THE LOVERS OF

JOSE RIZAL
GROUP 4
 SEGUNDA
KATIGBAK
-Segunda Solis Katigbak is also known as La Seniorita K or Miss K.
-She was born on 1863 in Lipa, Batangas, Calabarzon, Philippines.
-Her parents are Don Norberto Calao Catugbac and Justa Luz Solis,
-Mariano Katigbak is a brother of Miss K and a friend of Jose Rizal in
Ateneo De Municipal.
-Sent by her parents to Manila's best school for girls, the Colegio de la
Concordia in Paco where she became an interna to the nuns.
-Jose Rizal’s sister Olympia is Miss K’s classmate at the colegio.
 Love Story of Miss K and J. Rizal: First Sweet Poison of
Love
• Segunda happens to be the first love of Jose Rizal. They first met at the age of 16 and fell in love in
just 7 months.
• First meeting: On 1887, One Sunday, Rizal visted his grandmother in Trozo, Manila and there met,
among others, Segunda Katigbak, a two-year-younger-than-him 'colegiala'.
• They first met at the Part of a Relative of Rizal, where Segunda was at her cousin and fiancee
Manuel Luz.
• Pepe's frequent visits to Olimpia led him to befriend Segunda. For about seven months, he became
infatuated with her that he showered her with much attention, writing romantic poems and catching her
beauty in his sketches.
• Rizal wrote his Memorias de Un Estudiante in 1882 where he narrates his infatuation for
Segunda.
• The couple exchanged gifts at one point in their relationship. Jose gave Segunda a Segunda sletched
portrait while Segunda gave Jose a photograph of her and a white paper rose.
• Pepe immortalizes Segunda's beauty with his words, "(She was) short, with expressive eyes, ardent
at times and drooping at other times, pinkish, a smile so bewitching and provocative that revealed
some very beautiful teeth; with an aura of sylph, I don't know what alluring something was all over
her being..."
• He wrote again, "Her looks were glorious in their sweetness and expressiveness; her voice was
melodious and I thought an enchantment accompanied every movement. Langour penetrated my
heart, and I had feelings I had never known before..."
• Resigning to fate, Rizal wrote of his first love: “Ended at an early hour, my first love! My virgin
heart will always mourn the reckless step it took on the flower-decked abyss. My ilusions return,
yes, but indifferent, uncertain, ready for the first betrayal on the path of love”.
• “First love never dies they say—unless your first love is already engaged to be married when you
meet. Then you have to let it go really fast.”
 LEONOR RIVERA
-Leonor’s full name is Leonor Rivera y Bauzon.
-She was born on April 11, 1867 in Camiling, Tarlac which happens to be
her original hometown and her place of birth.
-She is also known as “TAIMIS”. The name is a codename given by Rizal in
order for the lovers to exchange letters in secret since Leonor’s mother,
Silvestra Bauzon, disapproved their relationship.
-She also attended COLEGIO DE LA IMMACULA CONCEPCION DE LA
CONCORDIA together with Rizal’s sister Olympia.
 Love Story of Taimis and Rizal
• It all started in 1880 when theo met and the became engaged. They kept their relationship
secret and their engagement lasted for 10 years.
• In 1882, Rizal leaves for Europe in secret.
• In 1887, Rizal published Noli. He immortalized Rivera in the novel as Maria Clara. Rivera's
mother's bribes the local postman to intercept all correspondence between them. Rizal's
father compels him to avoid the Riveras to keep them safe.
• With the loss of communication, the lovers' relationship was doomed and Leonor eventually
married her mother's choice, a British engineer named Charles Kipping, in 1890 and she then
became Mrs. Leonor Rivera Kipping.
• There were two conditions that Leonor wanted to follow for her marriage to Kipping; first is
that she would never sing or play any music ever again and the second one is her mother
have to stay with them all throughout their marriage.
 LEONOR ‘ORANG’
VALENZUELA
-a tall girl with regal bearing from Pagsanjan, Laguna.
-Orang is Rizal’s neighbor when she was 14 years old.
