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Learning Module

The Life and Works of

Jose Rizal
Course Packet 03

Rizal’s Life, Family,

Childhood and Early
Education

Knowledge Area Code : SSCI

Course Code : NGEC1023
Learning Module Code : LM1-NGEC1023
Course Packet Code : LM1-NGEC1023-03

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Course Packet 03
Course Packet 03

Rizal’s Life, Family, Childhood and Early

Education

Introduction
This course packet will deal with the life of Jose Rizal. To appreciate and understand the life of
Dr. Jose Rizal it is important to know his life, childhood, family, and his early education. This
course packet also will tackle the people around him, events, and their influences on Rizal’s
early life.

Objectives
At the end of the course packet you are expected to describe people, events, influence on Rizal’s
early education, to analyze Rizal’s family, childhood, and early education, and you will be able
to evaluate people and events and their influence on Rizal’s early life.

Learning Management System

Link of Google Classroom:
Link of Google Drive:
Google Meet

Duration
 Topic 03: Rizal’s Life. Family, Childhood and Early Education = 3 hours
(2 hours self-directed learning with practical exercises and 1 hour assessment)

Delivery Mode
The course packet will be delivered online, both asynchronous and synchronous.

Assessment with Rubrics

Content analysis will serve as your assessment at the end of this course packet. You can access
the rubrics for the assessment in the link below.

Readings
The required reading for this course packet is the life of the Rizal’s family in a Dominican-
owned land in Calamba, Laguna, where Rizal live and died during the Spanish colonial era in
the Philippines, you are required to read how their family adopted their surname Rizal, his
birth and childhood, and how the story of the Moth became an important in his life.

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Jose Rizal
Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June Key Points:

19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna. The seventh of eleven children

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 Francisco
born to a relatively well-off family in a Dominican-owned tenant Mercado. Rizal’s
father, was a
land in Calamba, Laguna. He was baptized in the Catholic wealthy farmer
Church of his town on June 22, aged three days old, by the parish who leased lands
from the
priest, Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueño. Dominican friars
 Teodora Alonso.
Rizal’s mother,
In his early childhood, Jose had mastered the alphabet and
who belonged to
learned to write and read. His early readings included the one of the
Spanish version of the Vulgate Bible. At a young age, he already wealthiest
families in Manila.
showed inclinations to the arts. He amazed his family by his  Jose Rizal was
special drawings, sketches, and moldings of clay. Later in his the seventh
among the
childhood, he showed special talent in painting and sculpture. eleven children of
Francisco
Mercado and
Don Francisco Mercado Teodora Alonso.
Jose’s father, Francisco Mercado Rizal was a productive farmer
from Binan, Laguna, in his early manhood, they moved to Definition of Terms:
Calamba after the death of his parents, and became a tenant-
Ilustrado. A term which
farmer of the Dominican owned hacienda. Don Francisco
literally means”
Mercado is hardworking, independent-minded man who talked enlightened ones” or the
Filipinos educated in
less and work more, dynamic gentleman, strong in body and
Europe
valiant in spirit.
Principalia. Wealthy
pure blooded natives
Don Francisco’s great grandfather was Domingo Lam-co, a said to have descended
learned pro poor, Chinese immigrant businessman who married from the kadatoan class
Chinese mestizo. A
a sophisticated Chinese mestiza of Manila named Ines de la Rosa. person of mixed
One of their two children, Francisco (also) resided in Binan and Chinese and Filipino
ancestry.
married Bernarda Monicha. Francisco and Bernarda’s son, Juan
Mercado, became the gobernadorcillo (town mayor) of Binan,
Laguna. He married Cirila Alejandra, and they had 12 children,
the youngest being Jose Rizal’s father, Francisco.

Don Francisco was born on May 11, 1818 in Binan, Laguna. He

took Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila,
where he met and fell in love with Teodora Alonso, a student in
the College of Santa Rosa. Married on June 28, 1848, they settled
down in Calamba, where they were granted lease of a rice farm
in the Dominican –owned hacienda.

