MY LAST

FAREWELL
MI ULTIMO ADIOS/ HULING PAALAM
■“MI ULTIMO ADIOS” IS A POEM WRITTEN B
DR. JOSE RIZAL BEFORE HIS EXECUTION BY
FIRING SQUAD ON DECEMBER 30, 1896.
■THE PIECE WAS ONE OF THE LAST NOTES
HE WROTE BEFORE HIS DEATH.
■ANOTHER THAT HE HAD WRITTEN WAS
FOUND IN HIS SHOE, BUT BECAUSE THE
TEXT WAS ILLEGIBLE, ITS CONTENTS
REMAIN A MYSTERY.
■"On the afternoon of Dec. 29, 1896, a day
before his execution, Dr. José Rizal was visited
by his mother, Teodora Alonzo; sisters Lucia,
Josefa, Trinidád, Maria and Narcisa; and two
nephews. When they took their leave, Rizal
told Trinidád in English that there was
something in the small alcohol stove
(cocinilla), as opposed to saying coconut oil
(lamparilla), which was intended provide
cover for the transportation of the text. The
stove was given to Narcisa by the guard when
the party was about to board their carriage in
■At home, the Rizal ladies recovered a folded
paper from the stove. On it was written an
unsigned, untitled and undated poem of 14
five-line stanzas. The Rizals reproduced
copies of the poem and sent them to Rizal's
friends in the country and abroad. In 1897,
Mariano Ponce in Hong Kong had the poem
printed with the title "Mí último
pensamiento". Fr. Mariano Dacanay, who
received a copy of the poem while a prisoner
in Bilibid (jail), published it in the first issue
of La Independencia on September 25, 1898
1

■Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun

caressed, 
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost, 
With gladness I give you my life, sad and
repressed; 
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its
best, 
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.
■HE EXPRESSES SACRIFICE
FOR AND GOODBYE TO HIS
MOTHERLAND
2

■On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight, 

Others give you their lives without pain or
hesitancy, 
The place does not matter: cypress, laurel,
lily white; 
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's
site, 
It is the same if asked by the home and
■HE DEALS WITH MARTYRDOM AND
HIS SERVICES FOR THE COUNTRY
BY OFFERING HIS LIFE
3

■I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show 

And at last announce the day, after a gloomy
night; 
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal
glow, 
Pour my blood and at the right moment
spread it so, 
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent
■HE TALKS ABOUT HIS DEATH/ FINAL
END
 4

■My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent, 

My dreams when already a youth, full of
vigor to attain, 
Were to see you, Gem of the Sea of the
Orient, 
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a
high plane,
Without frown, without wrinkles and of
■HE PRESENTS HIS VISION, THAT IS, TO
SEE THE PHILIPPINES FREE AND
DEVELOPED
5

■My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire, 

Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part
from thee; 
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may
acquire; 
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire, 
And in thy mystic land to sleep through eternity!
■HE GOES BACK TO HIS DEATH. HE
DECLARES THAT IS HIS DESIRE TO
DIE FOR THE SAKE OF THE
COUNTRY
6

■If over my tomb some day, you would see

blow, 
A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses, 
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so, 
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my
brow, 
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of thy
tenderness.
■HE DESIRES THAT HIS COUNTRY ALSO
HOWS LOVE FOR HIM BY OFFEREING
FLOWERS ON HIS TOMB
7

■Let the moon with soft, gentle light me

descry, 
Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant
light, 
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh, 
And should a bird descend on my cross and
alight, 
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my
■HE REQUESTS FOR A PROPER
BURIAL
8

■Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize 

And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky; 
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise; 
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on
high, 
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest
I.
■HE URGES THE COUNTRY TO
OFFER PRAYER FOR HIM AND HIS
REST IN GOD
9

■Pray thee for all the hapless who have died, 

For all those who unequalled torments have
undergone; 
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried; 
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were
shied, 
And pray too that you may see your own
redemption.
■HE REQUESTS FOR PRAYERS FOR
OTHERS. THOSE PEOPLE WHO
DIED AND FOR THOSE MOTHERS
WHO MOURN
 10

■And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry 

And only the dead to vigil there are left
alone, 
Don't disturb their repose, disturb not the
mystery: 
If thou hear the sounds of cithern or
psaltery, 
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.
■HE MENTIONS THAT THE DEAD ARE
FORGETTEN
11

■And when my grave by all is no more

remembered, 
With neither cross nor stone to mark its
place, 
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be
scattered 
And my ashes ere to nothingness are
restored, 
 12

■Then it doesn't matter that you should forget

me: 
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll
sweep; 
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall
be: 
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings
deep, 
 ■ALTHOUGH THE DEAD ARE
FORGETTEN, HE HOPES THAT HIS
SPIRIT WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON
 13

■My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely

pine, 
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh,
harken 
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine, 
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or
hangmen 
Where faith does not kill and where God
■HE EXPRESSES FAREWELL TO HIS
LOVED ONES. HE ALSO DISCUSSES
HEAVEN, A PLACE WHERE NO
SLAVE AND OPPRESSOR AND
THERE IS ONLY ONE ALMIGHTY
CREATOR
 14

■Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me, 

Friends of my childhood, in the home
distressed; 
Give thanks that now I rest from the
wearisome day; 
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who
brightened my way; 
Farewell to all I love; to die is to rest.
■FINALLY, HE SAID THAT DEATH IS REST.
ALL PEOPLE DIE. HERE, HE SHOWS US
THE THOUGHTS AND SENTIMENTS
 MY LAST
FAREWELL
MI ULTIMO ADIOS/ HULING PAALAM
■1. FR. MIGUEL SADERRA MATA
■2. FR. LUIS VIZA
■3. FR. ANTONIO ROSELL
■4. LT. TAVIEL DE ANDRADE
■5. FR, FEDERICO FAURA
■6. FR. JOSE VILLACLARA
■7. FR. VICENTE BALAGUER
■8. SANTIAGO MATAIX
■9. GASPAR CASTANO