-They met when Rizal was a sophomore medical student at the University of
Santo Tomas, during which time he also lived at Doña Concha Leyva’s
boarding house in Intramuros, Manila.
-During the courtship, Rizal was said to have sent Leonor private and secret
love letters, which he wrote using invisible ink made with water and salt—he
was adept in chemistry, too. To read the letters, Orang had to heat the letter
over a candle or a lamp.
-There were speculations that Rizal was courting Orang and Rizal’s first
cousin Leonora Rivera at the same time.
CONSUELO
ORTIGO Y
PEREZ
-She is the prettiest daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga Y
Rey (the former Alcalde of Manila and the head of
the Consejo de Filipinas in Madrid)
-She was then called as 'Crush ng bayan' because
of many men advired her.
• In 1882, when Rizal was a student at the Universidad Central de Madrid, he frequented the home of
Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, the former city mayor of Manila. He lived with his son Rafael and his
daughter Consuelo.
• September 16, 1882 - Rizal and Consuelo first met
• Rizal gave her romantic verses, flowers, and gifts such as sinamay cloth, embroidered piña
handkerchiefs, tsinelas.
• Among the men who compete for her attention were Eduardo de Lete, and brothers Maximo and
Antonio Paterno.
• Rizal romance with Consuelo did not turn into seriously relationship because of two reasons:
1.) He was still engaged to Leonor Rivera
2.) Rizal is aware of Eduardo de lete (his friend) affection for Consuelo and also was visited by the
Paterno brothers (Maximo and Antonio).
• La Señorita C.O y R. is one of Rizal's poem dedicated to Consuelo.
• The main message or idea of the poem is about pain, grief, bitter past and truth that are addressed to an
innocent lover who wishes to know about her lover’s endeavors.
 SEIKO USUI
-She is often referred to as O Sei San, she was an offspring of a Japanese
samurai.
-She was 23 years old when she met Rizal.
-She serves as Rizal’s interpreter throughout his time in Japan.
-Helped Rizal to read and write Nihonggo and even taught him a Japanese
painting style known as su-mie, which helped him to become more used to
Japanese culture.
-Rizal first met Seiko on his second trip abroad. From Hong Kong, he arrived
in Yokohama in the morning of Tuesday February 28, 1888. Then moved to
the Spanish Legation in the Azabu district of Tokyo upon the invitation of an
official in the legation. He stayed in Japan for one month and a half
(February 28 – April 13,1888).
• Rizal saw Seiko passing by the legation in one of her daily afternoon walks and he
was captivated by her allure and asked a Japanese gardener about her in order to
discover some fundamental facts about her.
• Seiko, who Rizal affectionately referred to as O-Sei-San, volunteered to be his kind
tour guide. She traveled with him to shrines, parks, colleges, and other notable
locations in Japan, including the Imperial Art Gallery, Imperial Library, and
Shokubutsu-en (Botanical Garden).
• Rizal saw the ideals of womanhood in Seiko, beauty charm, intelligence, and
modesty. This made Rizal too much attracted to Seiko. To Seiko, Rizal was a man of
versatile talents, a man of dignity, and a man of courtesy.
• Jose then developed a romantic interest in the pleasant, humble, attractive, and wise
daughter of a samurai. The pious and gifted guest, who shared Seiko's passion for the
arts, was then shown her affection in return.
• Nevertheless, their beautiful relationship of more than a month had to come to an
end because Rizal, the man on a mission, had to depart for Japan. Rizal’s great love
for Seiko was attested by his diary written on the eve of his departure. As if talking to
Seiko, Rizal affectionately addressed this part of his diary entry to his Japanese
sweetheart:
“To you I dedicate the final chapter of these memoirs of my youth. No woman, like you
has ever loved me. No woman, like you has ever sacrificed for me. Like the flower of
the chodji that falls from the stem fresh and whole without falling leaves or without
withering –with poetry still despite its fall – thus you fell. Neither have you lost your
purity nor have the delicate petals of your innocence faded – Sayonara, Sayonara!
