June 19, 1861, Jose Protacio Rizal, Philippines National Hero, was born in Calamba, Laguna to Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda both of Chinese descent. Jose was the seventh of eleven children, Jose was baptized by Father Rufino Collantes on June 22, 1861, with Father Pedro Casanas as his godfather. Jose’s siblings were: Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad. Early on, Jose manifested exceptional intelligence. He learned the alphabet at the age of three from his mother and was trained to do outdoor activities like riding horses. Father Leoncio Lopez influenced him to exude character that held high respect for the rights of others. At the age of nine, his parents sent him to study Biñan in the school of Don Justiniano Aquino Cruz, who, after a few months, reported to his parents that he had nothing more to learn in school. Jose excelled in academics and in physical activities. Jose was allowed to study in Manila at the prodding of his brother, Paciano. By this time, he was already using the second family name, Rizal, in order to avoid complications in his studies, which the Mercado family name used by his brother Paciano could bring on him. His brother Paciano had earned the ire of the Spanish friars because of his relationship with Father Jose Burgos. Jose passed the entrance examinations at Colegio de San Juan de Letran owned by the Dominicans but he chose to study at Ateneo Municipal after learning that Dominican friars in Calamba were pursuing a court case against his mother. In 1872, he was admitted at the Ateneo through the help of Dr. Manuel Xeres Burgos, a nephew of Fr. Jose Burgos, and a close friend of Paciano. Burgos was able to convince Father Magin Fernando to admit Rizal at Ateneo. On March 14, 1877, Jose obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree at Ateneo Municipal with high honors for excelling in academics. It was during his student days in Ateneo that his extreme giftedness in poetry, writing, painting and sculpture became known. One of the masterpieces he did at Ateneo was a sculpture of the statue of the sacred heart of Jesus and some of his literary works have won prizes like: Felicitacion, Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria, Un Recuerdo a mi pueblo, and El heroismo de colon.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:08:43 +0000
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