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Jose Rizal

Life, Works and

Writings

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Rivera, Jeffrey P. Mr. Joel Ignacio
Pamintuan, Anjilou

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 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425

AN ACT TO INCLUDE IN THE CURRICULA OF ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES COURSES ON THE LIFE, WORKS
AND WRITINGS OF JOSE RIZAL, PARTICULARLY HIS NOVELS NOLI ME
TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO, AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING AND
DISTRIBUTION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, today, more than any other period of our history, there is a need for a re-
dedication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died;

WHEREAS, it is meet that in honoring them, particularly the national hero and patriot,
Jose Rizal, we remember with special fondness and devotion their lives and works that
have shaped the national character;

WHEREAS, the life, works and writing of Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are a constant and inspiring source of patriotism with
which the minds of the youth, especially during their formative and decisive years in
school, should be suffused;

WHEREAS, all educational institutions are under the supervision of, and subject to
regulation by the State, and all schools are enjoined to develop moral character,
personal discipline, civic conscience and to teach the duties of citizenship; Now,
therefore,

SECTION 1. Courses on the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his novel
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all schools,
colleges and universities, public or private: Provided, That in the collegiate courses, the
original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
English translation shall be used as basic texts.

The Board of National Education is hereby authorized and directed to adopt forthwith
measures to implement and carry out the provisions of this Section, including the writing
and printing of appropriate primers, readers and textbooks. The Board shall, within sixty
(60) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate rules and regulations, including
those of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. The
Board shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the exemption of students for
reasons of religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from the requirement of
the provision contained in the second part of the first paragraph of this section; but not
from taking the course provided for in the first part of said paragraph. Said rules and
regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after their publication in the Official Gazette.

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SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in
their libraries an adequate number of copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of
the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as of Rizal’s other works and
biography. The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
or their translations in English as well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the
list of approved books for required reading in all public or private schools, colleges and
universities.

The Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books,
depending upon the enrollment of the school, college or university.

SECTION 3. The Board of National Education shall cause the translation of the Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as other writings of Jose Rizal into English,
Tagalog and the principal Philippine dialects; cause them to be printed in cheap,
popular editions; and cause them to be distributed, free of charge, to persons desiring to
read them, through the Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the country.

SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amendment or repealing section

nine hundred twenty-seven of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of
religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged in any public
school.

SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be

appropriated out of any fund not otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to
carry out the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 12, 1956

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6, p. 2971 in June 1956.

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 JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO y ALONSO REOLANDA
(1861-1896)

JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on

June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11

children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished

families.

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 FRANCISCO ENGRACIO ALEJANDRO MERCADO RIZAL
(1818-1898)

On May 11, 1818, Francisco Mercado, father of the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, was born in
Biñan, Laguna.

He first attended a Latin school in his hometown, and later was sent to study Philosophy and
Latin at the College of San Jose in Manila.

He got married to Teodora Alonzo on June 28, 1848 and had eight children, including Jose Rizal.

As a young industrious and efficient farmer, Francisco was able to raise a family that was
financially comfortable.

He was a tenant of a Dominican estate in Calamba, Laguna and through hard work, he had
increased his rented landholdings.

He was respected by the townspeople that he became cabeza de barangay of Calamba.

His family name was changed to "Rizal" after an order from Governor General Narciso Claveria
that all native Filipinos should have a distinctive family name.
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 Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda de Rizal y Quintos
(1827-1913)

On November 9, 1827, Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda de Rizal y Quintos, the mother of

Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, was born in Meisik, Tondo, Manila. She was known for

being a disciplinarian as well as a dedicated, courteous and hard- working mother. As the young

Rizal's first teacher, she had a profound influence on his development and was his inspiration in

taking up medicine.

Teodora was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. In accordance to the

decree issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1849, their family adopted the

surname "Realonda de Rizal". Coming from an able family, Teodora had her formal education at

the Colegio de Santa Rosa in Manila. Just like her mother, she was well-educated and highly

cultured.

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 Saturnina Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1850-1913)

Saturnina Rizal Mercado de Hidalgo (June 4, 1850– September 14, 1913, born as Saturnina Rizal

Mercado y Alonso Realonda) or simply Saturnina Hidalgo was the eldest sister of Philippine

national hero José Rizal. She was married to Manuel T. Hidalgo, a native and one of the richest

persons in Tanauan, Batangas. She was known as Neneng.

