Name: Rommel A. Poblacion Jr.

Date: March 3, 2019

Section: BE 1001 Life and Works of Rizal

SEGUNDA KATIGBAK: Jose Rizal’s First Love

She was Jose Rizal’s “puppy love” and with her the hero was believed to have had “love at first sight”.

Rizal was 16 years old when one Sunday in 1887 he paid visit to his maternal grandmother in Trozo, Manila and there met, among
others, Segunda Katigbak, a two-year-younger-than-him ‘colegiala’. In his ‘Memorias de Un Estudiante de Manila’, Rizal
graphically described her as a short lady with “eloquent eyes, rosy cheeks, and smile that reveals very beautiful teeth”. Mariano
Katigbak, Segunda’s brother and Rizal’s classmate who was also in the house, probably had no idea that his friend had been
experiencing “a love at first sight” being bewitched by his alluring sister.

During the 1880s, the Katigbaks of Batangas were known for their successful and very lucrative coffee industry. When Jose met
Segunda, she was at the time a boarding student of La Concordia College where Rizal’s sister Olympia was also studying. Jose and
Segunda got to know each other more intimately as his visits to his sister Olympia (or rather to his love interest Segunda) in La
Concordia surprisingly became more frequent.

How could Rizal forget that incident when he was urged by other acquaintances and conformed to make a pencil sketch of Segunda?
“From time to time”, he later recorded in his diary, “she looked at me, and I blushed.” When Segunda one day gave him a white
artificial rose she had made herself at school, he gave her in exchange that pencil sketch he had drawn of her.

In hindsight, we can submit that Rizal was somewhat clueless and naïve. As in the song “Paper Roses,” the artificial flower was
perhaps Segunda’s way of insinuating that their affection was hopeless from the very start. The ‘rumor’ that she had been engaged to
be married to a fellow-townsman, Manuel Luz, even before she met Pepe, was all along true. Rizal’s discovery of the real score later
was probably his major reason, being a man of delicadeza, why he did not propose to her, more than his being ‘torpe’ or a reluctant
lover.

It was also at La Concordia where the young lovers talked to each other for the last time. It was a romantic day in December 1877
when the confused Rizal came to see the ever-hopeful Segunda. Rizal said goodbye because he would spend his New Year vacation in
his hometown starting the following day. Segunda replied that she was also going home to Lipa a day later. She then maintained
silence, perhaps giving Rizal enough opportunity to say anything romantic, especially that sweetest tri-syllabic pronouncement
which a lover would want to hear from a beloved. To her surprise, Rizal indeed uttered a three-syllable statement. The young Rizal
said, “Well, good-bye” (which is virtually equivalent to today’s cold text message “Ah ok” plus a smiley). “Anyway—I’ll see you when
you pass Calamba on your way to Lipa”, he nevertheless promised.

Rizal went home to Calamba and woke up the following day determined to fulfill his promise to Segunda. The steamer carrying
Segunda anchored in Biñan so Jose saddled his white horse to wait at the road. When Segunda’s carromata passed by, she smiled
and waved her handkerchief to him. Initially wanting to follow, Rizal at the last minute turned his horse around and decided to ride
home instead. That incident marked the end of everything between the young lovers.

Segunda returned to Batangas and in due time married Don Manuel Luz y Metra who also hailed from a prominent family in
Batangas. Segunda’s husband was actually the nephew of her maternal grandmother.

Leonor Valenzuela and Jose Rizal's Invisible Love Letters

Nicknamed Orang, Leonor Valenzuela was commonly described as a tall girl with regal bearing who was Rizal’s province-mate. She
was the daughter of Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela, who were from Pagsanjan, Laguna.

Orang was Rizal’s neighbor when he boarded in the house of Doña Concha Leyva in Intramuros during his sophomore year at
the Universityof Santo Tomasas medicine student. To finally move on perhaps from his unsuccessful love story with Segunda
Katigbak, Rizal frequently visited Orang’s house with or without social gatherings. The proofs that Rizal indeed courted her were the
love letters he sent her. His love notes were mysteriously written in invisible ink made of common table salt and water, which could
be read by heating the note over a candle or lamp.
More than a manifestation of Rizal’s knowledge of chemistry, his magical love notes to Orang, one can say, are a proof that he
wanted to keep the courtship private. But why would he want to make it secret?

Many references declare that Orang was Rizal’s object of affection (too) while he was courting the other Leonor, his cousin Leonor
Rivera. If this were true, then sending invisible love letters would indeed be the smart thing to do for other people would find them
as mere blank papers.

Without clear material evidence, the ‘two-timer charge’ could indeed be easily denied. (To do a further speculative stretch, Rizal was
perhaps thinking that if both ladies would become his girlfriends, he would not make the mistake of calling any of them by a wrong
name.)