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Dona Teodora Alonso

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Jose’s mother, Dona Teodora Alonzo Quintos Realonda also

known as “Lolay”was an educated and highly cultured woman
from Sta. Cruz, Manila, born on November 8, 1826 in Santa Cruz
Manila. Dona Lolay was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a
respected school for girls in Manila. She was usually described
as a diligent business-minded woman, very graceful but
courageous, well-mannered, religious, and well-read. Very
dignified, she disliked gossip and vulgar conversation.
Possessing refined culture and literary talents, she influenced her
children to love the arts, literature, and music. Herself an
educated woman, Lolay, sent her children to colleges in Manila.
To help in the economy of the family, she ran sugar and flour
mills and a small store in their house, selling home-made ham,
sausages, jams, jellies, and many others.

It is believed that Dona Teodora’s family descended from

Lakandula, the last native king of Tondo. Lolay’s great-
grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese descent) who
married a Filipina named Benigna. Regina, their daughter,
married a Filipino-Chinese lawyer of Pangasinan, Manuel de
Quintos. Lorenzo Albert Alonzo, a well-off Spanish-Filipino
mestizo of Binan, took as his “significant others” Brigida
Quintos, daughter of Manuel and Regina Quintos. The Lorenzo-
Brigida union produced five children, the second of them was
Jose Rizal’s mother, Teodora Alonso Quintos.
Jose Rizal described Dona Teodora as “a woman of more than
ordinary culture”

Through the Claveria decree of 1849 which changed the Filipino

native surnames, the Alonso adopted the surname Realonda,
Rizal’s mother thus became Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda.

Jose Rizal’s Siblings

Rizal was affectionate to all his siblings. Saturnina Rizal (1850-
1913) is the eldest child of Don Francisco and Teodora Alonso.
She and her mother provided the little Jose with good basic

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education that by the age of three, Pepe (Jose Rizal’s nickname)

already knew alphabet.
Paciano Rizal (1851-1930), Jose’s only brother, was born on
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March 7, 1851 in Calamba, Laguna. He was fondly addressed by

his siblings as Nor Paciano, short for “Senor Paciano.” The 10-
year older brother of Jose studied at San Jose College in Manila,
became a farmer, and later a general of the Philippine
Revolution.

Rizal’s relationship with his only brother, Paciano was more than
that of an older brother. Paciano became Rizal’s second father.
Rizal highly respected him and valued all his advice. It was
Paciano who accompanied Rizal when he first went to school in
Binan. It was also him who convinced Rizal to pursue his studies
in Europe.
After Jose’s execution in December 1896, Paciano joined the
Katipuneros in Cavite unde General Emilio Agiunaldo. As a
Katipunero, Paciano was commissioned as general of the
revolutionary forces and elected as secretary of finance in the
Department Government of Central Luzon. After the revolution,
Paciano retired to his home in Los Banos and led a quiet life until
his death in 1930.

Narcisa Rizal (1852-1939) her nickname is Sisa, was the third

child in the family. Narcisa like Saturnina helped financing
Rizal’s studies in Europe, even pawning her jewelry and
peddling her clothes if needed. It was said she could recite from
memory almost all of the poems of our national hero.
Olympia Rizal, (1855-1887) was the fourth child in the Rizal
family. Jose loved to teach her, sometimes good-humoredly
describing her as his stout sister. Jose’s first love, Segunda
katigbak, was Olympia’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.

Lucia Rizal (1857-1919) was the fifth child in the family. She
married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, Laguna. Charged of
inciting the Calamba townsfolk not to pay land rent and causing,

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unrest, the couple was once ordered to be deported along with

some Rizal family members. Lucia’s husband died during the
cholera epidemic in May 1889 and was refused a catholic burial
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for not going to confession since his marriage to Lucia.

Maria Rizal (1859-1945) was 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. In his letter dated
December 28, 1891, Jose wrote to Maria, “I’m told that your
children are very pretty.”

Concepcion Rizal (1862-1865) also called Concha by her siblings,

was the eight child of the Rizal family. She died at the age of
three. Of his sisters, it was said that the young Pepe loved littlest
Concha who was a year younger than he. Jose played games and
shared children stories with her, and from her he felt the beauty
of sisterly love at a young age.

