Chapter 5: Rizal and His Childhood Years at Calamba.

Calamba at the Time of RIzal’s Birth

 Situated in a valley, between Laguna de Bay and Mt. Makiling.
 was an agricultural town.
 Town was virtually owned by Dominican Friars.
 Became prosperous due to its specialization in the production of sugar.
 Dominican Hacienda:
o Life was full of hardship for the hacienda’s tenants.
o Despite cruelties suffered by the tenants, their life was far better than in the other
towns in Laguna those times.
o In Calamba, Rizal had ingrained in his young mind a hatred of oppression and
exploitation of the week by the strong.

Birth of the Young Jose

 José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born in June 19, 1861.
 Rizal’s mother nearly died during his delivery due to his rather large head.
 Three days after his birth:
 Baptised by Father Rufino Collantes
 at Calamba Catholic Church
 Godfather: Father Pedro Casañas
 Jose is the seventh child amongst the family of 11 children of Don Francisco and
Dona Teodora:
1. Saturnina (1850)
2. Paciano (1851)
3. Narcisa (1852)
4. Olimpia (1855)
5. Lucia (1857)
6. Maria (1859)
7. Jose (1861)
8. Conception (1862)
9. Josefa (1865)
10. Trinidad (1868)
11. Soledad (1870)

Rizal’s Ancestry:

A. Father’s side:
Domingo Lamco
 Great Grandfather, a chinese merchant.
 Married a chinese mestiza.
 Assumed the name Mercado
o in keeping with the gubernatorial decree of Narciso Claveria
o To free themselves and their children from the prejudices associated with
Chinese surnames.
 Parian in Manila to Binan, ending up as tenants in the Dominican hacienda.
Juan Mercado
 Rizal’s Grandfather
 Married Chinese-Filipino mestiza, Cirila Alejandro.
 Became a gobernadorcillo of Binan, Laguna.
 they had 14 children.
 One of whom was Rizal’s father, Don Francisco.

B. Mother’s side:
Manuel de Quintos
 Great grandfather,
 A chinese mestizo.
 From Ligayen, Pangasinan.
 Married Regina Ursa, a woman with japanese ancestry.
 One of their daughters, Brigida de Quintos, married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso and
had six children.
 Teodora became Rizal’s mother.

Rizal’s Immediate Family:

 Rizal reared in a typical middle class family in the 19th century.

o Lived a life of comfort and affluence.
o Family belonged to the principalia class or ruling elite of his town.
o Affluence of Rizal’s family can clearly be gleaned from the following:
1. Family’s predilection for studies.
2. Family’s stone house of adobe and hardwood.
3. Ownership of carriage and horses - the symbol of wealth and
respectability during those times.
4. Home library with numerous volumes of books.
5. Presence of servants taking care of the needs of the children.
6. Private tutoring of the children in the family’s domicile.
7. The family’s thriving business in rice and sugar.
8. Ability to send children for education in Manila.
Don Francisco Mercado
 An educated man.
 Took courses in Latin and Philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila.
 Rizal’s description: Model father owning his honesty, frugality, and industry.
 He became a tenant at the Dominican hacienda in Calamba.
 Rizal inherited a profound feeling of dignity, self-respect, serenity and poise,
and seriousness.
Dona Teodora Mercado
 Completed her education at the Colegio de Santa Rosa
 Prestigious college for girls in Manila
 Rizal’s description: disciplinarian, woman of more than average education, a
woman of culture and religion, a sacrificing and industrious housewife.
 Rizal learned from his mother the values of warmth and virtue.
  Rizal inherited a practical temperament, stoicism, self-sacrifice, temperament of
a dreamer and fondness for poetry.

Childhood Days and Memories:

 Rizal had good memories of his childhood days in Calamba.
o He could not forget the times when the family stayed in the garden to
exchanged stories.
o During Angelus, all the members of the family gather and pray together.
o His personal servant narrated to him legends and fairy tales at the azotea.
o These imaginary tales aroused in him an enduring interest in legends and
folklores.
 At the age of 3 years old, he learned how to pray and even read the bible.
o strengthened by his frequent visit to Fr. Leoncio Lopez.
 Parish priest of Calamba who made the young rizal the need to
develop a sound philosophy of life.
 From him, Rizal learned the value of scholarship and intellectual
honesty.
 At the age of 4 years old, rizal experienced his first sorrow.
o When his younger sister concepcion, whom he fondly called as Concha,
died.
o From it, rizal learned the importance of sisterly love.
 As a young boy, he spent many hours down the shore of Laguna de Bay.
o He even witnessed the everyday acts of violence and excesses committed
against the calambenos by the Guardia Civil and the Gobernadorcillo.