She died in September 14, 1913.

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 Paciano Rizál Mercado y Alonso Realonda,
(1851-1930)

better known as Paciano Rizal (March 9, 1851 – April 13, 1930), was a Filipino general and

revolutionary, and the older brother of José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines.

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 Narcisa Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1852-1939)

The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician. or simply

‘Sisa’ was the third child in the family. Like Saturnina, Narcisa helped in financing Rizal’s

studies in Europe, even pawning her jewelry and peddling her clothes if needed. It is said she

could recite from memory almost all of the poems of the national hero.

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 Olympia Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1855-1887)

The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth Jose loved to tease her,

sometimes good-humoredly describing her as his stout sister.

Jose’s first love, Segunda Katigbak, was Olimpia’s schoolmate at the La Concordia College.

Rizal confided to Olympia about Segunda and the sister willingly served as the mediator between

the two teenage lovers. It was thus unclear whether it was Olympia or Segunda whom Jose was

frequently visiting at La Concordia at the time.

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 Lucia Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1857-1919)

Lucia Rizal was married to Mariano Herbosa of Calamba. When her husband died in the cholera

epidemic in 1889, he was denied a Christian burial because he was the brother-in-law of Dr. Jose

Rizal. She sent her two sons, Estanislao and Teodisio to be educated in the school Jose Rizal

established in Dapital during his exile.

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 Maria Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1859-1945)

Maria Rizal Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna is the sixth child in the family. It

was to her whom Jose talked about wanting to marry Josephine Bracken when the majority of the

Rizal family was apparently not amenable to the idea. In his letter dated December 12, 1891,

Jose had also brought up to Maria his plan of establishing a Filipino colony in North British

Borneo.

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 JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO y ALONSO REOLANDA
(1861-1896)

JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on

June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11

children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished

families.

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 Concepcion Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1862-1865)

Also called ‘Concha’ by her siblings,Concepcion Rizal(1862-1865) was the eight child of the

Rizal family. She died at the age of three.

Of his sisters, it is said that Pepe loved most the little Concha who was a year younger than him.

Jose played games and shared children stories with her, and from her he felt the beauty of sisterly

love.

When Concha died of sickness in 1865, Jose mournfully wept at losing her. He later wrote in his

memoir, “When I was four years old, I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I

shed tears caused by love and grief.”

From Concha’s life we could learn that not a few children in those times died young. If records

are correct, more than ten of Rizal’s nieces and nephews also died young, not to mention that

Jose’s child himself experienced the same fate.

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 Josefa Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1865-1945)

Josefa Rizal’s nickname is Panggoy (1865-1945). She’s the ninth child in the family who died a

spinster.

Among Jose’s letters to Josefa, the one dated October 26 1893 is perhaps the most fascinating.

Written in English, the letter addressed Josefa as “Miss Josephine Rizal”, thereby making her the

namesake of Rizal’s girlfriend Josephine Bracken. In the letter, Jose praised her sister for nearly

mastering the English language, commenting that the only fault he found in Josefa’s letter is her

apparent confusion between the terms ‘they are’ and ‘there’. Jose also wrote about the 20 pesos

he sent, the 10 pesos of the amount was supposed for a lottery ticket. This indicates that Jose did

not stop ‘investing’ in lottery tickets despite winning 6, 200 pesos in September the previous

year. Even when he was in Madrid, he used to spend at least three pesetas monthly for his ‘only

vice’

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 Trinidad Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1868-1951)

Trinidad Rizal (1868-1951) or ‘Trining’ was the tenth child and the custodian of Rizal’s last and

greatest poem.

In March 1886, Jose wrote to Trining describing how the German women were serious in

studying. He thus advised her: “now that you are still young and you have time to learn, it is

necessary that you study by reading and reading attentively.” Perhaps sensing that studying is not

Trinidad’s thing, Jose continued, “It is a pity that you allow yourself to be dominated by laziness

when it takes so little effort to shake it off. It is enough to form only the habit of study and later

everything goes by itself.” Four years later, Trining surprised Jose by writing him, “Dearest

Brother: I left the College two years, one month and a half ago.

