CHAPTER 3

JOSE RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD

AND EARLY EDUCATION

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. analyze Jose Rizal’s family, childhood, and early education; and
2. evaluate the people and events and their influence on Jose Rizal’s early life.

Jose Rizal’s Family

The Birth of Jose Rizal. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born
on June 19, 1861 in a small lakeshore town of Calamba, in the province of Laguna, Philippines.
He was brought into life in a country he poetically described as “Pearl of the Orient.” Several
years later, he narrated his birth in his student memoirs under the nom de plume P. Jacinto: “I
was born in Calamba on 19, June, 1861, between eleven and midnight, a few days before full
moon. It was a Wednesday and my coming out in this vale of tears would have cost my mother
her life had she not vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me to her sanctuary by way of
pilgrimage.”

Jose Rizal was baptized in the Catholic church of Calamba on June 22, 1861, just three
days after his birth, by Father Rufino Collantes, a Batagueno parish priest. Father Pedro
Casanas, a native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family was chosen to be his
godfather. His name “Jose” was derived by his mother from the Christian saint St. Joseph (San
Jose).

Jose Rizal’s baptismal certificate reads:

"I, the undersigned parish priest of Calamba,

certify that from the investigation made with
proper authority, for replacing the parish books
which were burned September 28, 1862, to be

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 found in Docket No. 1 of Baptisms, p.49, it appears by the sworn
testimony of competent witnesses that Jose Rizal Mercado is the
legitimate son, and of lawful wedlock, of Don Francisco Rizal
Mercado and Dona Teodora Realonda, having been baptized in
this parish on the 22nd day of June in the years 1861, by the
parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes, Rev. Pedro Casanas being
his godfather. --
Witness my signature."

(Signed): Leoncio Lopez

Jose Rizal’s Parents. Francisco

Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (1818-1898), Jose
Rizal’s father, was born in Binan, Laguna, on May 11,
1818. He matriculated at the College of San Jose in
Manila to study Latin and Philosophy. In his early years,
he become a tenant-farmer of the Dominican owned
hacienda. He was portrayed as courteous, kind, dignified,
hospitable, hardy, independent minded, and a man of few
words who preferred to work more. On January 5, 1898,
he passed away in Manila, at the age of 80 approximately
a year after Jose Rizal’s martyrdom in Bagumbayan. In his letter to Blumentritt, Rizal
affectionately described him “a model of fathers.”

Teodora Alonso Realonda de Quintos (1826-1911), Jose Rizal’s mother, was born in
Manila on November 18, 1826. Influenced by what she learned
from the Colegio de Santa Rosa in Manila where she was
educated, she exerted great efforts to infuse her children with
Christian ethical principles. She was a pictured as an
impressive woman, well-educated, highly cultured, a
disciplinarian as well as a dedicated, courteous and hard-
working mother. In his letter to Blumentritt, Rizal lovingly said
of her: “My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture;
she knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I. She
corrected my poems and gave me good advice when I was
studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books.” On August 16, 1911 she
died in Manila at the age of 85.

The Rizal Children. Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda’s happy
marriage was blessed with eleven children; two of which were boys and nine were girls. These
children were described by Zaide and Zaide (2014) in their book, Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and
Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist, and National Hero, as follows:
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1. Saturnina (1850-1913) - oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed
Neneng; she married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.

2. Paciano (1851-1930) older brother and confidant of Jose Rizal;

after his younger brother’s execution, he joined the Philippine
Revolution and became a combat general; after the Revolution,
he retired to his farm in Los Baños, where he lived as a gentleman
farmer and died in April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged 79. He
had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena) - a boy and a
girl.

3. Narcisa (1852-1939) - her pet name was Sisa and she married
Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school
teacher of Morong .

4. Olimpia (1855-1887) - Ypia was her pet name; she married

Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator in Manila.

5. Lucia (1857-1919) - She married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba,

who was a nephew of Father Casanas. Herbosa died of cholera in
1889 and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-
in- law of Dr. Rizal.

6. Maria (1859-1945) - Biang was her nickname; she married

Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna.

7. Jose (1861-1896) - the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius;

his nickname was Pepe; during his exile in Dapitan he lived with
Josephine Bracken, Irish Girl from Hongkong; he had a son by
her, but this baby boy died after a few hours after birth; Rizal
named him “Francisco” after his father and buried him in
Dapitan.