The Story of the Moth and the Flame

- One of the stories Rizal never forgot narrated to him by his mother was the fable
entitled, The Moth and the Flame.
- “My mother was teaching me how to read the book El Amigo de los Niños.”
- This story left a deep impression on Rizal.
- For Rizal the moth died a victim of its illusion in its search for the light.

Early Demonstration of Inborn Talents:

- He was able to master the alphabet when he was three years old.
- He showed great interest in reading.

o Enjoyed reading books in their library at home with Dona Teodora as his reading
teacher and critic.
 also showed his knack in
 sketching
 painting
 sculpture
 literature.
 Rizal’s admiration of his mother led him to hone his skills in the aforementioned
art forms.
  Owing to the constant prodding by Dona Teodora for Rizal to express his feeling
through verses, Rizal was able to write his feelings through verses.
o Sa Aking Kababata
 Rizal’s first poem,
 8 years old
 To My Fellow Children.
 To My Fellow Children:
 Rizal had a concept of nationalism.
 He associated love for the native language bestowed by God with the
desire for freedom, which according to him was on mortgage.
 he was already aware that his people had a language of their own.
 Rizal describing his native language or Tagalog as comparable to Latin,
English, and Spanish.
 Jose calling his fellow children to love their native language.

 Rizal’s First Taste of Injustice:

o arrest and incarceration of his mother in 1871
 An incident which opened his eyes to the injustice of the regime
o Due to alleged complicity in the attempted murder of his uncle’s unfaithful
wife.
 Jose Alberto’s wife conspired with the Spanish lieutenant of the
Guardia Civil by filing a suit against Dona Teodora Mercado for
attempting to poison her.
o Dona Teodora Mercado
 was made to walk 50 kilometers from Calamba to Santa Cruz
 was jailed for almost two and a half years.
 was freed by Governor-General Izquierdo as a result of the request of
the young Soledad.
 The graceful dancing charmed the Governor-General and his guest.
o The injustices suffered by Rizal’s mother created in him a hatred of the
Spanish Regime. Moreover, Rizal’s lost confidence in friendship and
developed mistrust of fellowmen.
o The incidence that greatly influenced Rizal’s goal and life work was the
martyrdom of the GomBurZa (February 28, 1872).
 Rizal was 11 years old when his brother Paciano narrated to him the
injustice suffered by the Filipino priest for cruisading for justice in the
parochial administration of the Philippines.
 A struggle waged by Father Burgos, his [Paciano] teacher in Colegio
de San Jose.
 Inspired him to redeem the oppressed filipinos.
 The influence of the aforementioned event was evident in his El
Filibusterismo to memory of GomBurZa.

Preparation for Formal Schooling:

 Teodora Mercado - Rizal’s first teacher
o at 3 - was able to learn the alphabet and prayers.
 o discovered that Rizal had an aptitude in poetry.
o encouraged him to write verses.

 Maestro Celestino
o Rizal’s first private tutor
 Leon Monroy.
o Former classmate of his father, Don Francisco.
o skills in reading, writing, and rudiment of Latin were honed.

Summary:
 He was sent to a private tutors. Then, he was sent to a private secondary school and
went to a university for a college degree and completed his studies in Europe.

Chapter 6: Formal Schooling at a Village School

 He was sent by his father to a village school at Binan to acquire the nesccesary
preparation for formal college work in Manila.

Rizal Moves to Binan:

 Rizal left Calamba in order to study at Binan.
- Paciano accompanied him in his trip on board a carromata.
- A one and a half hour of travel.
1. It was already midnight when they arrived in Binan.
2. They proceeded to their aunt’s house.
- Same sunday night, Rizal was invited by his cousin, Leodro, for a walk around
the town to familiarize RIzal with the place.
1. Rizal felt homesick as he remembered his mother and sisters.

First Day at the Village School:

 Maestro Justiniano Cruz
- Paciano introduced Rizal to Maestro and then he returned to Calamba,
Laguna.
Description:
- A tall man with long neck.
- Sharp nose
- Body bent slightly forward.