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 Soledad Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(1870-1929)

Also called ‘Choleng,’ Soledad Rizal (1870-1929) was the youngest child of the Rizal family.

Being a teacher, she was arguably the best educated among Rizal’s sisters.

In his long and meaty letter to Choleng dated June 6, 1890, Jose told her sister that he was proud

of her for becoming a teacher. He thus counseled her to be a model of virtues and good qualities

“for the one who should teach should be better than the persons who need her learning.”

Rizal nonetheless used the topic as leverage in somewhat rebuking her sister for getting married

to Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba without their parents’ consent. “Because of you,” he wrote,

“the peace of our family has been disturbed.”

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 A product of the mixture of races

 In his veins flowed the blood of both EAST and WEST

 NEGRITO, INDONESIAN, MALAY, CHINESE, JAPANESE and SPANISH

 Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a magnificent specimen of Asian

manhood.

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  Domingo Lam-co – great-great grandfather

– A Chinese immigrant from Chinchew “China’s City of Spring”, he was married

to Ines De la Rosa

 1731 – he adopt the name “Mercado” meaning market

 Francisco Mercado – Domingo Lam-co’s son

 Juan Mercado – Francisco’s son, married to Cirila Alejandro

 Francisco Mercado – Rizal’s father (son of Juan Mercado)

RIZAL’S ANCESTRY

Father Side

Domingo Lamco Ines De la Rosa

Francisco Mercado Cirila Bernacha

Juan Mercado 13 Children Cilira Alejandro

(Rizal’s GrandFather

Francisco Mercado
(Rizal’s Father) Youngest of the 13
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)

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  Lakan Dula – descendant

 Eugenio Ursua – (Japanese blood) -great-great grandfather, he was married to Benigna.

 Regina – daughter of Eugenio, married to Manuel De Quintos

 Brigida – daughter of Regina, married to Lorenzo Alberto, mother of Narcisa, Teodora,

Gregorio, Jose and Manuel

 Rizal – “ricial”; meaning “new pasture” and “green field”

RIZAL’S ANCESTRY

Mother Side

EUGENIO URSUA BENIGNA

MANUEL DE QUINTOS REGINA

LORENZO ALBERTO ALONSO BRIGIDA

(Rizal’s Grandfatehr

TEODORA ALONSO
(RIZAL’S MOTHER)
Both their families had adopted the additional surnames
of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after Governor General Narciso Clavería
y Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish surnames among
the Filipinos for census purposes

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 The Count of Monte Cristo

(French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Frenchauthor Alexandre

Dumas (père) completed in 1844. It is one of the author's most popular works, along with The

Three Musketeers. Like many of his novels, it was expanded from plot outlines suggested by his

collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.[1] Another important work by Dumas, written prior to

his work with Maquet, was the short novel "Georges"; this novel is of particular interest to

scholars because Dumas reused many of the ideas and plot devices later in The Count of Monte

Cristo.[2]

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The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical

events of 1815–1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of

France. It begins just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after

his exile). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book, an adventure story

primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. It centres

on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about

exacting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. His plans have devastating

consequences for both the innocent and the guilty. The book is a story of romance, loyalty,

betrayal, vengeance, selfishness, and justice.

The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, "The Count of Monte

Cristohas become a fixture of Western civilization's literature, as inescapable and immediately

identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

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 UNCLE TOM’S CABIN

is an anti-slavery novel by American authorHarriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel

"helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman.[3]

Stowe, a Connecticut-born teacher at the Hartford Female Seminary and an active abolitionist,

featured the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories of

other characters revolve. The sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting

that Christian love can overcome something as destructive as enslavement of fellow human

beings.[4][5][6]

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Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling

book of that century, following the Bible.[7][8] It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist

cause in the 1850s.[9] In the first year after it was published, 300,000 copies of the book were

sold in the United States; one million copies in Great Britain.[10] In 1855, three years after it was

published, it was called "the most popular novel of our day."[11] The impact attributed to the book

is great, reinforced by a story that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the start of the Civil

