Family,

Childhood, and
Early Education
of Rizal
- GROUP 01 -
Rizal’s Family
Rizal’s Family
Jose Rizal’s Family

 Jose Rizal’s thirteen-member-family consisted of his father

Francisco Mercado II, his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda,
himself, nine sisters and one brother.
 Jose Rizal came from a wealthy family in Calamba, Laguna,
Considered one of the largest families in those times, the 13-
member-family consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II, his
mother Teodora Alonso Realonda, himself, nine sisters and one
brother.
Rizal’s Family
Rizal’s Lineage

 The Rizal paternal ascendant was Domingo Lam-co, a full-blooded

Chinese who lived in Amoy, China and arrived in the Philippines in
the closing years of the 17th century. Domingo Lam-co was married
to a Chinese half-breed named Ines de la Rosa. The Mercado-Rizal
family had also Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Negrito blood aside
from their Chinese blood.
Rizal’s Family
Rizal’s Parents
 Jose Rizal’s father Francisco was the youngest of 13 children of Juan and
Cirila Mercado. He was born in Binan, Laguna, studied in San Jose College
of Manila and died in Manila.
 Teodora, the mother of Jose Rizal, was a business-minded, religious and
hard working individual who was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November
14, 1827. She was the second child of Brijida de Quintos and Lorenzo
Alonso. Teodora had Spanish and Japanese ancestors while the father of
Teodora was a half Spaniard engineer known as Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo.
She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Teodora died in Manila in 1913.
 The parents of Jose Rizal were both farmers who were granted by the
Dominicans with the lease of a hacienda together with a rice farm.
Rizal’s Family
Rizal’s Siblings
 Saturnina Rizal was the eldest of the offspring of Francisco
Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda. She married Manuel
Hidalgo who hailed from Tanauan, Batangas.
 The only brother of Jose Rizal was Paciano Rizal and was the
second child. Paciano studied at the San Jose College in Manila and
worked as a farmer and later as a general of the Philippine
Revolution.
 The other sisters of Jose Rizal were Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia,
Maria, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad. Soledad was
the youngest child and later was married to Pantaleon Quintero.
Rizal’s Family
How Jose Obtained the ‘Rizal’ Last Name
 The Rizal surname was obtained by Francisco Mercado as suggested to
him by a provincial governor after the Governor General of the
Philippines, Narciso Claveria, issued a decree in 1849 by which native
Filipino and immigrant families were to adopt Spanish surnames from a
list of Spanish family names.
 Jose Rizal also obtained the surname Rizal after dropping three other
names that made up his full name. Jose Rizal also retained Protasio as
his other family name. His family never actually recognized their Rizal
surname, but Jose Rizal was forced to use it so that he can travel freely
and disassociate himself from his brother Paciano, who was notorious
because of his links with native priests who were executed after they
were found to be subversives.
Rizal’s Childhood
Childhood Days in Calamba

“Ah, tender childhood, lovely

town, Rich fount of my felicities.”
- Jose Rizal
Childhood Days in Calamba

Calamba, also known as “Cradle of a Genius” was named

after a big native jar

Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town) – a

poem about Rizal’s beloved town, written in 1876, when he
was 15 years old and was a student in the Ateneo
Childhood Days in Calamba

Earliest Childhood Memories

 First memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the
family garden when he was 3 years old
 Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer
 Another memory was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially
when there was a moon
Childhood Days in Calamba

First Sorrow
 The death of little concha brought Rizal his first sorrow
Childhood Days in Calamba

Devoted Son of Church

 At age of three, he began to take part in the family prayers
 When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the
Spanish family bible
Childhood Days in Calamba

Pilgrimage to Antipolo
In order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made
when Jose was born
Childhood Days in Calamba

First Education from Mother

 Jose’s first teacher was his mother
 At the age of three, Jose learned the alphabetical and the
prayers from her
Childhood Days in Calamba

The Story of the Moth

 About the mother moth warning its offspring of the danger of
fluttering to close to flame. The little moth did not heed the
advice, thus it was burned by the flame.
 made the profoundest impression on Rizal “died a martyr to
its illusions”
Childhood Days in Calamba
Rizal’s Three Uncles
 Tio Jose Alberto
 studied for eleven years in British school in Calcutta, India and
had traveled in Europe inspired Rizal to develop his artistic
ability
 Tio Manuel
 a husky and athletic man, encouraged Rizal to develop his frail
body by means of physical exercises, including horse riding,
walking and wrestling.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Rizal’s Three Uncles
 Tio Gregorio
 a book lover, intensified Rizal’s voracious reading of good
book.
Childhood Days in Calamba