When Rizal left for Spain, he received a letter from his friend and confidant Jose M. Cecilio (Chenggoy) indicating that the two ladies
had an idea that their ‘common denominator’ was not only their first name:
“…nagpipilit ang munting kasera (Leonor Rivera) na makita si Orang, pero dahil natatakpan ng isang belong puti, hindi naming
nakilala nang dumaan ang prusisyon sa tapat ng bahay. Sinabi sa akin ni O(rang) na sabihin ko raw sa munting kasera na hindi
siya kumakaribal sa pag-iibigan ninyo. Que gulay, tukayo, anong gulo itong idinudulot natin sa mga dalagang ito!”

The letter suggests that either Orang was giving way to Rivera-Rizal love affair or she (Orang) was not that interested in Rizal. In
fact, records were not clear if she officially reciprocated Rizal’s courtship. If indeed she never took Rizal’s courtship seriously, we
could not actually blame her. Her would-be affair with Rizal could only be either a rebound relationship (from Segunda-Jose failed
affair) or an unhealthy love triangle (with the other Leonor in the equation).

Leonor Rivera: Jose Rizal's True Love

Leonor Rivera (April 11, 1867 – August 28, 1893) of Camiling, Tarlac was the daughter of Antonio Rivera and Silvestra
Bauzon. Leonor’s father—who was one of the few persons who conspired in Jose’s ‘secret’ departure to Spain—is a cousin of the
hero’s father, Francisco Mercado.

Subjectively considered as a pretty lady, Leonor is commonly described as having wavy soft hair, high forehead, wistful almond eyes,
small and pensive mouth, and charming dimples. She was said to be intelligent and talented, as she could play the harp and the
piano—skills which matched her fascinating singing voice.

Leonor was a “tender as a budding flower” colegiala at the La Concordia College when she became romantically involved, though
secretly, with her distant relative Rizal. Though both Leonor Rivera and Segunda Katigbak (Rizal’s first love) studied in the same
school, they probably had not met and known each other (much less pulled each other’s hair) as the Tarlaqueña was four years
younger than the Batangueña. Rizal was just a young high school student in Ateneo when he was ‘dating’ Segunda. When he boarded
at his Uncle Antonio’s boarding house in Intramuros and became the boyfriend of the landlord’s daughter, Rizal was already a
second-year medical student then at the UST.
In one of Indios’ street brawls against young Spaniards in Escolta, Rizal was wounded on the head. Bleeding and filthy, he was
brought home by friends to his boarding house. With tender love and care, Leonor nursed him. His wound was gently washed and
carefully dressed, though the band-aid used was unnamed.

Seiko Usui(O-Sei-San): Jose Rizal's Japanese Girlfriend

If only Jose Rizal had no patriotic mission and no political will, he would have married her and settled in Japan for good.

It was during Rizal’s second trip abroad when he met Seiko Usui. From Hong Kong, he arrived in Japan in February 1888 and
moved to the Spanish Legation in the Azabu district of Tokyo upon the invitation of an official in the legation.

One day, Rizal saw Seiko passing by the legation in one of her daily afternoon walks. Fascinated by her charm, Rizal inquired and
learned from a Japanese gardener some basic information about her. The next day, Rizal and the Japanese gardener waited at the
legation gate for Seiko. Acting as a go-between and interpreter, the gardener introduced the gracious Filipino doctor and the pretty
Japanese woman to each other. The gardener’s role as intermediary was cut short however when Seiko spoke in English. She also
knew French, and so she and Rizal began to converse in both languages.

O-Sei-San, as Rizal fondly called Seiko, voluntarily acted as Rizal’s generous tour guide. She accompanied him to Japan’s shrines,
parks, universities, and other interesting places like the Imperial Art Gallery, Imperial Library, and the Shokubutsu-en (Botanical
Garden). Serving as his tutor and interpreter, she helped him improve his knowledge of the Japanese language (Nihonngo) and
explained to him some Japanese cultural elements and traditions like the Kabuki plays.

It was thus not surprising that Jose fell for the charming, modest, pretty, and intelligent daughter of a samurai. Seiko subsequently
reciprocated the affection of the talented and virtuous guest who, like her, had deep interest in the arts.

Their more than a month happy relationship had to end nonetheless, as the man with a mission Rizal had to leave Japan.

Gertrude Beckett: Jose Rizal's Fling in London

SHE HELPED JOSE RIZAL mix his colors for painting and prepared the clay for his sculpturing, hoping that a colorful romantic
relationship would be formed between them.