War, Lincoln declared, "So this is the little lady who started this great war."[12] The quote

is apocryphal; it did not appear in print until 1896, and it has been argued that "The long-term

durability of Lincoln's greeting as an anecdote in literary studies and Stowe scholarship can

perhaps be explained in part by the desire among many contemporary intellectuals ... to affirm

the role of literature as an agent of social change."[13]

The book and the plays it inspired helped popularize a number of stereotypes about black

people.[14]These include the affectionate, dark-skinned "mammy"; the "pickaninny" stereotype of

black children; and the "Uncle Tom", or dutiful, long-suffering servant faithful to his white

master or mistress. In recent years, the negative associations with Uncle Tom's Cabin have, to an

extent, overshadowed the historical impact of the book as a "vital antislavery tool.

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 THE WANDERING JEW

he Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the

13th century.[1]

The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was

then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. The exact nature of the wanderer's

indiscretion varies in different versions of the tale, as do aspects of his character; sometimes he is

said to be a shoemaker or other tradesman, while sometimes he is the doorman at Pontius Pilate's

estate.

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 Sa Aking mga Kabata

Kapagka ang baya’y sadyang umiibig

Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit,

Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit

Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagka’t ang salita’y isang kahatulan

Sa bayan, sa nayo’t mga kaharian,

At ang isang tao’y katulad, kabagay

Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.

Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita

Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda,

Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa

Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.

Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin

Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel,

Sapagka’t ang Poong maalam tumingin

Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.

Ang salita nati’y huwad din sa iba

Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,

Na kaya nawala’y dinatnan ng sigwa

Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una.

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 Mi Primera Inspiracion
(My First Inspiration)

Why seems to me more endearing,

Why falls so rich a spray
more fair than on other days,
of fragrance from the bowers
the dawn's enchanting face
of the balmy flowers
among red clouds appearing?
upon this festive day?

The reason, dear mother, is

Why from woods and vales
they feast your day of bloom:
do we hear sweet measures ringing
the rose with its perfume,
that seem to be the singing
the bird with its harmonies.
of a choir of nightingales?

And the spring that rings with laughter

Why in the grass below
upon this joyful day
do birds start at the wind's noises,
with its murmur seems to say:
unleashing their honeyed voices
'Live happily ever after!'
as they hop from bough to bough?

And from that spring in the grove

Why should the spring that glows
now turn to hear the first note
its crystalline murmur be tuning
that from my lute I emote
to the zephyr's mellow crooning
to the impulse of my love
as among the flowers it flows?

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UN RECUERDO A MI PUEBLO
(In Memory of my Town)

When I recall the days

That saw my childhood of yore

Beside the verdant shore

Of a murmuring lagoon;

When I remember the sighs

Of the breeze that on my brow

Sweet and caressing did blow

With coolness full of delight;

When I look at the lily white

Fills up with air violent

And the stormy element

On the sand doth meekly sleep;

When sweet 'toxicating scent

From the flowers I inhale

Which at the dawn they exhale

When at us it begins to peep;

I sadly recall your face,

Oh precious infancy,

That a mother lovingly

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 Did succeed to embellish.

I remember a simple town;

My cradle, joy and boon,

Beside the cool lagoon

The seat of all my wish.

Oh, yes! With uncertain pace

I trod your forest lands,

And on your river banks

A pleasant fun I found;

At your rustic temple I prayed

With a little boy's simple faith

And your aura's flawless breath

Filled my heart with joy profound.

Saw I God in the grandeur

Of your woods which for centuries stand;

Never did I understand

In your bosom what sorrows were;

While I gazed on your azure sky

Neither love nor tenderness

Failed me, 'cause my happiness

In the heart of nature rests there.

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Tender childhood, beautiful town,

Rich fountain of happiness,

Of harmonious melodies,

That drive away my sorrow!

Return thee to my heart,

Bring back my gentle hours

As do the birds when the flow'rs

Would again begin to blow!

But, alas, adieu! E'er watch

For your peace, joy and repose,

Genius of good who kindly dispose

Of his blessings with amour;

It's for thee my fervent pray'rs,

It's for thee my constant desire

Knowledge ever to acquire

And may God keep your candour!