8. Concepcion (1862-1865) - her pet name was Concha; she died of

sickness at the age of three; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in
life.

9. Josefa (1865-1945) - her pet name was Panggoy; she died an old
maid at the age of 80.

10. Trinidad (1868-1951) - Trining was her pet name; she died also
an old maid in 1951 aged 83.

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 11. Soledad (1870-1929) - youngest of the Rizal children; her pet
name was Choleng; she married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba.

The Rizal/Mercado Family

The Rizal family was a wealthy family in Calamba, Laguna and considered one of the
largest families in those times. Simplicity, contentment and happiness characterized the Rizal
family. Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso were loving and strict parents who taught their
children to love God, to behave well, to be obedient and to respect people. The Rizal family is
religious as evidenced by their attendance in Masses in the town church, particularly during
Sundays and Christian holidays. They always pray together every day at home: they recite the
Angelus at sunset and the Rosary before retiring to bed at night.

Love pervaded the relationship among the Rizal children. Just like other children, Jose
loved to play games with his siblings. Although he had childish squabbles with his brother and
sisters he cared and respected them.

Jose Rizal’s Childhood

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 Jose Rizal had quite a few happy memories of childhood in his native town Calamba.
Legend has it that the term “Calamba” was derived from the phrase “kalan-banga”. Kalan-
banga was an earthen jar being carried by a young woman whom a Guardia Civil halted to
inquire for the name of the place. Mistakenly thinking that she was being asked what she was
transporting, she answered “kalan-banga”. Subsequently, Kalambanga was abbreviated to
Calamba. Jose was blessed to grow up in a beautiful home defined by loving and supportive
parents and siblings. Calamba’s pleasing or beautiful view of natural scenery and its
hardworking, hospitable, and friendly people impressed
him during his childhood years and deeply influenced his
mind and character. It is widely believed that the most
memorable period of Jose's life was spent in his
childhood in this blessed town.

Jose Rizal’s Hometown. The Dominican Order

owned vast tracts of land which included Calamba, a
hacienda town where Rizal was born. Zaide and Zaide
(2014) beautifully depicted Calamba this way:

It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with

irrigated ricefields and sugar-lands. A few kilometers to the south
looms the legendary Mount Makiling in somnolent grandeur, and
beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas. East of the
town is the Laguna de Bay, an inland lake of songs and emerald
waters beneath the canopy of azure skies. In the middle of the
lake towers the storied island of Talim, and beyond it towards the
north is the distant Antipolo, famous mountain shrine of the
miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

Jose Rizal held a strong and great affection for his hometown Calamba. In 1876, when
he was 15 years old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila, he reminisced about his
cherished town. In his book, Rizal, Man and Martyr, Laubach (1936), made available Rizal’s
poem about his beloved Calamba entitled: Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)

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When early childhood's happy days
In memory I see once more
Along the lovely verdant shore
That meets a gently murmuring sea;
When I recall the whisper soft
Of zephyrs dancing on my brow
With cooling sweetness, even now
New luscious life is born in me.

When I behold the lily white

That sways to do the wind's command,
While gently sleeping on the sand
The stormy water rests awhile;
When from the flowers there softly breathes
A bouquet ravishingly sweet,
Out-poured the newborn dawn to meet,
As on us she begins to smile.

With sadness I recall…recall

Thy face, in precious infancy,
Oh mother, friend most dear to me.
Who gave to life a wondrous charm.
I yet recall a village plain,
My joy, my family, my boon,
Besides the freshly cool lagoon, —
The spot for which my heart beats warm.

Ah yes! my footsteps insecure

In your dark forests deeply sank;
And there by every river's bank
I found refreshment and delight;
Within that rustic temple prayed
With childhood's simple faith unfeigned
While cooling breezes, pure, unstained,
Would send my heart on rapturous flight.

I saw the Maker in the grandeur

Of your ancient hoary wood,
Ah, never in your refuge could
A mortal by regret be smitten;
And while upon your sky of blue
I gaze, no love nor tenderness
Could fail, for here on nature's dress
My happiness itself was written.

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 Ah, tender childhood, lovely town,
Rich fount of my felicities,
Oh those harmonious melodies
Which put to flight all dismal hours,
Come back to my heart once more!
Come back, gentle hours, I yearn!
Come back as the birds return,
At the budding of the flowers!

