Chapter 2

Childhood Years of
Rizal in Calamba
 Calamba, “Cradle of a Genius”
• Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and
soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old and
was a student in Ateneo, he rememebered his
beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem
Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo ( In Memory of My
Town)
 Earliest Childhood Memories.
• The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was
his happy days in the family garden.
• Because he was frail, sickly, and undersized
child, he was given the most tender care by his
parents.
• His father built a nipa cottage in the garden for
him to play in the daytime.
• With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the
happy moonlight nights at the azotea after the
rosary.
• The aya realted stories to Rizal children many
stories about fairies; tales of buried treasure
and trees with blooming diamonds, and other
fabulous stories.
• Another memory of his infancy was the
nocturnal walk in the town, especially when
there was a moon.
• Recounting this childhood experience, Rizal
wrote:
“Thus my heart fed on sombre and melancholy
thoughts so that even still a child, I already
wandered on wings of fantasy in the high regions
of the unknown.
 FIRST SORROW
• The Rizal children were bound together by the
ties of love and companionship.

• Their parents taught them to love one another,

to behave properly in front of elders, to be
truthful and religious, and to help one another.

• They affectionately called their father Tatay,

and mother Nanay.
• Rizal was jokingly called Ute by his brother
and sisters. The people in Calamba knew him
as Pepe or Pepito.

• Of his sisters, Jose loved most little Concha.

He was one year older than Concha. He played
with her, and from her, he learned the
sweetness of brotherly love.
 Devoted Son of Church
• Young Rizal was a religious boy. A scion of a
Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome
atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of
an inborn spirit, Rizal grew up a good
Catholic.
• At the age of 3, he began to take part in the
family prayers.
• One of the men he esteemed and respected in
Calamba during his boyhood was the scholarly
Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest.
 Pilgrimage to Antipolo
• On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left for
Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in
order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was
made when Rizal was born.
• He was thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his
first lake voyage. He did not sleep the whole
night as the casco sailed towards the Pasig
River because he was awed by “ the
magnificence of the watery expanse and the
silence of the night.
First Education from Mother
• At the age of 3, Jose learned the alphabet and
prayers from her.

• Seeing Rizal had a talent for poetry, she

encouraged him to write poems. She gave her
all her love and all that she learned in college.
 The story of the Moth.
• Of the story told by Dona Teodora to Jose, it
was that of the young moth made the
profoundest impression on him.
• The tragic fate of the young moth, which died
a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress on
Rizal’s mind.
 Rizal’s Three Uncles
• There were 3 uncles, brothers of his mother,
who played a great part in the early education
of Rizal.
• Uncle Gregorio was a lover of books. He
instilled into the mind of his nephew a great
love for books. He taught him to work hard, to
think for himself, and to observe life keenly.
• Uncle Jose, who had been educated at
Calcutta, India, was the youngest brother of
Dona Teodora. He encouraged his nephew to
paint, sketch, and sculpture.
• Uncle Manuel was a big, strong, and husky
man. He looked after the physical training of
his sickly and weak nephew. He encourage
Rizal to learn swimming, fencing, wrestling,
and other sports, so that in later years Rizal’s
frail body acquired agility, endurance, and
strength.
 Artistic Talents
• Since early childhood Rizal revelaed his god-
given talents for the arts.
• He drew sketches and pictures on his books of
his sisters, for which reason he was scolded by
his mother.
• He carved figures of animals and persons out
of wood. Even before he learned to read, he
could already sketch pictures of birds, flowers,
fruits, rivers, mountains, animals and persons.
• In his room, he kept many statuettes which he
made out of clay and wax.
• At one time, his sisters teased him: “Ute, what
are you doing with so many statuettes?” He
replied: “ Don’t you know that people will
erect monument and statues in my honor for
the future?”
 Prodigy of the pen
• Not only was little Jose skilled in brush, chisel,
and pen-knife, but also in pen. He was born
poet. His mother encouraged him to write
poetry. At an early age when children usually
begin to learn ABC, he was already writing
poems.
• The first known poem that he wrote was a
Tagalog poem entitled Sa Aking Mga
Kababata (To My Fellow Children).

• Before he was eight years old, he wrote a

Tagalog drama. This drama was stages in
Calamba in connection with the town fiesta.
 Lakeshore Reveries
• During the twilight hours of summertime,
Rizal, accompanied by his dog, used to
meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the
sad conditions of his oppressed people.
• Young that he was, he grieved deeply over the
unhappy situation of his beloved fatherland.
The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish
heart a great determination to fight tyranny.
 Influences on Hero’s Boyhood

• In the lives of all men there are influences

which cause some to be great and others not.
In the case of Rizal, he had all favorable
influences, which no other chilld in our
country enjoyed.
• 1. Hereditary Influence

• 2. Environmental Influence

• 3. Aid of the Divine Providence

THANK YOU 