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 A CA JUVENTUD FILIPINA
(TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH)
Raise your unruffled brow
On this day, Filipino youth!
Resplendent shines
Your courage rich,
Handsome hope of my motherland!
Fly, grand genius
And infuse them with noble sentiment
That vigorously rushes,
More rapid than the wind,
Its virgin mind to the glorious goal.
Descend to the arena
With the pleasant light of arts and sciences,
And unbind, Youth,
The heavy chain
That fetters your poetic genius.
See that in the bright zone
With pious and learned hand,
Offers the son of this native land
Resplendent crown.
You who ascend
On wings of your rich fantasy,
Seeking from Olympus in the clouds
Tenderest poetry,
Sweeter than nectar and ambrosia;
You of the celestial accent,
Melodious rival of the nightingale,
Who with varied melodies
Dissipate the mortal’s bitter pain
In the night serene;
You who animate the hand rock
With the impulse of your mind,
And with prepotent hand makes eternal
The pure memory
Of the refulgent genius;
And you, who with magic brushes
Are wont to transfer to simple canvas
The varied enchantment of Phoebus,
beloved of
Apollo divine,
And the mantle of nature.
Run! For the sacred flame
Of the genius awaits to be crowned with
laurels,
Spreading fame
With trumpet proclaiming
O’er the wide sphere the mortal’s name.
Day, oh happy day,
Philippines genteel, for your soil!
Bless the Almighty,
Who with loving desire
Sends you fortune and consolation.
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 ME PIDEN VERSOS
(THEY ASKED ME FOR VARSES)

I
They bid me strike the lyre
so long now mute and broken,
but not a note can I waken
nor will my muse inspire!
She stammers coldly and babbles
when tortured by my mind;
she lies when she laughs and thrills
as she lies in her lamentation,
for in my sad isolation
my soul nor frolics nor feels.

II

There was a time, ’tis true,

but now that time has vanished
when indulgent love or friendship
called me a poet too.
Now of that time there lingers
hardly a memory,
as from a celebration
some mysterious refrain
that haunts the ears will remain
of the orchestra’s actuation.

III

A scarce-grown plant I seem,

uprooted from the Orient,
where perfume is the atmosphere

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 and where life is a dream.
O land that is never forgotten!
And these have taught me to sing:
the birds with their melody,
the cataracts with their force
and, on the swollen shores,
the murmuring of the sea.

IV

While in my childhood days

I could smile upon her sunshine,
I felt in my bosom, seething,
a fierce volcano ablaze.
A poet was I, for I wanted
with my verses, with my breath,
to say to the swift wind: ‘Fly
and propagate her renown!
Praise her from zone to zone,
from the earth up to the sky!’

I left her! My native hearth,

a tree despoiled and shriveled,
no longer repeats the echo
of my old songs of mirth.
I sailed across the vast ocean,
craving to change my fate,
not noting, in my madness,
that, instead of the weal I sought,
the sea around me wrought
the spectre of death and sadness.

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 The dreams of younger hours,
love, enthusiasm, desire,
have been left there under the skies
of that fair land of flowers.
Oh, do not ask of my heart
that languishes, songs of love!
For, as without peace I tread
this desert of no surprises,
I feel that my soul agonizes
and that my spirit is dead.

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 A LAS FLORES DE HEIDELBERG
(TO THE FLOWER OF HEIDELBERG)

Go to my native land, go, foreign flowers, He, too, murmurs his love's feeling

Sown by the traveler on his way, In the tongue he learned at birth.

And there, beneath its azure sky, That when the sun of Koenigsthul's height

Where all my afflictions lie; Pours out its golden flood,

There from the weary pilgrim say And with its slowly warming light

What faith is his in that land of ours! Gives life to vale and grove and wood,

He greets that sun, here only apraising,

Go there and tell how when the dawn,
Which in his native land is at its zenith
Her early light diffusing,
blazing.
Your petals first flung open wide;
And tell there of that day he stood,
His steps beside chill Neckar drawn,
Near to a ruin'd castle gray,
You see him silent by your side
By Neckar's banks, or shady wood,
Upon its Spring perennial musing,
And pluck'd you beside the way
Say how when morning's light,

All your fragrance stealing, Tell, too, the tale to you addressed,

Whispers to you as in mirth, And how with tender care,

Playful songs of Love's delight, Your bending leaves he press'd

Twist pages of some volume rare.

