Jose Rizal, A Complete Biography Sir Lino Wy Paras, KGO

Rizal's Birth On the 19th of June 1861, in the province of Laguna (Philippines), Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado (y) Alonzo Realonda was born to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Realonda. The birth of this important person was not heralded by a star, nor was it marked by any seismic phenomenon, despite the significant role which destiny had marked out for him such that Spain's eminent philosopher-writer Unamuno was later to call him "the tagalog Christ". If there was any supernatural happening that accompanied his birth, it must have been the intervention of the Virgin of Antipolo, for while undergoing difficult labor, his mother promised to make pilgrimage to Antipolo should her delivery prove successful. (Antipolo, 25 kilometers east of Manila, is the most frequented town-shrine in the country.) This, then, is our hero born beneath the skies of the country he poetically called "Pearl of the Orient". Three days after his birth, Fr. Rufino Collantes, the parish priest of Calamba, Laguna with Fr. Pedro Casaas, baptized him in complete Catholic rites as his godfather. He was named Jose on account of his mother's devotion to St. Joseph. He was fondly called Pepe in the family household. The future "Redeemer" was not born poor. Neither was he born in a palace whose vast marble floors and lonely halls would have rendered his heart cold and unfeeling. On the contrary, the warmth of his family life is difficult to equal, tried and tested as it was by so many vicissitudes. The house in which he was born was a large, two-story edifice, the lower floor of stone and concrete, and the second floor of wood, surrounded by a balcony. A portico in front of the house offered shelter from the rain and lent symmetry and harmony to the edifice. This house was the fruit of the sacrifices and labors of Francisco Mercado in cultivating the lands leased to him by the Dominicans. The first thing which calls the attention of the alert reader is the fact that the family name of Rizal's parents does 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 Alonzo Quintos. According to some notes of Rizal's brother Paciano "The birth certificate of Jose bears the name Realonda because there was a time when many Filipinos had the custom of adding the name of the godmother of 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." Rizal himself gave, in a letter to Blumentritt, the complete name of his mother: Teodora Alonzo Quintos Realonda. In the middle of the 19th century, to the effect that the natives choose 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 Spanish authorities rejected the petition, 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 of 1872. This event was to have a profound effect on the ideological genesis of Jose, despite the fact that he was only 11 yrs. Old at the

time his brother Paciano had contacts with Fr. 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. Teodora Alonzo, who undoubtedly was the most striking personality in the family circle, owing to her intelligence, culture and disposition. A well-read person, She knew how to appreciate literature, corrected her son's verses and guided him in his study of rhetoric; she had a good knowledge of mathematics. Furthermore, she was able to foretell future events. Educated in the College of Santa Rosa, run by the Sisters of Charity, she was a devout Catholic, and believed in the intercession of the saints in earthly happenings, as we have seen when she made the promise to the Virgin of Antipolo. She took great efforts to imbue her sons with the maxims of Christian morality. Her father was a representative to the Cortes for the Philippines, for the Islands had been represented there for short periods: 1810-1813; 1813-1814; 1820-1822; 1822-1823 and 1834-1837. This prominent grandfather of Rizal was the teacher of Teodora. His brother had been educated in Europe and spoke four languages, besides Tagalog, he was a Knight of the Order of Isabel la Catolica. It is not surprising that, with the personal qualities that adorned Teodora, her authority and prominence, together with certain unique charm, she had strong influence over the family. Furthermore, she and her husband enjoyed the utmost respect of their children. It was a spontaneous obedience such that Rizal never made any important decision without the approval of his parents. The only exception to this was his first trip to Europe, but this involved a loftier cause, the historic mission that had been assigned to him. Even then, Rizal did not dare present himself to his parents to kiss their hands without asking their previous pardon. Francisco Mercado was 43-years old when Rizal was born. He was older than his wife by six years was, having more than average height; his face was serious and noble. He was a man of few words, dignified and hospitable. Having studied in the Colegio de San Jose in Manila, he possessed an elementary education that was sufficient to successfully carry out the management of the large agricultural properties that were leased to him. He was the first Mercado from the neighboring town of Bian to settle in Calamba. His father and grandfather had been, successively, "capitanes" or mayors of the town in which he was born. The mother of Rizal was prolific, having had 11 children in the span of 20 years, in the following order: Saturnina (1850), Paciano (1851), Narcisa (1852), Olimpia (1855), Lucia (1857), Maria (1859), Jose (1861), Concepcion (1862), Josefa (1865), Trinidad (1868) and Soledad (1870). These data show that out of 11 children she had only two sons. This should explain the close ties that so obviously bound Paciano and Jose, in spite of the differences of their ages. Paciano was a tall, slight man, with prominent and elevated cheekbones. His eyes were slightly slanting though not in the same beautiful way as those of his brother, giving him a slightly Chinese men, like his father. He was serene of temperament, poised, serious, restrained and moderate in his expression. Behind that somewhat austere mien, was a man of integrity, full of tenderness, generosity and with a strong, firm resolution in the attainment of his ideals. He was more a man of action than his brother was for Jose would never have joined the revolutionaries the day after Polavieja signed the death sentence of his brother. Although intelligent, he did not possess the qualities of his brother, nor