You shall never return to know that I have once more thought of you and that your image
lives in my memory; and undoubtedly, I am always thinking of you. Your name lives in
the sight of my lips, your image accompanies and animates all my thoughts. When shall
I return to pass another divine afternoon like that in the temple of Maguro? When shall
the sweet hours I spent with you return? When shall I find them sweeter, more tranquil,
more pleasing? You the color of the camellia, its freshness, its elegance…
Ah! Last descendant of a noble family, faithful to an unfortunate vengeance, you are
lovely like…everything has ended! Sayonara, Sayonara!”
• On April 13, 1888, Rizal sadly left Japan and never got the chance to see Seiko again.
• In 1897, a year after Rizal’s martyrdom, Seiko married Alfred Charlton, British
chemistry teacher of the Peer’s School in Tokyo. Mr. Charlton died on November 2,
1915, leaving behind Seiko and their child Yuriko.
• On May 1, 1947, at the age of 80, Seiko died and was laid to rest in her husband's
grave at the Zoshigawa Cemetery.
• Their daughter Yuriko eventually married Yoshiharu Takiguchi, a Japanese senator's
son.
 GERTRUDE
BECKETT
-She is the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Beckett.
-Beckett was the daughter of Charles Beckett, who was Rizal's landlord
when he stayed in London, England in May 1888.
-She was a buxom young lady with blue eyes and brown hair.
-In May 1888 Rizal decided to stay in London because he could
improve his English, study and do an annotation of Antonio Morga’s
Sucecos delas Islas Filipinas and perceived it was a place for him to
carry on the reforms he wanted for the Philippines.
-He stayed in london, boarding the house of the Beckett family.
• She fell in love with Rizal and gave him all of her attention during the family picnics and
gatherings.
• When Rizal stayed indoors during rainy days painting and sculpting, she helped him mix his
colors and prepare his clay. Rizal enjoyed her company.
• Eventually their flirtatious friendship drifted towards a blossoming romance. He
affectionately called her “Gettie,” and in return she called him “Pettie”.
• Rizal withdrew before his relationship with Gettie could become more serious, realizing that
he had a greater mission to fulfill and that in order to accomplish it he could not yield to the
option of marrying her,
• He suppressed the yearnings of his heart and decided to leave so that the lady may forget him.
Before he did, however, he finished a number of sculptural works, one of which was a
carving of the heads of the Becket sisters.
 SUZZANE JACOBY
-A Belgian lady whom Rizal met when he was 29.
-To somewhat economize in his living expenses, he left the expensive city of
Paris and went to Belgium in January 1890, where he met Suzzane Jacoby.
-Along with his friend Jose Albert, Rizal arrived in Brussels on February 2
and stayed in the boarding house managed by two Jacoby sisters, Suzanne
and Marie (some references say “Catherina and Suzanna”).
-It was said that Rizal had a transitory romance with the petite niece of his
landladies, Suzanne.
 NELLY BOUSTEAD
-Was the younger of the two pretty daughters of a filipina and a wealthy french
businessman in Biarritz, France.
-The woman whom Rizal almost married.
-It could be remembered that, JOSE RIZAL and ANTONIO LUNA nearly had a duel
before. When he (Antonio), being drunk one time, made negative remarks on their
‘common denominator’. As regards Jose’s courtship to Nelly later, Antonio gentlemanly
conceded to Rizal through a letter.
-As Nelly had long been infatuated to Rizal, she reciprocated his affection and they
officially became an item.
-Their lover affair unfortunately did not end in marriage, it failed because Nelly's mother
was not in favor of taking as a son-in-law a man who could not provide a sure stable
future for her daughter. On top of this, Rizal refused to be converted to Protestantism
which Nelliy demanded. Later in his life.
 JOSEPHINE BRACKEN
-born on Aug 9, 1876
-parents are James Bracken and Elizabeth McBride
-Francisco Rizal y Bracken
-Adopted by George Edward Taufer
-The couple's marriage is facilitated by Fr Antonio Obach through a common
law marriage
-She joined General Emilio Aguinaldo's revolutionary movement on Jan 6,
1987
-She became a teacher
-Summoned by Governor General Camilo Polavieja to leave the country -she
remarried Don Vicente Abad of Cebu
-She died due to tuberculosis on March 15, 1902