Life and works of Rizal

                                                                      Rizal's Complete Name:
                                                                     
             
  José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
                               
                                   Rizal's Family
                                  Father: Francisco Mercado 


Birthdate: (79)
Birthplace:Binan City, CALABARZON, Philippines 
Death:January 05, 1898 (79)
Manila, NCR, Philippines
Immediate Family:
Occupation:tenant-farmer


         Rizal's Mother:            Teodora Alonso
                           


         
Birthdate: (83)
Birthplace:Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines 
Death:August 16, 1911 (83)
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
Immediate Family:
Occupation:farmer
Managed by:Private User
Last Updated:




SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Nickname : Neneng
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.

  

PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Nickname : None.
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.

      

NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) 
Nickname : None.
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.

      


OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
Nickname : Yepa
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.

              


LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
Nickname : None.
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.

     


MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
Nickname : Biyang
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

     


JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
Nickname : Pepe
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.

           


CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
Nickname : Concha
The eight child. Died at the age of three.

     



JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
Nickname : PanggoyThe ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

       


TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951) 
Nickname : Trining
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.



SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
Nickname : Cholen
The youngest child, married Pantaleon Quintero. 

 

               
                      Rizal's Favorite books
                       
            The count of Monte Cristo by: Alexander Dumas



Uncle Toms Cabin by: Harriet Beecher Stowe


the wandering jew by: Eugene Sue



 Rizal as Lovers
There were at least nine women linked with Rizal;namely Segunda Katigbak, LeonorValenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O-Sei San, Gertrude Beckette, NellyBoustead, Suzanne Jacoby and Josephine Bracken.These women might have been beguiled by hisintelligence, charm and wit.


1

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.

2

ON TOP OF BEING DUBBED as Jose Rizal’s “childhood sweetheart,” “betrothed,” and “lover by correspondence,” she was widely considered as the hero’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.

3

Consuelo Ortiga y Rey
he was probably very likable because at least two Filipinos in Spain in Jose Rizal’s time had had feelings for her.
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey was considered the prettier of the daughters of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, the Spanish liberal and former mayor of Manila who became vice-president of the Council of the Philippines in the Ministry of Colonies. Very supportive to the Filipinos in Madrid, Don Pablo’s house was the common meeting place of ‘Circulo Hispano-Filipino’ members like Rizal. The Ortiga residence was thus frequented by Filipino lads especially that Don Pablo had beautiful daughters.

4



O Sie San
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.
5

Nickname: 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.

6



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.”

Early life

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.


7
Gertrude Beckett
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.)
8
Nellie Boustead


After 11 years of correspondence and courtship, Rizal lost Leonor, and had began entertaining the idea of courting other ladies. He had met Nellie when he visited their residence as a guest, having a shared interest in fencing. And though over time they had fallen in love with each other, Rizal refused to convert to Protestantism and Nellie’s mother did not want to have a son-in-law that did not have a paying clientele. They had parted as good friends before Rizal left France to move to Belgium.
9

Suzanne Jacoby
When Jose Rizal left her place, her dream was to follow him and to travel with the Filipino lover boy who was always in her thoughts.
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.


Rizal House Tour

A stone’s throw from Calamba’s town plaza and parish church stands the replica of the house where Jose Rizal was born on 19 June 1861. The seventh child and second son of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso, Rizal would become a renowned political novelist and thinker; skilled eye doctor; gifted artist and architect; linguist and teacher; and a hero who lived and died for his beloved country.











    

    


                          


                             






Rizal House Tour Highlights

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