did he reach the level of the latter's culture. But judge against the background of his times and his surroundings (Calamba), he was an educated man. He studied high school in the Colegio de San Jose de Manila, directed by the Dominicans. Jose knew the relationship he had with Fr. Burgos. Relations were not limited to have lived together but extended to an identity of ideas. As a consequences, and in spite of the ability of Paciano, the Dominicans made it difficult for him to attain the title of "bachiller", after several years, he still had not reached the last course, or highest level, he gave it up and returned to Calamba. The culture of Paciano is shown in his letters to his brother, written in correct Spanish, both as to construction and orthography. In one of his letters, he tells Jose that after reading Schiller he started translating the story "Maria Estuardo", by the same author, into Tagalog. He also alludes to the ring of Policrates. Paciano was like a true father to Jose, counseling him whenever it is necessary, giving him the proper attention as well as providing for his needs, financial and otherwise, which became quite difficult especially at the time he was in Europe. The Rizal genealogy has roots of Chinese origin. The Philippines has always maintained a close contact with China due to her proximity, commerce, fishing industry and because of immigration. There is some obscurity as to the distant ancestors of Rizal, although it seems certain that among the male ascendants there was Chinese from Fukien who contracted marriage with a Christian Chinese girl in Manila. Successively, there were marriages with Chinese mestizas in Bian (1861) a few kilometers from Calamba. At any rate, when Rizal was born, 141 years had elapsed without a single further inter-racial combination. The family was entirely Filipino. According to Paciano, Francisco Mercado was the son of Juan (Mercado) and a tagala with the family name Alejandra. Juan was the son of another Francisco Mercado, according to family traditions, was the son of Chinese. In other words, Jose Rizal was the great-grandchild of a Chinese man. The sisters of Rizal did not become prominent in the sense of occupying important public positions. In those times, it is 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. An example of family solidarity is the fact that in the family of 13 members, not to mention the sons-in-law, there was never a discordant voice that advised Rizal to stop his political activities, nor any ideological differences, despite the persecution and deportations that they suffered because of him. Manuel Hidalgo was deported to Bohol, simply because he was the brother-in-law of Rizal, according to Weyler. All the family suffered deportation and persecution, yet among the hundreds of family letters one does not come across a single suggestion that Jose give up his mission. But although Rizal was a man a capite ad calcem, his vacillations sometimes and to restore its tranquility. Our hero saw it that the family would be a unit in conduct and in example, giving his sisters, with his usual tact and discretion, advice on conduct. The care and attention with which the sisters of Rizal showered him during his deportation in Dapitan and his stay in Hongkong are difficult to equal. And one notes the unswerving determination of Narcisa to find the tomb of her brother on the afternoon of his execution. She did not turn back until she found it, despite the fact that the Spanish authorities had chosen an abandoned site and camouflaged the sepulchre. All this clear shows the unifying bond of affection that held the Rizal family.

Also to the family finances they were not really as rich as many biographers have stated but were just comfortably well to do. They certainly did not have any reserves with which to face an emergency or adverse situation. One has to take into account the fact that there were 13 members of the family. The couple was ambitious as regards the education of their children, desiring to give each the means to acquire a solid preparation. Furthermore, the lands they cultivated were not property of Francisco Mercado. These belonged to the Hacienda Calamba, a property of the Dominicans, who had leased a part of the property to the Rizal's. From letters between Paciano and Jose, we learned that they had to sell the castao horse in order to send a money order of two hundred pesos to the latter, who was then in Europe. And that they also had to sell a chronometer which they had intended to give him as a gift upon his return. These and many other similar incidents, which shows that it cannot be rightly asserted that the Rizal family was rich, but all their acquisition (house, education of their children, and gracious life) were the fruits of diligence and good administration. The family was bereft of one member when Olimpia died of placenta previa in September 1887.

Rizal to Manila
Late in the night of the 15th of February 1872, a Spanish court-martial found three secular priests, Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora, guilty of treason as the instigators of a mutiny in the Kavite navy-yard, a month before and sentenced them to death. Terror spread all over the archipelago and an ominous silence filled the air, the same silence that Francisco Mercado had imposed when he prohibited his family from speaking of Cavite and of El Filibusterismo. But Paciano, with the moderation and tact that always characterized him, informed Jose of the facts, and gave his opinion on the matter, for he had no other close kin in whom he could confide. Older than Jose, he was more prudent in his judgment. His stand was not radical but simply nationalistic. The young Rizal, at 11 years of age, was thus initiated into the clamor of his blood brothers and of his land. The moment was also critical as regards his studies, for there were very few good schools and he had to pass an entrance examination. On the 10th of June 1872, accompanied by Paciano, Jose took the road to Bian on his way to Manila. As on every occasion that he left home, he was full of sadness. At the moment, Rizal must have seen Mt. Makiling no longer encircled by a garland of white clouds, as it was in his innermost thoughts and legends, but by dense clouds that darkened the landscape. The green of the meadows, the whiteness of the houses, the mornings dew were shrouded in dim shadows that not only pervaded the atmosphere but also his spirit. With gloomy thoughts, fruits of his own fantasy, which did not exactly reflect reality, he made the trip to Manila.

For school admittance, one was required to pass the entrance examination. Rizal satisfactorily accomplished this at the Colegio de Letran. The subjects covered were Christian doctrine, arithmetic and

reading. Having passed the test, he returned to Calamba. Here the feast in honor of the town's patron saint was being celebrated. During this interval Francisco Mercado changed his mind and decided Jesuit priests directed that his son take up his secondary education at the Ateneo Municipal which.

TRAITS What were his physical attributes? He was of below-average height and weight. He had large eyes, full lips and prominent cheekbones, a nose that slightly widened downward. His complexion was medium dark, but his delicate features belied his pure native origin. Every detail of his face gave one the feeling that the nobility of that countenance must be coupled with excellence of conduct. Time confirmed this presentiment.