Birth and Genelogy

Birth of Rizal

• On the day of june 19, 1861, in small town in the province of laguna,
Jose Protacia Rizal Mercado Y Alonso was born, a legitmate son,
according to th birth certificate, of Francisco Mercado and teodora
Alonso . This, then is our hero – born beneath the skies of the country
he poeticaly called pearl of the orient.
Three days after his birth, Rizal was baptized in the catholic church of
Calamba on june 22, 1861 by Fr. Rufino Collantes, a Filipino priest from
Bnatangas. His godfather was Perdo Casañas, a native of calamaba and
firend of Rizal family’s.
Calamba, Laguna – Rizal Hometown

• Calamba is a small town negisting at the foot of Mt.Mikilinng as it

slopes down to Laguna de Bay. Rizal;s town was a prosperous town
devoted the production of sugar despite their hardships as tenants of
the Dominican friars whoes estate covered practicaly the whole town,
its inhabitants were happy.
The fertile soil and favorable climate of the area influenced
Rizal's poetic and artistic creativity. The scenic
environment, including verdant meadows and a fruit-laden
orchard, broadened his perception. The family's rambling
house and the beauty of Mt. Makiling in the distance further
shaped Rizal's noble and heroic spirit. The family's rambling
house and the surrounding natural wonders left a lasting
impression.
RIZAL ANCESTOR
• Like most Filipinos, Rizal was of mixed racial origin. In his veins
flowed the blood of the East and West. Rizal's great-great-
grandfather was Domingo Lamco, the intelligent and industrious
Chinese merchant, who married Ines de la Rosa, a Chinese mestiza.
From Parian, the family migrated to Biñan and became tenants in the
Dominican estate. Lamco's only son, Francisco, who was to be Rizal's
great-grandfather was a keen, witty, and liberal young man. He
became quite well-to-do and popular enough to be appointed
municipal captain of Biñan in 1783. The family adopted the surname
"Mercado" to free the younger generation from the prejudices that
followed those with a Chinese name. Chinese Francisco Mercado's wife,
Bernarda Monicha, was a Chinese mestiza. They were blessed with two
children: Juan and Clemente, Juan married Cirila Alejandra, also a
Chinese mestiza. The couple had fourteen children, including Francisco
who was to be Rizal's father. Francisco and two of his sisters moved to a
estate in Calamba and became pioneer farmers. Dominican Materially,
socially, and professionally, the family of Teodora Alonso was better off
than the family of her husband. In those days when professionals were
few, the Alonso clan could boast of a number of lawyers, priests, engineers,
and government officials. Teodora, Rizal's mother whose parents were
Lorenzo Alberto Alonso and Brigida Ochoa belonged to a professionally
famous family from Baliuag, Bulacan.
 Rizal family
• The family name of Rizal's parents did not coincide with his
own as inscribed in his birth certificate. This can be explained
as follows: The name of Rizal's mother was Teodora Alonso
Quintos, and according to some notes of Rizal's brother,
Paciano, the birth certificate of Jose bore the name Realonda
because there was a time when many Filipinos had the custom
of adding the name of the godmother or godfather to the
child's name. Thus, when his mother Teodora was baptized, the
name Realonda (her godmother's) was added to her name, and
later to Rizal's. Rizal himself gave in a letter to Blumentritt the
complete name of his mother: Teodora Alonso Quintos
Realonda.
As regards the family name, this was a matter of selection, in
conformity with the order in force about the middle of the 19th
century, to the effect that the natives chose the family name they
wished from a list provided for this purpose. Rizal's father ignored
these orders and reapplied for the name Rizal. The petition rejected
by the Spanish authorities, but despite this, the Mercado family
used the name Rizal as a second family name. Jose was the first to
use the family name "Rizal" in 1872 when he went to Manila to
enroll at the Ateneo Municipal, directed by the Jesuits. There was a
good reason for the change. Only six months had elapsed since the
cavite mutiny 1872.
. This event was to have a profound effect on the ideological genesis of Jose,
despite the fact that he was only eleven years old at that time. His brother
Paciano had contacts with Father Burgos, who was executed as a consequence
of the uprisings. The name Mercado thus became subject to suspicion. Hence,
the adoption of Rizal as the first family name.
As to the members of the family, it was Teodora Alonso, the mother, who had the
most striking personality in the family circle, due to her intelligence, her
upbringing, and her disposition. A well- read person, she knew how to appreciate
literature, corrected her son's verses, and had good knowledge of mathematics.
Educated in the College of Santa Rosa, she was a devout Catholic and believed in
the intercession of the saints in earthly happenings. She took great efforts to
imbue her sons with the maxims of Christian morality. Her father was a
representative to the Spanish Cortes, for the islands had been represented there
for short periods: 1810-1813; 1813-1814; 1820-1822; 1822-1823; and 1834-1837.
Francisco Mercado was forty-three years old when Rizal was born. He was older than
his wife by six years. Of more than average height, his face was serious and noble. He
was a man of few words, dignified and hospitable. Having studied in Colegio de San Jose
in Manila, he possessed an elementary education which was sufficient to successfully
carry out the management of a large agricultural property that was leased to him.
Don Francisco and Doña Teodora were blessed with eleven children: two boys and
nine girls. They were in the order of birth as follows:

Saturnina
Born: 1850
Died: 1913
-Oldest of Rizal children, nick- named Neneng; married to
Manuel Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
Paciano
Born:1851
Died:1930
-Older brother of Rizal and became a general; later he
retired to his farm in Los Baños.
Narcisa
Born: 1852
Died: 1939
-She married Antonio Lopez, a school teacher of Morong.
Lucia
Born: 1857
Died: 1919
- she merreid Mariano herbosa a batangueño farmer.
Maria
Born: 1859
Died: 1945
– She married Daniel Cruz of Biñian, laguna
Jose
Born: 1861
Died: 1896
– Greteast Filipino hero and pearles genius
Concepcion
Born: 1862Died: 1865
- She died at the age of three.
Josefa
Born: 1865
Died: 1945
- She died unmarried at the age of 80.
Trinidad
Born: 1868
Died: 1951
- She also died unmarried at the age of 83.
Soledad
Born: 1870
Died: 1919
- She married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba.
The sisters of Rizal did not become prominent in
occupying important public positions. It would have
been in those times unusual for women to do so. But
they were greatly responsible for the solidarity of the
family, giving Rizal moral and spiritual support- the
heroic mission that dominated their lives.
The care and attention with which the sisters of Rizal
showered him during his deportation in Dapitan and his
stay in Hong Kong are difficult to equal. Also, the
determination of Narcisa to find the tomb of her brother in
the afternoon of his execution clearly shows the unifying
bond of affection that held the Rizal family.
THANK YOU