ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO

Chapter 1
 Physician, poet, dramatist, essayist,
novelist, historian, architect, painter,
sculptor, educator, linguist, musician,
naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer,
farmer businessman, economist,
geographer, cartographer, bibliophile,
philologist, grammarian, folklorist,
philosopher, translator, inventor, magician,
humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman,
traveler, prophet
The Birth of a Hero
• Born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna
• His mother almost died during the delivery
because of his big head
• “…my coming out in this vale of tears would
have cost my mother her life had she not
vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me to
her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage”
• He was baptized when he was 3 days old
• Father Rufino Collantes baptized him
• Father Pedro Casanas was his godfather
• His name was chosen by his mother from
the saint, St. Joseph
Rizal’s Parents
• Francisco Mercado Rizal
- Rizal’s father was born in Biñan, Laguna.
- Rizal affectionately called him “a model of
fathers”
• Teodora Alonso Realonda
- Rizal’s mother was born in Manila
- Rizal lovingly described her as a woman of
more than ordinary culture
Don Francisco Doña Teodora
The Rizal Children
• Don Francisco and Doña Teodora were
blessed to have eleven children– two boys
and nine girls
• Rizal was the 11th among the children
• His relationship with his siblings was
affectionately cordial
- he called his sisters Doña or
Señora/Señorita
• Paciano, his only brother, was ten years
older than him. He treated him like a
second father.
- Rizal immortalized him in Noli as the wise
Pilosopo Tasio
- regarded him as “most noble of Filipinos”
thought of him as more noble than the
spaniards despite being an indio
Rizal’s Ancestry
• Rizal was a product of the mixture of races, both
east and west
FATHER’S SIDE
• Domingo Lameo
- Rizal’s great-great grandfather
- a chinese immigrant from Changchow who
arrived in manila in the 1690s and married
• Ines de la Rosa
- Rizal’s great-great grandmother
MOTHER’S SIDE
• It is said that Doña Teodora’s family descended
from Lakandula
• Eugenio Ursua
- Rizal’s great-great-grandfather
- married Benigna
The Surname Rizal
• Mercado was the original surname of Rizal
• They eventually acquired their second surname,
Rizal, which was given by a spanish alcalde
mayor
• Among his family, our national hero is the only
one who uses Rizal as a surname.
• “Rizal”
-a field where wheat, cut while still green,
sprouts again
The Rizal Home

• Their home was a two-story house of adobe stones

and hard-wood, roofed with red tiles
• Behind it was a poultry yard full of turkeys and
chickens, and a garden of various tropical fruit trees
A Good and Middle-Class Family
• The Rizal family belonged to the
principalia
- they were one of the distinguished
families in Calamba
• Rizal’s family were well-off, thanks to the hard
work of Don Francisco and Doña Teodora
• They owned a carriage, which was a status
symbol for the illustrados
• They also have their own private library, known
to be the largest in Calamba during their time
• They sent their children to colleges in
Manila
• Although affluent and well-off, the Rizals
never looked down on anyone; they
treated their guests irrespective of their
color, rank, social position, and economic
status.
Home Life of the Rizals
• Simple, contented, and happy life
• Family ties among the Rizals were intimately close
• Their parents loved them but never spoiled them
• The children were trained to love God, behave well,
be obedient, and to respect people
• They attend church regularly, and prayed Angelus at
sunset, and the Rosary before retiring to bed
• The children played in the azotea or the garden