Josefa Rizal (1865-1945) her pet name was Panggoy, she was the
ninth child in the family. Panggoy died a spinster. Among Jose’s
letters to Josefa, the one dated October 26, 1893 was perhaps the
most fascinating. Written in English, the letter addressed Josefa
as “Miss Josephine Rizal.” After Jose’s martyrdom, the epileptic
Josefa joined the Katipunan and was even supposed to have been
elected the president of its women section. She was one of the
original 29 women admitted to the Katipunan along with
Gregoria de Jesus, wife of Andres Bonifacio. They safeguarded
the secret papers and documents of the society and danced and
sang during sessions so that civil guards would think that the
meetings were just harmless social gatherings.

Trinidad Rizal (1868-1951) or Trining was the tenth child.

Historically, she became the custodian of Rizal’s last and greatest
poem. Right before Jose’s execution, Trinidad and their mother
visited him in the Fort Santiago prison cell. As they were leaving,
Jose handed over to Trining an alcohol cooking stove, a gift from

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the Pardo de Taveras, whispering to her in a language, which the

guards could not understand,” There is something in it.” That
“something” was Rizal’s elegy now known as “Mi Ultimo
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Adios.” Like Josefa, Paciano, and two nieces, Trinidad joined the
Katipunan after Jose’s death

Soledad Rizal (1870-19290 Also called Choleng, 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 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
parent’s consent.

The Surname Rizal

The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado, which was
adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco, the paternal great-great
grandfather of Jose Rizal.
Domingo Lamco is a Chinese merchant and immigrant from the
Fukien City of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about 1690.
He adopted the name “Mercado” which means “market,” as
recommended by his friends. But Jose’s father, Francisco, who
eventually became primarily a farmer, adopted the surname
“Rizal” originally “Ricial,” which means “the green of young
growth” or “green fields.” The name was suggested by a
provincial governor who was a friend of the family. The new
name, however, caused confusion in the commercial affairs of
the family. Don Francisco thus settled on the name “Rizal
Mercado” as a compromise, and often just used his more known
surname “Mercado”

The Birth of Jose Rizal

Dona Teodora was said to have suffered the greatest pain during
the delivery of her seventh child, Jose. Dona Teodora labored for
a long time. Her pain was attributed to the fact that Jose’s head

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was bigger compare to other baby. His name Jose was chosen by
his mother who was devotee of the Christian saints San Jose.
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The Childhood memories of Jose Rizal

Jose Rizal’s first memory, in his infancy, was his happy days in
their family garden when he was three years old. Their courtyard
contained tropical fruit trees, poultry yard, a carriage house, and
a stable for the ponies, Because the young Pepe was weak, sickly,
and undersized, he was given the fondest care by his parents, so
his father built a nipa cottage for Pepe to play in the daytime.
Memory of his infancy included the nocturnal walk in the town,
especially when there was a moon, Jose also recalled the “aya”
relating to the Rizal children some fabulous stories, like those
about the fairies, tales of buried treasures, and trees blooming
with diamonds.

Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer in

their home. Rizal recorded in his memoir that by nightfall, his
mother would gather all the children in their home to pray the
Angelus. At the early age of three, he started to take a part in the
family prayers.

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”

At the age of five, the young Pepe learned to read the Spanish
Family Bible, which he would refer to later in his writings. Rizal
himself remarked that perhaps the education he received siice
his earliest infancy was what had shaped his habits.

As a child, Rizal loved to go to the chapel, pray, participate in

novenas, and join religious processions. In Calamba, one of the
men he esteemed and respected was scholarly Catholic priest
Leoncio Lopez, the town priest. He used to visit him and listen
to his inspiring opinions on current events and thorough life
views. Also at the age of five, Pepe started to make pencil

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sketches and molds in clay and wax objects, which attracted his
fancy. When he was about six years old, his sister once laughed
at him for spending much time making clay and wax images.
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Initially keeping silent, he then prophetically told them “All right

laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make
monuments and images of me.”