 Father Leoncio Lopez – the old and learned parish priest of

Calamba, fostered Rizal's love for scholarship and intellectual
honesty.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Artistic Talents
 At the age of five, Rizal began to make sketches with his pencil and
to mold in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Prodigy of the Pen
 First Poem by Rizal
 Since early boyhood he had scribbled verses on loose sheets of
paper and on the textbooks of his sisters. His mother who was a
lover of literature, notice his poetic inclination and encourage him
to write poetry.
 At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native
language entitled "Sa aking mga Kabata" (To My Fellow Children).
 reveals Rizal's earliest nationalist sentiment.
"Ang taong hindi marunong lumingon sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa hayop
at malansang isda"
Childhood Days in Calamba
Prodigy of the Pen
 First Drama by Rizal
 At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first dramatic work which
was a Tagalog comedy. It was stage in a Calamba festival.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Rizal as boy Magician
 Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in magic.
 He learned various tricks such as making a coin dissapear in his
finger and entertained his town folks with magic-lantern exhibitions.
 He read many books on magic.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Lakeshore Reveries
 Rizal used to meditated at the shore of Laguna de bay, accompanied
by his pet dog, on the sad conditions of his oppressed people.
 He wrote to his friend, Mariano Ponce: "In view of this injustices
and cruelties, although yet a child, my imagination was awakened
and I made a vow dedicating myself someday to avenge the many
victims. With this idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all
my writings. Someday God will give me the opportunity to fulfill
my promise."
Childhood Days in Calamba
Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
1. Hereditary Influence
• Malayan Ancestors - love for freedom, desire to travel, and
indomitable courage.
• Chinese Ancestors - serious nature, frugality, patience, and
love for children.
• Spanish Ancestors - elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult,
and gallantry to ladies.
• Father - sense of self-respect, love for work, and habit of
independent thinking.
• Mother - religious nature, spirit of self sacrifice, passion for arts
and literature
Childhood Days in Calamba
Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
2. Environmental Influence
• Calamba and the garden of the Rizal Family – stimulated the inborn
artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal
• Religious atmosphere at his home- foetified his religious nature.
• His brother Paciano- love of freedom and justice.
• His sisters - to be corteous and kind to women.
• Fairy tales told by his aya - interest in folklores and legends
• 3 Uncles
• Father Leoncio Lopez - fostered Rizal's love for scholarship and
intellectual honesty.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
2. Environmental Influence
• The sorrows in his family: the death of his sister Concha and the
imprisonment of his mother, contributed for Rizal to strengthen his
character, enabling him to resist blows of adversity in later years.
• The spanish cruelties and abuses awakened his spirit of patriotrism
and inspired him to consecrate his life and talents to redeem his
oppressed people.
Childhood Days in Calamba
Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
3. Aid of Divine Providence
• Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of his
nation. God had endowed him with the versatile gifts of a genius,
the vibrant spirit of a nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice
foe a noble cause.
Rizal’s Early Education

in Calamba and Biñan

Journey to his Early Education
Education in Calamba
 Doña Teodora Realonda – Rizal’s mother and his first teacher
Rizal’s 3 Tutors
 Maestro Celestino – Rizal’s first tutor
 Maestro Lucas Padua – Second tutor
 Leon Monroy – a former classmate of Rizal’s father
– he lived at Rizal’s home and instructed Jose
in Spanish and Latin
– he died five months later
Journey to his Early Education
 June 1869 – At age 8, Rizal needed to leave his family to study in Biñan

Education in Biñan
• He stayed in his aunt during his stay in Biñan.
• Like any other students, Jose Rizal is also a victim of bullying in school.
They teased him because they said Jose Rizal has a big head.
• Rizal was also often involved in chaos and beatings.
• One of his problems is home sickness.
Journey to his Early Education
Education in Biñan
 Maestro Justiniano Cruz – a strict disciplinarian and had the reward and
punishment as his method of teaching and used corporal punishment to
inculcate discipline to his students

 Maestro Juancho – Rizal’s teacher in painting

Journey to his Early Education
Return to Calamba
 In December 1870, he received a letter from his sister Saturnina advising
him to ride the steamer Talim that would bring him back to Calamba.

 He left Biñan on Saturday afternoon, December 17, 1870, after one year
and a half of schooling in that town.
 Thank
You!
Group Members:
Cababat, Henry
Elivera, Athena
Leorna, Kyla Jane
Piala, Shiena
Geraldo, Diane Joy