Special Topic:

All the Girls Rizal

Loved Before
Introduction

It can only be with true passion that one can conquer and accomplish what Filipino hero Jose
Rizal had in his thirty-five-year life. He stopped at nothing when it came to expressing his love not
just for his country but also his women. His travels across the Philippines and the world swayed him
into multifarious relationships that colored almost half his life. There are nine women on record. It’s
not to say that all those relationships were serious, but he did pursue when he wanted to pursue,
cared, at least, and displayed his attentiveness and charm unapologetically.

But amidst the flirting, he was a big believer that women should be empowered. This was
evident in his essay, “To the Young Women of Malolos,” which he wrote for the 20 women of
Bulacan who fought to have a night school so they could study Spanish.

A supporter of women empowerment—who has that swagger? It’s not so hard to imagine
anyone flirting back after he inks his first sentence.

As proof of his “ways,” here are the recorded stories of the nine women of Dr. Jose Rizal.
1. Segunda Katigbak

♥ Rizal’s first love

♥ A Batangueña, whom Rizal met when he was
only a 16-year-old boy
♥ They met when the young hero visited his
grandmother with his friend, Mariano Katigbak.
♥ Rizal had to stop pursuing her because she was
already engaged to be married to a man who
lived in her town.
2. Leonor Valenzuela

♥ Rizal’s second object of affection

♥ Orang, who was then 14 years old, was his neighbor
♥ They met when Rizal was a sophomore medical student
at the University of Santo Tomas, during which time
they lived at the same boarding house in Intramuros.
♥ 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. To read
the letters, Orang had to heat the letter over a candle or
a lamp.
3. Leonor Rivera

♥ They met when Rizal was 18 and Leonor was 13, at the boarding
house of Rizal’s uncle in Intramuros, Manila. Leonor was Rizal’s
second cousin.
♥ It was a perfect love story in the beginning: he, the intelligent
charmer, and she, the beautiful student who had a beautiful
singing voice and was a talented piano player. Soon, they fell in
love. But as tragic love stories go, they were besieged by
obstacles. Leonor’s parents highly disapproved of their
relationship as they were wary of Rizal being a “filibuster.”
♥ In his letters, Rizal called Leonor ‘Taimis’ to hide her identity.
♥ In 1890, Leonor wrote a letter to Rizal saying that she was
engaged to be married to a British engineer named Henry
Kipping. That same year, the wedding pushed through.
4. Consuelo Ortega y Perez

♥ Daughter of Don Pablo Ortega y Rey, who was then

Mayor of Manila.
♥ While Rizal was in Madrid, he would hang out at Don
Pablo’s house, which became a place where Filipino
students would often get together. Through one of these
gatherings, Rizal met Consuelo.
♥ He showed affection towards Consuelo but was not
serious in his pursuit as he was still engaged to Leonor
Rivera at the time.
♥ In the end, Consuelo got engaged to Rizal’s friend,
Eduardo de Lete.
5. Seiko Usui

♥ In 1888, Rizal had just arrived in Japan from Hongkong upon

an invitation to take a job offer at the Spanish Legation. One
day, while he was in the office grounds, he saw O-Sei-San
walk past the legation’s gate and was immediately enthralled
by her beauty.
♥ As days went by, O-Sei-San taught Rizal the ways of the
Japanese.
♥ According to many accounts, Rizal was ready to move to
Japan, stay with O-Sei-San, and live a peaceful life with his
love. Unfortunately for this relationship, country-saving duties
would call and he had to leave Japan for San Francisco. He
never saw O-Sei-San again. Their affair lasted for around two
months.
6. Gertrude Beckett

♥ In the same year he began and ended his relations with O-

Sei-San, Rizal, then 27, went to London and met a woman
named Gertrude Beckett.
♥ Gertrude showered Rizal with all the love and attention of a
girl who is hopelessly in love. She even assisted Rizal as he
finished some of his sculptures.
♥ He called her Gettie, she called him Pettie. But all
documents lead to say one thing: the feelings weren’t
mutually shared.
♥ In 1889, Rizal left London, and left Gettie a composite
carving of the heads of the Beckett sisters.
7. Suzanne Jacoby

♥ When Rizal arrived in Belgium in 1890, he lived at a

boarding house that was run by two sisters whose last
name was Jacoby. The sisters had a niece named
Suzanne.
♥ The relationship was probably a fling, too, as Rizal
made no mention of Suzanne when he wrote letters to
his friends about his stay in Belgium.
♥ Rizal left the country in August that year. Suzanne was
heartbroken.
♥ In 1891, Rizal went back to Belgium—not for Suzanne
—but to finish writing El Filibusterismo. He stayed for
a few months, left, and never returned.
8. Nellie Boustead

♥ Rizal and Nellie met in Biarritz, where Nellie’s wealthy

family hosted Rizal’s stay at their residence on the
French Riviera.
♥ During his stay at Biarritz, Rizal learned of Leonor
Rivera’s engagement and thought of pursuing a
romantic relationship with Nellie. After strengthening
their relationship, Rizal wrote letters to his friends,
telling them about his intention to marry her. They were
all supportive, including Antonio Luna.
♥ Although they seemed like the ideal couple, marriage
for Rizal was still not meant to be.
9. Josephine Bracken

♥ Josephine was the woman who stayed with Rizal until his execution in
1896. She was also, allegedly, the woman whom Rizal married.
However, accounts of their marriage have been much-debated over the
years.
♥ Josephine was the adopted daughter of one George Taufer, whom she
lived with in Hongkong for years before she needed to seek help from
an ophthalmologist due to George’s blindness. They then sought the
help of Jose Rizal, who was already exiled in Dapitan at the time.
♥ Rizal and Josephine fell in love and in a month made the
announcement that they wanted to get married. But just like the other
Rizal great loves, this one was once again complicated. No priest
would marry the two, for reasons that are still unclear—but perhaps it
was because of Rizal’s status in politics. Without a legal paper, Rizal
and Josephine lived together, and had a son, who died a few hours after
birth. Rizal named his son after his father, Francisco.
 In retrospect, maybe Rizal was not meant for a long
commitment, like marriage—with all his travels and freedom-
fighting obligations. Maybe heroes can only be alone with their
thoughts. Left alone, they will naturally think too much, and thinking
for an entire country, we assume, can be exhausting. Maybe Rizal
just always needed a companion.

But if there’s one thing his dalliances and longings and pursuits
remind us, it is that heroes are humans, too. Humans have needs.
And he did die for our country.