Rizal and the Development of Filipino Nationalism

CHAPTER 5: Rizal and his Childhood Years at Calamba Garcia C.C., De Viana, A.V., & Cruz, C.B. Calamba at the Time of Rizals Birth Calamba is situated between Laguna de Bay and Mt. Makiling. o It was an agricultural town o Owned by DOMINICAN friars o Prosperous due to its specialization in the production of sugar o The picturesque beauty of the town provided the young Rizal the inspiration and springboard to hone his poetic and artistic sensibilities Birth of the Young Jose Born on June 19, 1861 Baptized by Fr. Rufino Collantes at Calamba Catholic Church His godfather was Fr. Pedro Casaas Seventh child in the family of eleven (11) children of Don Francisco and Dona Teodora Siblings: o Saturnina (1850) o Rizal (1861) o Paciano (1851) o Concepcion (1862) o Narcisa (1852) o Josefa (1865) o Olimpia (1855) o Trinidad (1868) o Lucia (1857) o Soledad (1870) o Maria (1859) Rizals Ancestry Father side: o Domingo Lamco (Chinese merchant) great grandfather o Ines dela Rosa (Chinese mestiza) great grandmother o Due to the gubernatorial decree of Narcisa Claveria on the use of Spanish surnames, their family assumed the surname Mercado o Juan Mercado grandfather; once became a gobernadorcillo of Bian; had 14 children, including Don Francisco o Cirila Alejandrino (Chinese-Filipino mestiza) Mother side: o Manuel de Quintos (Chinese mestizo) great grandfather; from Lingayen Pangasinan o Regina Ursua (Japanese) great grandmother o Brigida de Quintos grandmother o Lorenzo Alberto Alfonso grandfather; had five children including Dona Teodora

By Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4 Psychology-3 | 1

Rizal and the Development of Filipino Nationalism

CHAPTER 5: Rizal and his Childhood Years at Calamba Garcia C.C., De Viana, A.V., & Cruz, C.B. Rizals Immediate Family Reared in a typical middle class family in the 19th century Philippines His family belonged to the Principalia class or ruling elite of his town Ownership of carriage and horses the symbols of wealth and respectability during those times Their stone house was made from adobe and hardwood Don Francisco Mercado o Took courses in Latin and Philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila o A model father to Rizal honesty, frugality and industry o Rizal inherited from his father his: profound feeling of dignity, self-respect, serenity and poise, and seriousness Dona Teodora Alonso o Studied in Colegio de Santa Rosa o A disciplinarian, a woman of more than average education, a woman of culture and religion, a sacrificing and industrious housewife o Rizal learned the value of warmth and virtue from her o Rizal inherited from his mother her: practical temperament, stoicism, selfsacrifice, temperament of a dreamer and fondness of poetry Childhood Days and Memories His family stayed in the garden to exchange stories, and in the garden, he experienced closeness to nature He was also not able to forget the daily family prayer they had during Angelus, where all members of his family gather and pray together At three (3) years old, he learned how to pray and read the Bible He frequently visited Fr. Leoncio Lopez from whom he realized the need to develop a sound philosophy of life, and learned the value of scholarship and intellectual honesty At the age of four (4), he experienced his first sorrow when his younger sister Concepcion (who he called Concha) died. It was from her that he learned the importance of sisterly love and it was the first time that she cried. The Story of the Moth and the Flame He heard the story when his mother grew impatient of listening to him read poorly the book entitled El Amigo de los Nios From the story, he realized the sweetness of dying in search for the light; that one has to sacrifice and to suffer the consequence of ones action for the attainment of a goal.

By Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4 Psychology-3 | 2

Rizal and the Development of Filipino Nationalism

CHAPTER 5: Rizal and his Childhood Years at Calamba Garcia C.C., De Viana, A.V., & Cruz, C.B. Early Demonstration of Inborn Talents At three (3) years old, he was able to master the alphabet He then showed interest in reading, sketching, painting, sculpture and literature Rizal was able to write his first poem when he was eight (8) years old: Sa Aking Kababata or To My Fellow Children o It revealed that Rizal, during his tender years, had a concept of nationalism o He associated love for the native language bestowed by God with the desire for freedom, which according to him was on mortgage o It also calls his fellow children to love their native language The First Taste of Injustice An incident which opened his eyes to the injustice of the regime was the arrest and incarceration of his mother in 1871 due to her alleged complicity in the attempted murder of his uncles unfaithful wife o His uncle was Jose Alberto (came from Europe) o Her mother was made to walk a distance of 50km from Calamba to Sta. Cruz, the capital of Laguna; jailed for almost two and one-half years o She was then released by Governor-General Izquierdo as a result of the request of the young Soledad It created in him hatred of the Spanish regime, and he even lost confidence in friendship and developed mistrust of his fellowmen He was also greatly influenced by the martyrdom of the GOMBURZA o At that time, he was just eleven (11) years old and his brother Paciano narrated him the injustice suffered by the three Filipino priests for crusading for justice in the parochial administration in the Philippines, particularly the struggle waged by Fr. Burgos (his teacher at Colegio de San Jose). o If not for this, Rizal would have been a member of the Society of Jesuits o El Filibusterismo his dedication to the memory of the GOMBURZA Preparations for Formal Schooling Rizals teacher was Doa Teodora, his mother Maestro Celestino his first private tutor o Followed by Maestro Lucas Padua o And then Leon Monroy (a former classmate of his teacher), who honed the skills of Rizal in reading, writing, and the rudiments of Latin. Like other members of the principalia, Rizal was trained to becom a middle-class intellectual or ilustrado

By Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4 Psychology-3 | 3