Alas, farewell! Eternal vigil I keep

For thy peace, thy bliss, and tranquility,
O Genius of good, so kind!
Give me these gifts, with charity.
To thee are my fervent vows, —
To thee I cease not to sigh
These to learn, and I call to the sky
To have thy sincerity.

Influences on Jose Rizal’s Childhood. Many would agree with the idea that Jose Rizal
had all the favorable influences in his life that made him a cut above the rest. In terms of hereditary
influences on Jose, Zaide and Zaide (2014) provided the following observations:

From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal, evidently, inherited his love for
freedom, his innate desire to travel and his indomitable courage.
From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his serious nature, frugality,
patience, and love for children. From his Spanish ancestors, he got
his elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies.
From his father, he inherited a profound sense of self-respect, the
love for work, and the habit of independent thinking. And from his
mother, he inherited his religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice,
and the passion for arts and literature.

The breathtaking scenery of the natural environment of Jose’s birth town Calamba in
Laguna influenced his inherent artistry. Their beautiful garden replete with flowers and fruit trees
stimulated his innate literary talent. In his childhood memoirs, he recounted how he, at the age of
three, played in their family garden and watched birds from the nipa garden cottage which his
father built, and listened with awe and joy to their soothing songs.

The religiosity of Jose’s family strengthened his religious nature. With nostalgic feeling,
he also remembered the daily Angelus prayer and by nightfall, the Angelus after which the blissful
moonlit nights after the nightly Rosary.

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 His siblings also proved influential in his life. His only brother, Paciano, inculcated in him
the love for freedom and justice. From his sisters, he gained knowledge about polite behavior and
kindness to women. The numerous stories about imaginary events narrated by his kind and old aya
(nurse maid) awakened in Jose a lasting interest in legends and folklore. His three uncles, brothers
of his mother, such as his India-educated Uncle Jose Alberto encouraged him to hone his artistic
abilities; the athletic Uncle Manuel, inspired him to take up physical exercises to strengthen his
frail body; and the book-loving Uncle Gregorio, who instilled in him the value of reading. The
love for scholarship and intellectual honesty was implanted in Jose’s mind by Father Leoncio
Lopez, an old and erudite parish priest of Calamba, Laguna.

Feelings of sadness or grief also disturbed Jose, such as the death of his sister Concha
(Conception) in 1865 due to sickness and the injustices inflicted upon his family and other
Filipinos by the Spanish colonial government, such as the imprisonment of his mother Teodora in
1871-74 and the execution of Gomburza (Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora) in 1872, awakened
the spirit of patriotism and political dissidence in him. The miserable situation of his country
ignited him to dedicate his life to fight tyranny and free his oppressed people. Many years later, he
sent Mariano Ponce a letter stating his solemn promise: “In view of these injustices and cruelties,
although yet a child, my imagination was awakened and I made a vow dedicating myself someday
to avenge the many victims. With this idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all my writings.
Someday God will give me the opportunity to fulfill my promise.”

On the Story of the Moth. Of the many stories narrated by his mother, the story of the
moth created the profoundest impression on him. Remembering this episode of his life, Jose in his
Memoirs, penned:

One night, all the family, except my mother and myself, went to
bed early. Why, I do not know, but we two remained sitting
alone. The candles had already been put out. They had been blown
out in their globes by means of a curved tube of tin. That tube
seemed to me the finest and most wonderful plaything in the
world. The room was dimly lighted by a single light of coconut oil.
In all Filipino homes such a light burns through the night. It goes
out just at day-break to awaken people by its spluttering.

My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called "The

Children's Friend" (El Amigo de los Ninos). This was quite a rare
book and an old copy. It had lost its cover and my sister had
cleverly made a new one. She had fastened a sheet of thick blue
paper over the back and then covered it with a piece of cloth.

This night my mother became impatient with hearing me read so

poorly. I did not understand Spanish and so I could not read with
expression. She took the book from me. First she scolded me for

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drawing funny pictures on its pages. Then she told me to listen and
she began to read. When her sight was good, she read very well.
She could recite well, and she understood verse-making, too. Many
times during Christmas vacations, my mother corrected my poetical
compositions, and she always made valuable criticisms.