Gertrude was the daughter of Rizal’s landlord—Charles Beckett who is an organist at St. Paul’s Church in London. Coming from brief
stay in Japan and the United States of America, Rizal chose to live in the capital city of the United Kingdom on May, 1888. The
oldest of the ‘three’ (some say ‘four’) Beckett sisters, Gertrude (also called ‘Gettie’ or ‘Tottie’) was a curvy lady with cheerful blue
eyes, brown hair, rosy cheeks, and thin lips. (Based on the pictures of Rizal’s ‘girlfriends’ now available over the internet, one can
even argue that Gertrude is the most beautiful.)

This English girl (who probably spoke the British accent of the ‘Harry Potter’ characters) fell in love with Rizal. The more-than-
normal assistance she gave to the Filipino boarder betrayed her special feelings for him. She showered him with all her attention and
assisted him in his painting and sculpturing. With her aid, Rizal finished some sculptural works like the ‘Prometheus Bound’, ‘The
Triumph of Death over Life,’ and ‘The Triumph of Science over Death.’

Away from his home, it was just normal for Rizal to find enjoyment in Gertrude’s loving service. Rizal called her by her nickname
“Gettie” and she affectionately called him “Pettie.” It was said that their friendship glided towards romance, but Rizal, for some
reasons, was alleged to have ultimately backed out. Some sources nonetheless suggest that their relationship was just a one-sided
love affair as Rizal never really reciprocated her love.

Either way, it was clear that the couple did not end up as husband and wife as Rizal chose to leave London on March 19, 1889 so that
Gertrude may forget him.

Consuelo Ortiga y Rey: The "Crush ng Bayan" in Rizal's Time

Most likely, Consuelo had witnessed Rizal’s recitation of a poem on October 4, 1882 in the effort to save a Filipino meeting from
disintegration. Rizal had also recorded either in his diary or letters that he attended another meeting of compatriots in Ortiga’s
residence on October 7, 1882 and the birthday party of Consuelo’s father on January 15, 1883.

The following year (1884), Rizal and other compatriots attended (again) the birthday party of Don Pablo in which there was a
dance. It was not clear if Rizal had a dance with Consuelo but five days after, he sent her a piece of guimaras cloth. Rizal recorded
that he again went to see Consuelo on February 10 after doing something at the university district. On March 15, Rizal and other
compatriots—including Eduardo de Lete—were again gathered in the Ortiga house.

Lete was actually one of the reasons Rizal gave up his affection for Consuelo. Lete seriously liked Ms. Ortiga and Rizal did not
wish to ruin their friendship over a lady. It was said that even Maximino and Antonio Paterno, Rizal’s good friends, regularly visited
the lady. (Thus, we can submit that Consuelo was the “crush ng bayan” among Filipinos in Madrid in Rizal’s time).

Suzanne Jacoby: Jose Rizal's Fling

Suzanne Jacoby was a Belgian lady whom Rizal met when he was 29. To somewhat economize in his living expenses, he left the
expensive city of Paris and went to Belgium in January 1890. Along with his friend Jose Albert, Rizal arrived in Brussels on February
2 and stayed in the boarding house managed by two Jacoby sisters, Suzanne and Marie (some references say “Catherina and
Suzanna”). It was said that Rizal had a transitory romance with the petite niece of his landladies, Suzanne.
In Rizal’s 6-month stay in the boarding house, Suzanne, also called ‘Petite,’ got to know and was attracted to the skillful and
enigmatic Filipino doctor. Jose might have had a somewhat romantic intimacy with Petite—a relationship which was probably
comparable to today’s ‘mutual understanding’ (like what Rizal possibly had with Gertrude Beckett). Presumably, Petite and Jose
(who was at one time called ‘Pettie” by Beckett) had together enjoyed the merriments of Belgium’s summertime festival of 1890 with
its multicolored costumes, animated floats, and lively crowds.
But the relationship was most likely not that serious as Rizal did not mention her in his letters to his intimate friends. Informing
Antonio Luna of his life in Brussels, Rizal just talked about going to the clinic, working and studying, reading and writing, and
practicing at the ‘Sala de Armas’ and gymnasium. Historically, his affair with Suzanne could not possibly blossom as Rizal, that time,
was busy writing the ‘Fili’, contributing for La Solidaridad, and worrying for his family as regards the worsening Calamba agrarian
trouble.
Suzanne shed tears when Rizal left Belgium toward the beginning of August, 1890. He was said to have made Suzanne’s sculpture
which he unexplainably gave to his friend Valentin Ventura. Leaving Brussels, Rizal left the young Suzanne a box of chocolates.