When Jose was seven years old, his father provided him the
exciting experience of riding a “casco” (a flat-bottomed boat with
a roof) on their way to a pilgrimage in Antipolo. The pilgrimage
was to fulfill the vow made by Jose’s mother to take him to the
shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive
the ordeal of delivery, which nearly caused her life. From
Antipolo, Jose and his father proceeded to Manila to visit his
sister Saturnina who was at the time studying at the La
Concordia College in Sta. Mesa.

As a gift, the child Jose received a pony from his father (Bantug
& Ventura, 1997, p.23). As a child, he loved to ride the pony or
take long walks in the meadow and lakeshore with his black dog
named “Usman.”
Dona Teodora encouraged Jose to love the arts, literature, and
the classics. Before he was eight years old, he had written a
drama, some sources say a Tagalog comedy which was
performed at a local festival and for which the municipal captain
rewarded him with two pesos, it was staged in Calamba festival
and that it was a gobernadorcillo from Paete who purchased the
manuscript for two pesos.

Contrary to the “former” common knowledge however, Rizal

did not write the Filipino poem “Sa Aking Mga Kababata/kabata”
(To My Fellow Children). The poem was previously believed to
be Rizal’s first written poem at the age of eight and was said to
have been published posthumously many years after Rizal’s
death. However, Jose had a preserved correspondence (letters)
with his brother Paciano admitting that he (Jose) had ony
encountered the word “kalayaan” when he was already 21 years
old. The term “kalayaan” was used not just once in the poem “Sa
Aking Kababata/Kabata.”

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The Young Rizal was also interested in magic. He read many

books on magic. He learned different tricks, such as making a
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coin disappear and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.

Some other influences of Rizal’s childhood involved in three

uncles: his Tiyo Jose Alberto to who inspired him to cultivate his
artistic ability; his Tiyo Manuel who encouraged him to fortify
his frail body through physical exercises; and his Tiyo Gregorio
who intensified Rizal’s avidness to read good books.

The Story of the Moth

To impart essential life lesson. Dona Teodora held regularly

storytelling sessions with the young Rizal. Dona Teodora loved
to read to Pepe stories from the book Amigo de los Ninos (The
Children’s Friend). One day, she scolded his son for making
drawings on the pages of the story book. To teach the value of
obedience to one’s parents, she afterward read him a story in it.
Lolay chose the story about a daughter moth who was warned
by her mother against going too near a lamp flame. Though the
young moth promised to comply, she later succumbed to the pull
of the light’s mysterious charm, believing that nothing bad
would happen if she approached it with caution. The moth then
flew close to the flame. Feeling comforting warmth at first, she
drew closer and closer, bit by bit, until she flew too close enough
to the flame and perished.
Incidentally, Pepe was watching a similar incident while he was
listening to the story telling. Like a live enactment, a moth was
fluttering too near to the flame of the oil lamp on their table. Not
merely acting out, it did fall dead as a consequence. Both moths
in the two tales paid the price of getting near the fatal light.
Many years later, Rizal himself felt that the moths’ tale could
serve as an allegory of his own destiny.

Education in Calamba
The familiar statement that Dona Teodora was Rizal’s first
teacher is not just a sort of “venerating” his mother who
sacrificed a lot for our hero. It was actually a technical truth. In

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his memoirs, Rizal wrote, “My mother taught me how to read

and to say humble prayers which I raised fervently to God.” In
Rizal’s time, seldom would one see a highly educated woman of
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fine culture, like Dona Teodora who had the capacity to teach
Spanish, reading, poetry, and values through rare story books
Lolay, indeed, was the first teacher of the hero teaching him
Spanish, correcting his composed poems, and coaching him in
rhetoric. On her lap, Jose learned the alphabet and Catholic
prayers at the age of three, and learned to read and write at age
of 5.
Aside from his mother, Jose’s sister Saturnina and three maternal
uncles also mentored him. His uncle Jose Alberto taught him
painting, sketching, and sculpture. Uncle Gregorio influenced
him to further love reading. Uncle Manuel, for his part,
developed Rizal’s physical skills in martial arts, like wrestling.
To further enhance what Rizal had learned, private tutors were
hired to give him lessons at home. Thus, Maestro Celestino
tutored him, and Maestro Lucas Padua later succeeded
Celestino. Afterward, a former classmate of Don Francisco, Leon
Monroy, lived at the Rizal home to become the boy’s tutor in
Spanish and Latin. Sadly, Monroy died five months later.

