In Calamba, Laguna

19 June 1861 JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna. 22 June 1861 He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casaas as the sponsor. 28 September 1862 The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizals baptismal records were entered, were burned. 1864 Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother. 1865 When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time. 1865 1867 During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin. At about this time two of his mothers cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything." 6 June 1868 With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mothers life. From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana. 1869 At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was written in tagalog and had for its theme "Love of Ones Language."

Birthplace of Jose Rizal.

Jose Rizal's earliest training recalls the education of William and Alexander vonHumboldt, those two nineteenth century Germans whose achievements for theprosperity of their fatherland and the advancement of humanity have caused them to bespoken of as the most remarkable pair of brothers that ever lived. He was not physicallya strong child, but the direction of his first studies was by an unusually gifted mother,who succeeded, almost without the aid of books, in laying a foundation upon which theman placed an amount of well-mastered knowledge along many different lines that istruly marvelous, and this was done in so short a time that its brevity constitutes anotherwonder. At three he learned his letters, having insisted upon being taught to read andbeing allowed to share the lessons of an elder sister. Immediately thereafter he wasdiscovered with her story book, spelling out its words by the aid of the syllabary or"caton" which he had propped up before him and was using as one does a dictionary ina foreign language. The little boy spent also much of his time in the church, which was convenientlynear, but when the mother suggested that this might be an indication of religiousinclination, his prompt response was that he liked to watch the people. To how good purpose the small eyes and ears were used, the true-to-life types of the characters in "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" testify.

Three uncles, brothers of the mother, concerned themselves with the intellectual,artistic and physical training of this promising nephew. The youngest, Jose, a teacher,looked after the regular lessons. The giant Manuel developed the physique of theyoungster, until he had a supple body of silk and steel and was no longer a sickly lad,though he did not entirely lose his somewhat delicate looks. The more scholarly Jose had a pony and used to take long rides through all thesurrounding country, so rich in picturesque scenery. Besidesthese horseback expeditions were excursions afoot; on the latterhis companion was his big black dog, Usman. His fatherpretended to be fearful of some accident if dog and pony wenttogether, so the boy had to choose between these favorites, andalternated walking and riding, just as Mr. Mercado had plannedhe should. The long pedestrian excursions of his European life,though spoken of as German and English habits, were merelycontinuations of this childhood custom. There were otherplaymates besides the dog and the horse, especially doves thatlived in several houses about the Mercado home, and the lad wasfriend and defender of all the animals, birds, and even insects inthe neighborhood. Had his childish sympathies been respectedthe family would have been strictly vegetarian in their diet. At times Jose was permitted to spend the night in one ofthe curious little straw huts which La Laguna farmers put upduring the harvest season, and the myths and legends of theregion which he then heard interested him and were later madegood use of in his writings. Sleight-of-hand tricks were a favorite amusement, and he developed a dexteritywhich mystified the simple folk of the country. This diversion, and his proficiency in it,gave rise to that mysterious awe with which he was regarded by the common people ofhis home region; they ascribed to him supernatural powers, and refused to believe thathe was really dead even after the tragedy of Bagumbayan. Entertainment of the neighbors with magic-lantern exhibitions was anotherfrequent amusement, an ordinary lamp throwing its light on a common sheet serving asa screen. Jose's supple fingers twisted themselves into fantastic shapes, the enlargedshadows of which on the curtain bore resemblance to animals, and paper accessorieswere worked in to vary and enlarge the repertoire of action figures. The youthfulshowman was quite successful in catering to the public taste, and the knowledge hethen gained proved valuable later in enabling him to approach his countrymen withbooks that held their attention and gave him the opportunity to tell them of shortcomingswhich it was necessary that they should correct. Almost from babyhood he had a grown-up way about him, a sort of dignity thatseemed to make him realize and respect the rights of others and unconsciouslydisposed his elders to reason with him, rather than scold him for his slight offenses. Thishabit grew, as reprimands were needed but once, and his grave promises of betterbehavior were faithfully kept when the explanation of why his conduct was wrong wasonce made clear to him. So the child came to be not an unwelcome companion even foradults, for he respected their moods and was never troublesome

The Mercado - Rizal Family

The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co, the family's paternal ascendant was a fullblooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa. Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese. Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother. FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898) Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in Bian, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila. TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913) Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila. SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913) Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas. PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930) Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution. NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician. OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887) The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth. LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919) The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa. MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945) The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Bian, Laguna. JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896) The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896. CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865) The eight child. Died at the age of three. JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945) The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster. TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951) The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die. SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929) The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.

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