Nellie Boustead: Jose Rizal's Almost Wife

Nellie Boustead, also called Nelly, was the younger of the two pretty daughters of the wealthy businessman Eduardo Boustead, son of
a rich British trader, who went to the Orient in 1826. The Bousteads hosted Rizal’s stay in Biarritz in February 1891 at their winter
residence, Villa Eliada on the superb French Riviera. Rizal had befriended the family back in 1889-90 and used to fence with the
Anglo-Filipino Boustead sisters (Adelina and Nellie) at the studio of Juan Luna.
Having learned Leonor Rivera’s marriage to Henry Kipping, Rizal entertained the idea of having romantic relation with the highly
educated, cheerful, athletic, beautiful, and morally upright Nellie. He wrote some of his friends (though remarkably except
Ferdinand Blumentritt) about his affection for Nelly and his idea of proposing marriage to her.
Even Antonio Luna, who had been Nelly’s fiancé, explicitly permitted Rizal to court and marry her. It could be remembered that Jose
and Antonio nearly had a deadly duel before when he (Antonio), being drunk one time, made negative remarks on their ‘common
denominator’. As regards Jose’s courtship to Nelly later, Antonio gentlemanly conceded to Rizal through a letter:
“With respect to Nelly, frankly, I think there is nothing between us more than one of those friendships enlivened by being fellow
countrymen. It seems to me that there is nothing more. My word of honor. I had been her fiancé, we wrote to each other. I like her
because I knew how worthy she was, but circumstances beyond our control made all that happiness one cherished evaporate. She
is good; she is naturally endowed with qualities admirable in a young woman and I believe that she will bring happiness not only
to you but to any other man who is worthy of her…I congratulate you as one congratulates a friend. Congratulatons!”(as quoted
by Zaide, pp. 184-185)
As Nelly had long been infatuated to Rizal, she reciprocated his affection and they officially became an item. With Nelly, Rizal
enjoyed his stay in Biarritz as he had many lovely moonlight nights with her. Inspired by her company, Rizal was also able to work
on the last part of his second novel at the Bousted’s residence.
Though very much ideal, Nelly-and-Jose’s lovely relationship unfortunately did not end up in marriage. Nelly’s mother—a Filipina
who came from the rich Genato family in Manila—was not in favor of taking as a son-in-law a man who could not provide a sure
stable future for her daughter. On top of this, Rizal refused to be converted in Protestantism which Nellie demanded. Later in his life,
Rizal would state in his letter, “… had I held religion as a matter of convenience or an art getting along in this life … I would now be a
rich man, free, and covered with honors.” (Zaide, p. 185).

Josephine Bracken: Jose Rizal's Dear and Unhappy Wife

IN JOSE RIZAL’S OWN WORDS, she was his dear wife. A few hours before his execution, they embraced for the last time and he
gave her a souvenir—a religious book with his dedication, “To my dear unhappy wife, Josephine.”
Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken was born on August 9, 1876 in Victoria, Hong Kong. She was the youngest of the five children
of an Irish couple who were married on May 3, 1868 in Belfast, Ireland: British army corporal James Bracken and Elizabeth Jane
MacBride. A few days after giving birth to Josephine, her mother Elizabeth died. Her father decided to give her up for adoption to
her childless godparents, American George Taufer, an engineer of the pumping plant of the Hong Kong Fire Department, and his
Portuguese (second) wife. Josephine’s real father (James) left Hong Kong after retirement and was said to have died at the hands of
robbers in Australia.
Josephine and Taufer first met Rizal in Hongkong, when they consulted the Filipino doctor for Taufer’s failing
eyesight. In 1895, the Taufer family sailed to the Philippines to seek treatment from Rizal for Taufer’s cataract. They
arrived in Manila on February 5, and later that month, Josephine, George, and a certain Manuela Orlac, the mistress
of a friar at the Manila Cathedral (Bantug. p. 117), sailed to Dapitan where Rizal had been living as a political exile for
three years.
The petite Josephine who had blue eyes and brown hair was 18 years old at the time of their arrival in
Dapitan. Josephine was said to be not a remarkable beauty, but she “had an agreeable countenance because of the
childlike expression of her face, her profound blue and dreamy eyes and abundant hair of brilliant gold” (Alburo). It is
thus said that the lonely Rizal was attracted to Josephine who was a happy character despite having lived a difficult
life with her adoptive father and his various wives. Unsurprisingly, the two easily fell in love with each other.

References:

https://ourhappyschool.com/history/segunda-katigbak-jose-rizals-first-love
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/leonor-valenzuela-and-jose-rizals-invisible-love-letters
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/leonor-rivera-jose-rizals-true-love
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/seiko-usui-jose-rizals-japanese-girlfriend-0
https://ourhappyschool.com/music-and-arts/gertrude-beckett-jose-rizals-fling-london
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/consuelo-ortiga-y-rey-crush-ng-bayan-rizals-time
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/suzanne-jacoby-jose-rizals-fling
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/nellie-boustead-jose-rizals-almost-wife
https://ourhappyschool.com/history/josephine-bracken-jose-rizals-dear-and-unhappy-wife