Education in Binan
Rizal was subsequently sent to a private school in Binan. In June
1869, his brother Paciano brought him to the school of Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz. The school was in the teascher’s house,
a small nipa house near the home of Jose’s aunt where he stayed.
In Rizal’s own words, his teacher “knew by the heart the
grammars by Nebrija and Gainza.”
During Rizal’s first day at the Binan school, the teacher asked
him: “Do you know Spanish?” “A little, sir,” replied Rizal. “Do
you know Latin?” “A little, sir,”
Because of this, his classmates, especially the teacher’s son Pedro,
laughed at tha new comer. So later in that day, Jose challenged
the bully Pedro to a fight. Having learned wrestling from his
Uncle Manuel, the younger and smaller Jose defeated his
tormenter. After the class, he had an arm-wrestling match with
his classmate Andres Salandanan. In that match, however, Jose
lost and even almost cracked his head on the sidewalk. In the

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following days, Jose was said to have some other fights with
Binan boys.
Rizal might not have won all his brawls but he, nevertheless, beat
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all Binan boys academically in Spanish, Latin, and many other

subjects. After sometime, Jose told his father that he had already
learned all there was to be taught in Binan. Don Francisco firmly
scolded Jose and hustled him back to the school. Maestro Cruz,
Jose’s teacher in Binan, later confirmed, however, that Jose had
indeed finished already all the needed curricular works. So
despite his wife’s reluctance, Don Francisco then decided to send
Jose to a school in Manila.

Course Packet Discussion Forum

After completing the course packet, please post your questions or concerns at (link) for further
discussion.
Readings and References:
Jensen D.G. Manebog et.al. 2018, Life and Works of Rizal: Mutya Publishing House. INC.
Rhodalyn Wani-Obias et.al. The Life and Works of Jose Rizal: C&E Publishing, Inc.
G.F. Zaide and S.M. Zaide.2008. JOSE RIZAL: Life, Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer,
Scientist and National Hero. All-Nations Publishing Co., Inc. Quezon City.

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Activity Sheet
Activity 01. Identification
Activity Sheet

1. The only brother of Jose Rizal who became a general of the Philippine Revolution.
2. The esteemed school for girls in Manila where Dona Lolay was educated.
3. The maestro in a private school in Binan where Rizal was brought by Paciano.
4. The poem, which was previously believed to be Rizal’s first written poem at the age
of eight.
5. The surname suggested by a provincial governor, which caused confusion in the
commercial affairs of the family.
6. The Catholic town priest in Calamba who was esteemed and respected by Rizal
7. The birthplace of Rizal.
8. The discreet but vigorous gentleman from whom Jose inherited his “free soul”
9. He was a classmate of Don Francisco who lived at the Rizal home to be a tutor of
Spanish and Latin
10. The educated and highly cultured woman from Sta. Cruz, Manila also known as
Lolay.
11. Rizal mournfully wept when she died of sickness in 1865.
12. The sister of Rizal who became a custodian the custodian of his last and greatest
poem.
13. She is the eldest child of Don Francisco and Dona Teodora
14. She is the sister of Jose who was one of original 29 women admitted to the Katipunan
15. A story about obedience whom Rizal felt that the story could serve as an allegory of
his own destiny.

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Assessment
Assessment

Assessment 01. Write an essay on virtues exemplified in life of the Rizal’s Family

Category 10 9-8 5-1

The arguments
The arguments
and thoughts of The arguments
and thoughts of
the student are and thoughts of
the student are
Organization and very well the students are
somewhat
Structure organized and the not organized and
organized and the
question was the question was
question was
completely not answered.
mostly answered.
answered.

The student
The student
moves from one The student lacks
moves smoothly
Sentence Fluency idea to the next clear connections
form one idea to
but there is little between ideas.
the next.
variety.

The student makes The student makes The student makes

Grammar and no errors in 1-2 errors in more than 3 errors
Spelling grammar or grammar or in grammar and
spelling. spelling. spelling.

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