accused of Lhree
crlmes rebelllon sedlLlon and lllegal assoclaLlon 1he verdlcL was deaLh by flrlng squad and was execuLed on
uecember 30 1896 aL 8agumbayan Cn Lhe eve of hls execuLlon he wroLe hls Ml ulLlmo Adlos whlch he hld ln
an alcohol cooklng sLove (oLher auLhors clalm lL as a lamp) and gave lL Lo her slsLer 1rlnldad 1he followlng
mornlng he was marched Lo 8agumbayan Pe was dressed eleganLly ln black sulL Pls arms were Lled behlnd
from elbow Lo elbow 1he Spanlsh capLaln was ln sLrlcL orders Lo shooL ur 8lzal on hls back ur 8lzal wlLh all
hls mlghL Lurned sharply Lo Lhe flrlng squad hls bulleL rlddled body and fell dead faclng upward Lo Lhe rlslng
sun lL was exacLly 703 am when he dled Pe dled a LralLor Lo Spaln ur 8lzal llves as a marLyr Lo flghLlng for
freedom As hls famous words we quoLe non Cmnls Morlar (noL LveryLhlng ln Me Wlll ule)