Jose Rizal’s

Childhood Years in
Calamba, Laguna
Rizal’s childhood years

• Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonzo y

Realonda was born in Calamba, Laguna
on June 19, 1861.
• He was the seventh child of Don Francisco
Mercado and Doña Teodora Alonzo
Realonda y Quintos.
 The Claveria Law
• Narciso Claveria y
Zaldua was a native of
Girona, Spain and
served as Governor-
General in the Philippine
Islands from July 16,
1844 until 1849.
• He was responsible for
the Catalogo alfabetico
de appelidos.
Catalogo Alfabetico De
Appelidos
• A book of surnames in
the Philippines and other
islands of Spanish East
Indies published in the mid-
19th century.
• This was in response to a
Spanish colonial decree
establishing the distribution
of Spanish family names and
local surnames among
colonial subjects who did not
have a prior surname.
Don Francisco Mercado
• Francisco Engracio Rizal
Mercado.
• Born on May 11, 1818 of Juan
Monica Mercado and Cirila
Alejandro.
• Studied at Colegio de San Jose
de Manila.
• He was described by Rafael
Palma: "He was 40, of solid
shoulders, strong constitution,
rather tall than short, of serious
and reflective mien, with
prominent forehead and large
dark eyes. A pure Filipino."
 Influence on Rizal
• When Jose was 7 years old, Don Francisco gave
him the experience of riding as casco (a flat-
bottomed boat) and gave him a pony named
“Alipato” on his birthday.
• Don Francisco valued education and dissuaded his
sons from gambling.
• At the height of the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, he
prohibited the use of the term “Filibustero” in the
Mercado household.
• Jose Rizal named his premature son Francisco in
honor of his beloved father.
 Influence on Rizal
• Before his death on December 30, 1896, Jose
wrote this to his brother, Paciano:
“Tell our father I remember him, and how! I remember my
whole childhood, of his affection and his love. Ask him to
forgive me for the pain that I have unwillingly caused him.”

• To his father, Jose directly wrote:

“My beloved Father, Pardon me for the pain with which I
repay you for sorrows and sacrifices for my education. I
did not want nor did I prefer it. Goodbye, Father, goodbye
….”
Doña Teodora Alonso
Realonda y Quintos
• Born on November 9, 1827 and
died on August 16, 1911.
• Her parents was Lorenzo Alberto
Alonso and Brigida de Quintos.
• She is best known as the mother
of the national hero Jose Rizal.
• Came from a financially able
family and studied at the Colegio
de Santa Rosa in Manila.
Doña Teodora Alonso
Realonda y Quintos
• Married Francisco Mercado
on June 28, 1848, when she
was 20 years old.
• She was an industrious and
educated woman, managing
the family's farm and
finances.
• Teodora used her knowledge
to grow the rice, corn, and
sugarcane that sustained the
family's well-to-do lifestyle.
 Interesting Notes on
Doña Teodora
• Was she an hija bastarda?
• She made Rizal a “Mama’s
Boy”.
• Was wrongfully imprisoned
for the attempted murder thru
poisoning of Jose Alberto’s
wife Teodora Formoso.
• Imprisoned again for using
the wrong surname during the
1880’s.
The “Moth and the Flame”
Thank you!