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 MI ULTIMO ADIOS

Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida,

Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden!

A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,

Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida,

Tambien por tí la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio

Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar;

El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel ó lirio,

Cadalso ó campo abierto, combate ó cruel martirio,

Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora

Y al fin anuncia el día trás lóbrego capuz;

Si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,

Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen hora

Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz.

Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,

Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,

Fueron el verte un día, joya del mar de oriente

Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,

Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor.

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 Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,

Salud te grita el alma que pronto va á partir!

Salud! ah que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,

Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,

Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un dia

Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,

Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mía,

Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fría

De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja a la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave;

Deja que el alba envíe su resplandor fugaz,

Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,

Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave,

Deja que el ave entone su cantico de paz.

Deja que el sol ardiendo las lluvias evapore

Y al cielo tornen puras con mi clamor en pos,

Deja que un sér amigo mi fin temprano llore

Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mi alguien ore

Ora tambien, oh Patria, por mi descanso á Dios!

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 Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,

Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,

Por nuestras pobres madres que gimen su amargura;

Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura

Y ora por tí que veas tu redencion final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio

Y solos sólo muertos queden velando allí,

No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio

Tal vez acordes oigas de citara ó salterio,

Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto á ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada

No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,

Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,

Y mis cenizas antes que vuelvan á la nada,

El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan á formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido,

Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré,

Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oido,

Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido

Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fé.

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 Mi patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,

Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adios.

Ahi te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.

Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,

Donde la fé no mata, donde el que reyna es Dios.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,

Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,

Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;

Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegría,

Adios, queridos séres morir es descansar.

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 SEGUNDA KATIKBAK

Segunda Katigbak was his puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to

a town mate- Manuel Luz. After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda,

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 LEONOR VALENZUELA

Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl fromPagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that

could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his

departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.

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 LEONOR RIVERA

Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11years played the greatest influence inkeeping him from

falling in love withother women during his travel.Unfortunately, Leonor’s motherdisapproved of

her daughter’srelationship with Rizal, who was then aknown filibustero. She hid from Leonorall

letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonorbelieving that Rizal had alreadyforgotten her, sadly

consented her tomarry the Englishman HenryKipping, her mother’s choice..

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 CONSUELO ORTIGA y REY

Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with him. He

dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. The Ortigas

residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with

her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses.He suddenly backed out before the

relationship turnedinto a serious romance, because he wanted to remainloyal to Leonor Rivera

and he did not want to destroyhis friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly inlove with

Consuelo.

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 O SEI SAN

O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’sdaughter taught Rizal the Japanese artof painting known as su-

mie. She alsohelped Rizal improve his knowledge ofJapanese language. If Rizal was a

manwithout a patriotic mission, he wouldhave married this lovely and intelligentwoman and

lived a stable and happylife with her in Japan because Spanishlegation there offered him a

lucrativejob.

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 GERTRUDE BECKETT

While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesosde las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house

ofthe Beckett family, within walking distance of theBritish Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and

buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie

helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid

Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him. Before leaving London, he was able to finish the

group carving of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their

brief relationship.

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 NELLIE BOUSTED

Rizal having lost LeonorRivera, entertained the thought ofcourting other ladies. While a guest

ofthe Boustead family at their residencein the resort city of Biarritz, he hadbefriended the two

pretty daughters ofhis host, Eduardo Boustead.•Rizal used to fence with the sisters atthe studio of

Juan Luna. AntonioLuna, Juan’s brother and also afrequent visitor of theBousteads, courted

Nellie but she wasdeeply infatuated with Rizal.

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 SUZANNE JACOBY

In 1890, Rizal moved toBrussels because of the high cost ofliving in Paris. In Brussels, he

livedin the boarding house of the twoJacoby sisters. In time, they felldeeply in love with each

other.Suzanne cried when Rizal leftBrussels and wrote him when hewas in Madrid.

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 JOSEPHINE BRACKEN

In the last days of February1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an18-year old petite Irish girl,

with bold blueeyes, brown hair and a happy disposition.She was Josephine Bracken, the

adopteddaughter of George Taufer from HongKong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizalfor eye

treatment. Rizal was physically attracted toher. His loneliness and boredom must havetaken the

measure of him and what couldbe a better diversion that to fall in loveagain. But the Rizal sisters

suspectedJosephine as an agent of the friars and theyconsidered her as a threat to Rizal’ssecurity.

