Childhood Years in

Calamba
Chapter 2

Calamba, the Heros Town

!

Calamba was an hacienda

town which belong to the
Dominican Order

South looms Mount

Makiling

Beyond this mountain is the

province of Batangas

East of the town is the

Laguna de Bay

North is the distant

Antipolo

! Rizal loved Calamba with

all his heart and soul.

! 15 years old student in

Ateneo de Manila
! Wrote a poem:
! Un Recuerdo A Mi

Pueblo
(In Memory of My
Town)

Earliest Childhood Memory

! His first memory in his infancy was his happy days in the

family garden when he was 3 years old.

! An aya (nurse maid) was employed to look after his comfort

because he was a frail, sickly and undersized child

! Aya related to the Rizal children many stories about fairies,

legends and folklore like asuang, the nuno, the tigbalang

! Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayers.
! Another memory of his infancy was the walk in the town

especially when there was a moon

The Heros First

Sorrow
! Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little

Concha
! Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in

1865 when she was only three years old

! The death of little Concha brought him his

first sorrow in life

Devoted Son of the Church

! At the age of 3, he began to take part of in the family

prayers.
! When he was 5 years old, he was able to read the Spanish

Family Bible
! He was so seriously devoted that he was called Manong

Jose.
! One men he respected in Calamba was Father Leoncio

Lopez, the town priest

Pilgrimage to Antipolo
!

On June 6, 1868, Rizal and his

father left Calamba to go on a
pilgrimage to Antipolo in order
to fulfill his mothers vow.

His mother gave birth to

Trinidad

It was his first trip across

Laguna de Bay and his first
Pilgrimge to Antipolo

After praying, he and his father

went to Manila to visit
Saturnina at La Concordia
College

The Story of the Moth

! The tragic fate of the

young moth which died a

martyr to its illusions left
a deep impress on Rizals
mind.

! to sacrifice ones life for

it meaning for an ideal, is

worthwhile.
! Like the young moth,

Rizal was fated to die as a

martyr for a noble ideal.

Artistic Talents
! At the age of 5, he began

to make sketches with his

pencil and to mould in
clay and wax objects.
! He had the soul of a

genuine artist
! He love to ride on a

spirited pony in lakeshore

with his black dog named
Usman.

Sacred Heart, carved by Rizal

while he was a student at the
Ateneo

First Poem by Rizal

! At the age of 8, wrote his

first poem Sa Aking mga

Kababata
! (To My Fellow Children)

! This poem reveals Rizals

earlist nationalist
sentiments.
! The poem revolves about

the Love of ones language

First Drama by Rizal

! At the age of *, wrote his

first dramatic work which

was Tagalog comedy.
! It was staged in the

Calamba festivals
! He is also a boy magician

which he learned various

tricks such as making a
coin appear

Influences on the Heros Boyhood

1. Hereditary Influence
! From his Malayan ancestors
! From his Chinese ancestors
! From his Spanish ancestors
! From his father
! From his mother

2. Environmental Influences
!

Places, Associates, Events

Beauties of Calamba

His 3 uncles
! Tio Jose Alberto

artistic ability
! Tio Manuel develop

his body wrestling

! Tio Gregorio Book

lover

3. Aid of Divine Providence

!

Father Leoncio Lopez

fostered Rizals love for
scholarship and intellectual
honesty.

The sorrow in his family, the

death of Concha in 1865
and the imprisonment of his
mother in 1871-74

A person may have

everything in life brains,
wealth, and power but
without the aid of divine
providence, he cannot attain
greatness in the annals of the
nation.