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| Jose Rizal (1861-1896) |
It's Dr. Jose Rizal's 114th death anniversary today. And next year, 2011, the country will mark his 150th birth anniversary on June 19. Rizal's name has been all over the place even before we were born. In fact, almost every municipality has a Rizal Park in the town or city center. Expect to find a Rizal street or road in these places as well. But our knowledge of Rizal is not just boosted by these familiar landmarks. In college we are forced to study his life, works and struggles thanks to the Rizal Law which was approved by Congress in the 1950s. However, in recent years, it seems that despite his overwhelming presence, our knowledge of the man, the hero has been limited.
Here is are some things then that I am sure will help you remember Rizal after reading:
Yes. Rizal's ancestors were originally from the Land of the Dragon -- China. He is the descendant of Domingo Lamco, a Chinese merchant from Guangzhou, China who migrated to the Philippines in the 17th century in pursuit of better trade opportunities. However, due to the discrimination imposed upon Chinese immigrants in country by the Spanish authorities at that time, Lamco changed his surname to Mercado which means "merchant" reflecting his relation to trade and commerce.
(From Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia)
2. Move over John Cena!
At a young age, Rizal knew the sport of wrestling from his uncle Manuel Alonzo, an athletic and able-bodied relative. While in school in Biñan, Laguna, Rizal got into fight with a bigger boy who was bullying him. Despite his size, he was able to beat his opponent.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
3. Master Magician
Another of Rizal's skills which he possessed at a young age was the skill in the sleight-of-hand of magic. He can make coins disappear from his finger and reappear in the ears of his sister. He has demonstrated how to make handkerchiefs vanish. During his travels in Europe, Rizal purchased books about magic and ventriloquism, and often watched magic shows for the public in major cities. He showed proof of his knowledge of magic in Chapters 17 and 18 of the El Filibusterismo.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
4. Frugal To The Max
Rizal was a very thrifty person considering the meager allowance that his parents was sending him to Europe and his small salary as a doctor's apprentice at that time. In order to make ends meet, Rizal became a bedspacer instead of checking in at Europe's cheap hotels. He also ate in the cheapest restaurants and washed his own laundry. He never rode first class in trains or steamers. Most of the time, he will have to be saved from being insolvent by one of his comrades abroad like Valentine Ventura or Maximo Viola. One time, when Rizal was sharing a room with Jose Alejandrino in Ghent, Belgium, he bought a box of biscuits and divided it equally to the two of them to be consumed in a month. Rizal kept to his daily regiment while Viola finished off his share even before the month ended.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
5. Rizal: The James Bond of the Philippines?
Rizal was accused of being a French spy in Germany. At that time, the two countries were at war (The Franco-Prussian War of 1871-72) and German authorities were increasingly suspicious of individuals entering the country from France (Rizal went to Germany via France). The chief of police in Berlin once threatened Rizal of deportation for not having a passport, especially after he had found that our hero was visiting villages in the countryside thereby arousing speculations of espionage. Rizal impressed the official with his explanation that as an ethnologist, he needs to go to the rural villages to study the culture and behavior people.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
6. He might have been gay.
At least in theory. Isagani R. Cruz, a professor of literature and Philippine Studies at the De La Salle University wrote an article one time entitled "Bakla Ba Si Rizal?", which had a lot of brows going up. He assets that throughout his life, Rizal has shown hints of being effeminate such as posing as woman for Juan Luna's paintings. His refusal to endorse an armed struggle against Spain and his inability to produce a child were also cited as proofs. J. Neil C. Garcia of the University of the Philippines-Diliman has also conducted studies regarding this issue. For me, his exploits with various women is enough proof that Rizal is the man!
(From http://www.panitikan.com.ph/criticism/wasrizalgay.htm)
7. Rizal the Swashbuckler!
Even before Richard Gomez was known in the world of Pinoy fencing, Rizal was a master in the art of sword-fighting. He even challenged two people in separate duels once -- Antonio Luna (his rival to Nellie Boustead) and Wenceslao E. Retana (an anti-Filipino writer in Madrid, Spain). As a teen, Rizal was taught in school in fencing and regularly went to gym in the cities of Europe to improve his skill. Rizal also excels in the use of the pistol.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
8. There are animals named after him
When he was an exile in Dapitan, Rizal collected different kinds of species of animals. Among them were the Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a specie of flying dragon, Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a hitherto unknown specie of toad and Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small beetle, which were later named after him.
(From http://www.joserizal.ph/ta02.html)
9. Under Surveillance
Soon after the release of his Noli Me Tangere, Rizal caught the eyes and ears of the Spanish authorities in the Philippines. Special orders were released to put him under surveillance during his first homecoming from Europe in 1888. After vacationing in the Philippines for a few months, Rizal went back to Europe, stopping via Hong Kong and Macao in China. Here he was secretly followed by Jose Sainz de Varanda, a former secretary of Governor General Terrero. It is believed that Varanda was sent by the Governor General to spy on Rizal's activities.
(From "Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings" by Gregorio Zaide)
10. No, he's not Adolf Hitler's father!
There was a rumor circulating in the 90s that Rizal allegedly fathered Adolf Hitler. The two do share some common physical characteristics, being both small, with black hair and black eyes. Adolf Hitler was born in 1889, around the time when Rizal was in Germany according to many. But Hitler was born in Austria not German, and so he was of Austrian descent. In his birth certificate, it is clearly stated that his parents are Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. While Rizal was indeed in Vienna, Austria in 1887, if he had been Hitler's father then Hitler must been one awesomely delayed baby. The controversy seems to have stemmed from the memoirs of Maximo Viola wherein he claimed that Rizal once spent the night with an unnamed Austrian prostitute.
(From "Rizal Sired Hitler" by Ambeth Ocampo in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 19, 1995)
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