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 Place He Visited

Singapore

1. Jose Rizal (1861-1896), fondly

remembered as the founding father

of the modern Philippines, was one

luminary who formed favourable

impressions of Singapore. In May

1882, Rizal left the then Spanish colony of the Philippines on his way to Spains for

further studies in medicine. As a keen 21 year old leaving home for the first time, nhe

meticulously recorded his observations of life and events in a journal that offers a

picturesque snap-shot of Singapore in the late 19th century, which

are historically important for the breath of details captured.

2. An eagle-eyed visitor Rizal was also highly sensitive to the cultural nuance of the first

foreign land he visited commenting on the rich mix of ethnicities in the street-scapes he

observed. His entry conveyed gus surprise at the finding a city more modern than he

imagined. Writing in his diary, he was “surprised to find the streets bordered with trees

and many… on both sides. The town is rather pretty.” Travel as the cliche goes, does

indeed broaden the mind.

3. Rizal noted in his diary of his first day in Singapore that although there were “..crowds of

Indians of Herculean figures; Chinese a few Europeans, and very, very few Chinese

women.” He went on to ask about the presence of women in Sinapore, writing in his

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 diary that he had seen a Chinese woman with the smallest feet; but I didn’t see either

Indian women or Malayan. I asked about them and I was told they stayed home.”

4. Rizal also found the thriving British colony abuzz with people and economic activity,

with English spoken everywhere. He described in detail, building within the city such as

St. Andrew’s Cathedral, along today’s St. Andrew’s road, interestingly described as a

“Protestant church in Gothic style, the Catholic Cathedral of Good Shepherd (along

today’s Victoria Road) as well as the Church of St. Joseph (by Waterloo Street today).

5. He was mistaken, though, in identifying the former Parliament Houses (now the Art

House) as the “…palace of the Rajah of Siam…” He described it as “…notable and has a

small iron elephant and what not on the pedestal placed in front of the building.”

6. Rizal was travelling in and around the north bank of Singapore River, He was to cross the

Cavenagh Bridge to the south bank and reached the more “lively” part of town, described

in his diary as having “… Beautiful European Buildings shops show-windows etc. It is

the Escolta of the town.”

7. The keen botanist, Rizal visited the Singapore Botanical Gardens on his 2nd day of visit.

He was bowled over by the park, observing that “its cleanliness and orderliness are

admirable; numerous plants with their labels beside them.” He was to revisit the gardens

on his second visit in 1887, commenting that he saw “a beautiful Royal Victoria. The

leaves can be one meted in diameter.”

8. Rizal was to visit Singapore a total of four times, noticing changes that pointed to the

rapid development of the city over the course of his visits. With elegance, he captured in

an 1892 entry his observation that “Singapore has change much since I saw it for the first

time n 1882.” This was to be his last visit to Singapore for not long after this, this

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 revered father of Philippine nation was executed on 30 December 1896, at the age of 35,

labelled by the Spanish colonials as “the living soul of the rebellion”.

9. Today, a visitor can easily re-trace Rizal’s first visit in today’s heritage district of Bras

Basah, as most of the buildings he visited are still standing on the exact spot! They co-

exist elegantly alongside contemporary glass and steel structures of the modern city, in a

history-rich environments and the walking trails of Singapore’s Civic District. Walking

down busy Coleman Street today, one can still imagine the lively and bustling city that

Rizal wandered about after emerging from the Hotel de la Paix. The hotel is no longer

standing but another has risen on te same site and is known today as the Peninsula-

Excelsior Hotel.

10. – Taken from Singapore’s National Heritage Board article “Friends & Neighbours”

written by Tan Swee Hong.

11. NHB has been a great resource for me not only in retracing historical sites related to us

Filipinos here but also in learning the history, culture and traditions of the island state —

along with NLB, great stalwarts of South East Asian historical education.

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SPAIN

he Reasons why Rizal decided to go to Spain:

He was not satisfied with the method of

instruction

The practice of racial prejudice to the Filipino students by his professors in UST

To complete his medical course in Spain

To accomplish his "secret mission"

Rizal's Secret Mission

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