 Rizal was given a permanent seat by his teacher.

- He was asked whether he knew Latin or Spanish.
 Rizal responded by saying his knowledge of those two languages
was quite scanty.
 Pedro, the son of Maestro Cruz, laughed at Rizal’s answer and
made funof him.
 During their lunch-break, Rizal challenged Pedro to a fight.
 Rizal defeated pedro which made him popular in class.
 Many classmates of Rizal challenged him in an arm
wrestling duel.
Academic Studies at the Village School:

 He was able to emerge the best in class in Latin, Spanish, and the rest of the
subjects in the curriculum for the elementary pupils.
o Many of his older classmates in Binan became jealous of Rizal.
o They did everything to destroy Rizal’s reputation to Maestro Cruz.
o involved in numerous school brawls.

Academic Instruction at the Village School:

- Rizal did not enjoy his schooling at village school, under Maestro Justiniano
Cruz.
- Rizal considered Maestro Cruz as an expert in Latin and Spanish grammars.
- He detested his teacher regarding the use of Corporal punishment.
o Rizal’s hatred highlighted in Noli Me Tangere.
 First thing Ibarra proposed, upon arriving at San Diego was to build a
school for the children of the town.
 To Ibarra, the school has to be a playground of the mind and not a torture
chamber.
o Rizal’s derision of the sadistic method of teaching at Binan was due to his height.
 He was quite small for his age. He tried to overcome this deficiency in
physical stature with self-assertiveness centered on aggressiveness.

Life in Binan:
- He led a very systematic and disciplined life.

04:00 AM He was already on his toes to attend the mass.

10:00 AM Take his breakfast and attend his morning class.

02:00 PM -05:00 Returned to school for his afternoon class.

PM

06:00 PM He had to pray with his cousins and then study for
a while.

- Rizal took painting lessons under the father-in-law of Maestro Cruz, the Old
Juancho.
 He spent his leisure hours at the studio of Old Juancho.
 He was given free lessons in painting and drawing.
  The old painter noted Rizal’s talent in painting.
o Eventually, Rizal became an apprentice of the old painter

End of Schooling at the Village School:

 returned to Calamba, after receiving a letter from his sister, Saturnina.

 He returned on December 17, 1870.
 Before leaving Binan, he visited the town church and bade farewell to Maestro Cruz
and his classmates.
 1 1/2 year of schooling in Binan.
 he was going home by himself on board the steamship named Talim.
 He was overjoyed after seeing his personal servant waiting for him with a carriage.

Chapter 7
Formal Search for Knowledge

Don Francisco
A. did not send Rizal to Colegio de San Jose due to unjust execution of Gomburza
B. wanted to send Rizal to Letran
C. enrolled him in Ateneo Municipal
(Escuela Pia) - Charity school for boys
Established in 1817
Most prestigious school for boys

Enrollment in Ateneo
-Rizal was barely 11 years old
-4 months after the execution of Gomburza

Entrance examination
a. June 10,1872
b. at Colegio de San Jose
c. Since that Dominicans exercised the power of inspection and regulation over
Ateneo
d. Coverered
i. Reading
ii. Arithmethic
iii. Catholic doctrines

Enrollment at Ateneo
a. Rizal was refused entry
b. By Father Magin Fernando
c. due to:
i. Late registration
ii. Frail and undersized body for his age
d. Manuel Burgos- intervened for his admission
e. Did not use Mercado
i. due to Paciano’s association with Father Burgos, a secularization movement leader

Atenean System of Education:

-best secondary education for boys because it trained the character of every
student through rigid discipline and religious instruction.
-required to attend the mass every morning before classes
-start and end the class with a prayer

A. Programs
a. Bachiller en Artes - 6 year program offered by ateneo
b. Vocational courses
1. Agriculture
2. Commerce
3. Mechanics
4. Surveying
B. Bachiller en Artes

a. Exposed students to 5 learning areas

1. Christian doctrine
2. Languages
 Spanish
 Latin
 Greek
 French
3. History and Geography
 World History and Geography
 History of Spain and the Philippines
4. Mathematics and Sciences
 Arithmetic
 Geometry
 Trigonometry
 Mineralogy
 Chemistry
 Physics
 Botany
 zoology
5. Classic disciplines
 Poetry
 Rhetoric
 Philosophy