I listened to her, full of childish enthusiasm. I marvelled at the nice-

sounding phrases which she read from those same pages. The
phrases she read so easily stopped me at every breath. Perhaps I
grew tired of listening to sounds that had no meaning for
me. Perhaps I lacked self-control. Anyway, I paid little attention
to the reading. I was watching the cheerful flame. About it, some
little moths were circling in playful flights. By chance, too, I
yawned. My mother soon noticed that I was not interested. She
stopped reading. Then she said to me: "I am going to read you a
very pretty story. Now pay attention."

On hearing the word 'story' I at once opened my eyes wide. The

word 'story' promised something new and wonderful. I watched my
mother while she turned the leaves of the book, as if she were
looking for something. Then I settled down to listen. I was full of
curiosity and wonder. I had never even dreamed that there were
stories in the old book which I read without understanding. My
mother began to read me the fable of the young moth and the old
one. She translated it into Tagalog a little at a time.

My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the

light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around
it. The story could not have been better timed. My mother
repeated the warning of the old moth. She dwelt upon it and
directed it to me. I heard her, but it is a curious thing that the light
seemed to me each time more beautiful, the flame more
attractive. I really envied the fortune of the insects. They frolicked
so joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had
fallen and been drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread.

My mother kept on reading and I listened breathlessly. The fate of

the two insects interested me greatly. The flame rolled its golden
tongue to one side and a moth which this movement had singed fell
into the oil, fluttered for a time and then became quiet. That
became for me a great event. A curious change came over me
which I have always noticed in myself whenever anything has
stirred my feelings. The flame and the moth seemed to go further
away and my mother's words sounded strange and uncanny. I did
not notice when she ended the fable. All my attention was fixed on
the face of the insect. I watched it with my whole soul... It had died

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 a martyr to its illusions.

As she put me to bed, my mother said: "See that you do not behave
like the young moth. Don't be disobedient, or you may get burnt as
it did." I do not know whether I answered or not... The story
revealed to me things until then unknown. Moths no longer were,
for me, insignificant insects. Moths talked; they know how to warn.
They advised just like my mother. The light seemed to me more
beautiful. It had grown more dazzling and more attractive. I knew
why the moths circled the flame.

It was from Jose’s mother that he gained knowledge about the virtue of obedience, through
the story of the moth that got burned by the flame because it disobeyed its mother moth’s warning
not to get too close to the flame. He understood the importance of taking heed of the wisdom
spoken by the wise and experienced and that irrational and emotional actions have dangerous and
fatal consequences. Later in his life, he realized that dying for another is worth it if it is for that
person to see the light. Like the fate of the moth, he was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal.

Jose’s Artistic Talents. At an early age, Jose displayed his skills of an artist. When he
was five years old, he started to sketch and sculpt about anything that attracted his fancy.
According to Zaide and Zaide (2014):

Jose had the soul of a genuine artist. Rather an introvert child, with
a skinny physique and sad dark eyes, he found great joy looking at
the blooming flowers, the ripening fruits, the dancing waves of the
lake, and the milky clouds in the sky; and listening to the song of the
birds, the chirpings of the cicadas, and the murmurings of the
breezes. He loved to ride on a spirited pony which his father bought
for him and take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his
black dog named Usman.

Jose also exhibited his remarkable talent for literature. His mother, who herself was a lover
of literature, observed his poetic genius and made him more determined and confident in
composing poems. When he was eight years old, Jose composed his first poem in the native
language entitled, Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children):

Sa Aking Mga Kababata

Kapagka ang baya’y sadyang umiibig

Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit,
Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

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 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.

Jose bared his advocacy of nationalism in his poem Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My
Fellow Children). In poetic verses, he taught us to love our national language which he considered
a gift from God which we should we be thankful for. He claimed that a people who truly love
their native language will also pursue freedom like the bird which soars to freer space above. He
warned that whoever does not love his native tongue is worse than any beast or malodorous fish.
All languages like Tagalog, Latin, English and Spanish are equal according to Jose. He urged
every Filipino to make their language richer just like any mother who loves to feed her young.

Rizal’s Early Education

Jose’s Early Formal Education at Home. It was Jose’s mother, his first teacher who laid
the foundation of his intellectual pursuits. At an early age of three, way beyond the children of his
age, he learned the Latin alphabet and some Catholic prayers due to the patient and kind tutoring
of his mother. Teodora also gradually introduced him to the Spanish bible. “My mother,” wrote
Rizal in his student memoirs, “taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers
which I raised to God.” Teodora, who herself was intellectually impressive, noticed her son’s
voracious appetite for learning. She inspired and
assisted Jose in the development of his
capabilities, especially on poetry. She also
narrated many stories to relieve him of the
monotony of memorization and to enliven her
son’s artistic creativity.

