The Life and Works of Jose Rizal

Chapter 3: Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Analyze the family, childhood, and early education of Rizal.
2. Evaluate the people and events and their influence on Rizal’s early life.

Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education

The Rizal family was known to be well-off family in Calamba, Laguna and they were
considered as one of the biggest families in those times. They lived a life of comfort and
prosperity, then considered that his family belonged to the principalia class or the ruling elite of
their town. Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family, consisted of his father Don Francisco
Mercado II and his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda. Jose Rizal had nine sisters and one brother.
Saturnina Rizal was the eldest child among the siblings, followed by Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia,
Lucia, Maria, Jose, Concepcion, Josefa and the youngest was Soledad.
Rizal came from a mixture of races, his paternal ascendant was Domingo Lamco, a full-
blooded Chinese. He married a wealthy Chinese mestiza, Ines de la Rosa. Domingo Lamco
adopted the surname Mercado, which means “market” in keeping the gubernatorial decree of
Narciso Claveria on the use of Spanish surnames. From the Parian in Manila, the coupled moved to
Biñan, Laguna and became tenants in the Dominican hacienda.
Rizal’s father is one of the 14 children of Juan Mercado, paternal grandfather and his
grandmother was Cirila Alejandrino, a Chinese-Filipino mestiza. Juan Mercado became a
gobernadorcillo of Biñan Laguna. Rizal’s maternal great grandfather was Manuel de Quintos, a
Chinese mestizo from Lingayen, Pangasinan. Manuel married Regina Ursua, with a Japanese
ancestry to whom they bore the grandmother of Rizal, Brigida who married Lorenzo Alberto
Alonso, one of their.

DON FRANCISCO RIZAL MERCADO (1818-1898)

Rizal’s father was born on May 11, 1818 and was the youngest of his 13 siblings. Mercado
was a well-respected man in their home town of Calamba in which citizens made him the their
"cabeza de barangay" (head of town.) He was of part Chinese descent, having been related to a
Chinese entrepreneur by the name of Domingo
Lamco. Mercado die shortly after Rizal in the home of his daughter, Narcisa Rizal in Binondo,
Manila on January 5, 1898.

TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)

Doña Teodora Alonso was born on November 14, 1827 in Santa Cruz Manila. Her
parents were Lorenzo Alonso, a municipal captain and Brijida de Quintos, an educated housewife
and had four other siblings . It is said that her great grandfather, Eugenio Ursua was of Japanese
ancestry making her of Japanese descent. When Teodora was 20 years old, she married
Francisco Mercado, a native from Binan, Laguna. Together they prospered in Calamba after
involving themselves in business and agriculture. She was known to be a hardworking,
intelligent, business minded woman. She died in 1913 in Manila.

SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)

Saturnina Mercado Rizal Hidalgo was born in 1818 and was the eldest sister of Jose Rizal.
She had five children together with husband Manuel T. Hidalgo and died the same year as her
mother in 1913.

PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)

General Paciano Mercado Rizal aka "Lolo Ciano" was the only brother of Jose Rizal. He
was born in 1851 and studied in Biñan later attending school at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila.
After the execution of his brother, he joined in the Philippine Revolution where he rose up to the
ranks of a General. He later married Severina Decena of Los Banos and had two children of
which one died at an early age. Paciano passed away in 1930.

NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)

Narcisa Rizal Lopez was born in 1852 and was the one who found the unmarked grave of
her brother, Jose in the abandoned Old Paco Cemetery. Narcisa married Antonio Lopez who
was a teacher and musician from Morong, Rizal. She died in 1938.

OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)

Olympia Rizal Ubaldo was born in 1855. She married Silvestre Ubaldo and together they
had three children. She died in 1887 from childbirth when she was only 32 years old.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
Lucia Rizal Herbosa was born in 1857. She married Mariano Herbosa and had 5 children
together. In 1889 Mariano died due to an epidemic but was denied a Christian burial. This was due
to the fact that he was the brother in law of Jose Rizal. This showed the beginning of the
persecution of the Rizal family by Spanish friars. Lucia died in 1919.

MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)

Maria Cruz Rizal was born in 1855. She married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna
and together they had 5 children. Mauricio Cruz, one of Maria's children became a student of
Jose Rizal in Dapitan and was known to be one of his uncle's favorites. Maria was a known
recipient of many od Jose's letters during his lifetime. Maria died in 1945.

JOSE RIZAL
Jose Protacio Rizal was the second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the
Spaniards on December 30,1896.

CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

Concepcion Rizal was born in 1862. Concepcion did not live very long as she died at
the age of 3 in 1865.

JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)

Josefa Rizal was born in 1865. She was unmarried lived together with sister Trinidad until
death. Josefa was said to have suffered from epilepsy. She died in 1945.

TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)

Trinidad Rizal was born in 1868. She remained unmarried and lived together with her sister
Josefa. Trinidad was the one who received an alcohol lamp from brother Jose, in which he secretly
hid the "Last Farewell" better known as "Mi Ultimo Adios," a poem Rizal wrote on the eve of his
death in 1896. Trinidad died in 1951, outliving all her siblings.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
Soledad Rizal Quintero was born in 1870 making her the youngest of the Rizal siblings.
She married Pantaleon Quintero and together they had 5 children. Soledad died in 1929.

RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION

Jose Rizal (Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonso Realonda) was born on June 19, 1861
at Calamba, Laguna. According to some readings, his mother nearly died during his delivery
because of his big head. Three days after his birth, Rizal was baptized on June 22 of the said
year with the name Jose Rizal Mercado at the Catholic church of Calamba by the parish priest Rev.
Rufino Collantes. He was the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y
Quintos.
During 1865-1867, his mother taught him how to read and write. At the age of three, Rizal
mastered and learned the alphabet taught by his mother. At a very young age, he has shown great
interest in reading. He enjoyed reading books in their library at home, with his mother who acts as
his reading teacher and a critic. At this time, he also learned how to pray and even read the bible.
When Jose Rizal grew older, his parents acquired private tutors to give him lessons at
home in preparation for his formal education. One of them was Leon Monroy, a classmate of his
father who taught him the rudiments of Latin. At about this time, his mother’s cousin, Uncle
Manuel Alberto, who frequently visited the family in Calamba, was worried about his nephew’s
physical development. He then taught Rizal to develop the skills in swimming, fencing, wrestling
and other sports, while Uncle Jose taught him to love and admire the beauty of nature. On the
other hand, Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, has instilled in Rizal’s mind the love for education and its
importance, the value of hard work, to think for himself, and to observe his surroundings carefully.
When he was four years old, his sister Concepcion, the eighth child in the Rizal family, died
at the age of three. This was the first time he cried as a young boy. As sad as he was, the
parish priest of Calamba, Father Leoncio Lopez, helped Rizal understand the philosophy of life
and learned the value of scholarship and intellectual honesty.
Rizal, in his childhood, used to take long rides through all the surrounding country by
riding his pony that his father gave him. Among his pets were doves and a dog.
Owing to the continuous teaching of Doña Teodora, Rizal was persuaded to express his
feelings through verses. He was able to write his first poem when he was eight years old. The poem
was entitled “Sa Aking Mga Kababata” (To My Fellow Children), which showed that Rizal,
even at a young age, already had love for his
country. Here, he similarly incorporates the love for the native language with God’s gift of
freedom. He compared his native language or Tagalog to Latin, English and Spanish. Tagalog, like
any other languages, had its own alphabet and system writing, which according to Rizal,
disappeared because they were neglected or ignored. With this, he encourages his fellow children to
love their native tongue.
Then, after Rizal’s tutor Leon Monroy died, his parents decided to transfer Rizal to a
private school in Biñan, Laguna. He was accompanied by his older brother Paciano, who
acted as his second father during his school days in Biñan. The school was then supervised by
Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
Rizal’s first day of class in the school was not easy. The maestro asked him if he knows
how to speak Latin or Spanish, but in response, he only knew a little of the languages. As a result,
one of his classmates named Pedro, the son of the maestro, laughed at him. Pedro was always
bullying him that eventually resulted to a brawl. But knowing Rizal’s acquired knowledge and skill
in the art of wrestling from his Tio Manuel, he defeated Pedro. After the said incident, Rizal
became popular in his class. Here, Rizal was able to show his intellectual superiority.
He excelled in his class in Latin, Spanish and other subjects in the curriculum for
elementary pupils. Because of this, many of the students became jealous to him and do everything
to destroy Rizal’s name to Maestro Cruz. While Rizal’s interest in painting was nurtured early
on by an old painter named Juancho of Biñan. During this time, knowledge was taught in the minds
of the students by doing tedious memorization method. Despite some lack of the elementary
education in Spanish system, Rizal was able to have the needed instruction preparatory for college
work in Manila.
TO MY FELLOW CHILDREN
Whenever people of a country truly love
The language, which by heaven they were taught to use That
country also surely liberty pursue
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.

For language is the final judge and referee Upon

the people in the land where it holds sway;
In truth our human race resembles this way The
other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue Is

worse than any beast or evil smelling fish.
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young.

Tagalog and the Latin language are the same And

English and Castilian and the angel’s tongue;
And God, whose watchful care o’er all is flung, Has
given us His blessing in the speech we claim.

Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know

Had alphabet and letters of its very own;
 But these were lost – by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago.

Name Score
Course and Section Date
WORKSHEET 1
REFLECTION. Give some examples of virtues that were exhibited in the life of Rizal based on
his relationship with his family, his childhood and early education. How do you think you can use
these virtues in your everyday life? Provide specific situations to explain your answer.
Name Score
Course and Section Date
WORKSHEET 2
SHORT ESSAY. Read and analyze each question. Answer each item briefly but
concisely.

1. Of all the members of Jose Rizal’s family, who do you think had been the most
influential to his life? Explain your answer by citing a specific situation.

2. How was the value of good education manifested in the life of Rizal?

3. What can you say about Rizal’s relationship with his parents and siblings?
Name Score
Course and Section Date
WORKSHEET 3
ESSAY. Write a short biographical essay that compares your early childhood with
that of Rizal’s. How different (or similar) was your experience from Rizal?