C. Stimulating the Spirit of Competition

a. Divide the class into 2 empires
i. Romans - boarding students
ii. Carthaginians - non-boarding student
b. Ranks and Dignitaries
 i. Emperor – best scholar
ii. Tribune
iii. Decurion
iv. Centurion
v. Standard bearer
c. Question and Answer – competition
d. Indication:
i. Hoisting - victory
ii. Lowering – defeat
D. Method of Teaching
a. Ratio Studiorum
 a system of indoctrination under tight and constant discipline with every
incentive of compensation and reward
 combined memory and understanding

E. Goal of Education
a. Ad majorem Dei gloriam
o For the greater glory of God
b. Ultimate task of Jesuit
o Make lifelong Catholics
c. Climax of secondary course
o Philosophy of man as a creature of God

F. Academic Performance at Ateneo

EXCELLENT
1872-1873 (First Year)
 Latin
 Spanish
 Greek
1873-1874
 Spanish
 Greek
 World Geography
1874-1875
 Latin
 Spanish
 World History of Spain and Philippines
 Arithmetic and Algebra
 Greek
1875-1876
 Rhetoric & Poetry
 French
 Geometry and Trigonometry
1876-1877
 Philosophy 1
  Philosophy 2
 Mineralogy & Chemistry
 Physics
 Botany & Zoology

March 14, 1877

-Rizal passed oral examination

March 23, 1877

-graduated with the degree Bachiller en Artes with the highest academic honors.

3 Factors for Rizal’s academic triumph at Ateneo

1. Racial Pride –prove to Spaniards that Filipinos can compete academically
2. Monastic discipline – triggered his motivation to outdo his classmates
3. Seclusion of boarding school life – able to devote more time in studies

G. Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo

a. Religious Confraternities
i. Sodality of Our Lady
ii. Apostleship of Prayer
b. Academic societies
i. Academy of Spanish Literature
ii. Academy of Natural Sciences
c. Others
i. Poetry writing tutorials – Fr. Francisco Paula de Sanchez
ii. Spanish special lessons – Convent School of Santa Isabel
iii. Painting lessons – Agustin Saez
iv. Sculpture Lessons – Romualdo de Jesus
 Carved image of Virgin Mary
 Sacred Heart of Jesus
v. Gymnastics and Fencing – Tio Manuel
H. Literary Works at Ateneo
a. Mi Primera Inspiracion
 My First Inspiration
i. A poem of tribute to Doña Teodora on her natal day
b. Un Recuerdo de Mi Pueblo
 In Memory of My Town
i. 1876
ii. Paying homage to his birthplace, Calamba
 iii. Beauty and tranquility of the town
iv. Inspired him to love nature, and to trust God
c. Al Niño Jesus
 To the Child Jesus
i. Ode
ii. Wrote it when he was 14 years old
iii. Expression of his devotion to Catholicism
d. La Alianza Intima Entre Religion y La Buena Educacion
 The Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education
i. God-centered education as the only true education
e. Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria
 Through Education the Country Receives Light
i. Education as people’s guide to actions and behaviors
ii. Main message:
- People have to seek knowledge to become enlightened
individuals who could be instruments in elevating the country
into prestige and honor
iii. Vital components of prudent education
1. Education for truth and knowledge
2. Education for refinement
3. Education for love of one’s country
I. Influences of Schooling at Ateneo on Rizal
 Transformed into a matured individual
 Able to imbibe Jesuit values
o Fairness
o Justice
o Reason
Chapter 8:
Rizal at the Dominican University of the Philippines
 Don Francisco decided to send him to University of Santo Tomas- Dominican
University of the Philippines