Jose’s early formal education was further

developed through the support of private tutors
Painting by Joseph P. Curada and private sessions conducted at home. Maestro

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Celestino, Maestro Lucas Padua and Maestro Leon Monroy were his first, second, and third tutors
respectively. The third tutor, who lived at the Rizal’s family house and one of the former
classmates of Jose’s father taught Jose Spanish and Latin. Maestro Leon Monroy’s untimely death
five months later prompted Francisco and Teodora to send Jose, who was then nine years old, to a
private school in Binan, Laguna.

Jose’s Early Formal Education in

Binan. In June, 1869, Jose, accompanied by his
only brother Paciano left Calamba for Binan. They
proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to
dwell. His school in Binan was managed by
Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz, a former teacher
of Paciano. The place of education was a small
nipa hut which was thirty meters from where their
aunt resides.
School of Jose Rizal in Binan
The four R’s – reading, writing, arithmetic,
and religion were the four areas of focus of Jose’s early formal education in Binan. The four R’s
which characterized Spanish elementary education in Binan and Calamba were taught rigidly and
strictly. The teacher’s whip accompanied the drudging rote method in forcing knowledge into the
minds of the pupils. Jose studied extremely hard to make himself ready for college education in
Manila and abroad despite the imperfections of the outmoded and backward Spanish system of
elementary education. Jose enhanced his intellectual gifts and became excellent in almost
everything he studied despite of his physical limitations.

Unpleasant events spoiled Jose’s first day in school. His classmates insulted him, especially
Pedro (their teacher’s son) on his little knowledge of Spanish and Latin. He won his first brawl in
school against Pedro who was physically stronger but lost to another classmate in an arm wrestling
match. Jose’s courage did not permit him to run away from a fight despite his short stature and
having little physical power or ability.

Childish and petty fights however, did not define Jose’s life in Binan. Some were
gratifying, especially his association with an old painter, called Juancho, the father-in-law of the
school teacher. There were many leisure hours Jose spent at the painter’s studio ascribable to his
love for painting. Juancho taught them techniques in drawing and painting free of charge. Under
the tutelage of Juancho, Jose Rizal and his classmate, Jose Guevarra, who shared his love for
painting, became apprentices. Eventually, they enhanced their craft and were dubbed “the painters
of the class.”

Jose’s daily routine in Binan was methodical. Expressing explicitly his everyday activities
in Binan, he recorded in his memoirs:

Here was my life. I heard the four o'clock Mass, if there was any, or
I studied my lesson at that hour and I went to Mass afterwards. I
returned home and I went to the orchard to look for a mabolo to eat.
Then I took breakfast, which consisted generally of a dish of rice and

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 two dried small fish, and I went to class from which I came out at
ten o'clock. I went home at once. If there was some special dish,
Leandro and I took some of it to the house of his children (which I
never did at home nor would I ever do it), and I returned without
saying a word. I ate with them and afterwards I studied. I went to
school at two and came out at five. I prayed a short while with some
nice cousins and I returned home. I studied my lesson. I drew a little,
and afterwards I took my supper consisting of one or two dishes of
rice with an ayungin. We prayed and if there was a moon, my nieces
invited me to play in the street together with others. Thank God that
I never got sick away from my parents.

In Binan, Jose was the best in academics. He clearly excelled and surpassed all his
classmates. His intellectual superiority was the envy of some of his older classmates. They
fabricated malicious stories to disgrace him before the teacher. Accordingly, the teacher had to
discipline Jose. In his memoirs, Jose confessed, “in spite of the reputation I had of being a good
boy, the day was unusual when I was not laid out on a bench and given five or six blows.”

Before the Christmas season in 1870, Jose learned from the letter of his sister Saturnina,
that he would go home to Calamba. Previous to his departure, he prayed in the town church,
gathered pebbles in the river as souvenir of his sojourn in Binan, and lamented his saying goodbye
to his teacher and classmates. He finally set out for Calamba on Saturday afternoon, December 17,
1870, after one year and a half of education in Binan. Upon arrival in Calamba, Jose was warmly
and excitedly welcomed home by his family. At home, he regaled his family with manifold stories
about his fights, escapades, and school triumphs in Binan.

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