A. Enrollment at the University

a. Suggestions / Considerations
i. Priesthood – former Jesuit mentors
ii. Farming – former Jesuit mentors
iii. Law – him
- Discouraged by Paciano due to political conditions in the Phil.
iv. Medicine – him
v. Philosophy and Letters – Don Francisco
 Enrolled Philosophy and Letters
 1887-1888
 Fr. Ramon Pablo
o Rector of Ateneo (was in Mindanao at that time)
o whose advice whom Rizal failed to solicit
 found himself taking up
o Cosmology
o Metaphysics
o Theodicy
o History of Philosophy
o Surveying course at Ateneo – was conferred the title on Nov. 25, 1881
 Shifted to Medicine
o Advised by Fr. Ramon
o Mother’s failing eyesight
B. Academic Performance at UST
 Performance was not comparable with performance at Ateneo
 He did not enjoy his schooling at UST because
1. Hostility of Dominican professors to Rizal
2. Racial discrimination against Filipinos
3. Obsolete and repressive method of instruction at UST
 Poor academic performance because
1. Medicine – not Rizal’s real vocation
2. Dissatisfaction with Dominican system of Education
 Stressed in El Filibusterismo thru Fr. Millon – Phyisics prof and
Placido Penitentem
3. Distractions of youth
 Infatuation to Segunda Katigbak - engaged
 Courted Leonor / Orang Valenzuela - engaged
 Courted Leonor Rivera – first cousin
 1877-1878
o Philosophy and Letters
o EXCELLENT
 Cosmology & Metaphysics
 Theodicy
 History of Philosophy
 1878-1879
o Medicine – 1st year
 Physics Fair
 Chemistry Excellent
 Natural History Good
 Anatomy 1 Good
 Dissection 1
 1879-1880
o 2nd year
o GOOD
 Anatomy 2
 Dissection 2
 Physiology
 Private Hygiene
 Public Hygiene
 1880-1881
o 3rd year
 General Pathology Fair
 Therapeutics Excellent
 Surgery Good
 1881-1882
o 4th year
o VERY GOOD
 Medical Pathology
 Surgical Pathology
 Obstetrics

C. Liberalism and Filipino Students

 Liberal ideas can be attributed to:
1. Ending of the Spanish Civil Wars
2. Opening of Suez Canal
3. Opening of Philippines to World Trade
 Revolution of the senses against the otherworldliness of monasticism
 Comforting certitudes of catechism
 Revolution of race and nation against inequality and subjection
a. Cultivation of Literature and Arts
 Liceo Artistico Literario de Manila
- organization of art lovers in the city
- conducted competition in literary writing
 Entries:
a. A La Juventud Filipina (1879)
- To the Filipino Youth
- 18 years old
- Won grand prize and received silver quill
- Was classic because it was:
 First great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino recognized by
Spanish authorities
 First expression of the nationalistic concept that the Filipinos were the
fair hope of the Motherland (La Bella Esperanza de la Mi Patria).
- Rizal’s first expression of Nationalism
- Challenged the youth to do 3 things:
1. Cultivate their talents in arts
2. Develop their knowledge of the sciences
3. Look forward and break their chain of bondage

b. El Consejo de los Dioses (1880)

- Play
- Allegory in praise of Cervantes as co-equal of Homer and Virgil
- Best entry of the year
- Disproved superiority of Spaniards over Filipinos
c. Junto Al Pasig
- One-act play
- Written at request of the Jesuits
- For the celebration of the Feast Day of Immaculate Conception
- It was depicted by Leonido, together with a choir of angels successfully
driving Satan and his devils out of the Land.
- Considered as a prophecy of 50 years of :
 Revolution
 Invasion after invasion
 Defeat
 Subjugation
 Civil tumult
- Can also be continuation of Rizal’s appeal to Filipino youth to chide alien
people for causing them misery
- Can also be pure allegory
d. A Filipinas (1880)
 - Sonnet
- to encourage Filipino artists to glorify the country through their art works

D. Student Activism
 Spanish / mestizo students – Kastila / bangus
 Filipino students – indio / chongo
 Motivation: racial animosity
 Once wounded during a brawl at Escolta, Manila
Secret Society of Filipino Students
i. Compañerismo
ii. Companions of Jehu
iii. Patriot general of the Jews
iv. President: Jose Rizal
v. Secretary: Galiciano Apacible
 He criticized
o the humiliating treatment of Dominican mentors to Filipino students
o Also condemned archaic method of instruction at UST
o teaching of Physics and devoid of lab equipment
o Judging of academic performance thru:
 favoritism and skin color not meritocracy and intellectual brilliance

E. First Taste of Spanish Brutality

 First summer vacation at Calamba (after freshmen year)
 Did not recognize Lieutenant of Guardia Civil
 Whipped out and was slashed at the back
 Sent a written complaint to Governor-general Primo de Rivera
 No positive reply because he was an Indio.

F. Decision to Go to Europe
 Went to Europe after graduation
 Somehow because of disappointment in schooling at UST
 Excuse:
o Complete his medical course in Barcelona
 Real reason:
o Make name in journalism
o Observe and study European society
o Prepare himself for the task of liberating the Filipinos from Spanish
tyranny