Including the Family Profile of the Rizals in Calamba, Laguna

The Rizal Family Background

 The Rizal family belonged to the principalia class—town
aristocracy during the Spanish colonial era; being one of
the prominent and influential in Calamba. The Mercados
acquired their fortune through the industry of both
Francisco and Teodora, Rizal’s parents. From the farms,
which were rented from the Dominicans, they harvested
rice, corn and sugarcane; raising pigs, chickens, and
turkeys even in their backyard. In addition to farming and
stock raising, Donya Teodora managed a general goods
store and operated a small flour mill and a home-made
ham press.
Rizal Ancestral House
Rizal Family Background

 As evidence of their affluence, Rizal’s parents

owned a carruaje (horse-drawn carriage); status
symbol of the ilustrados and a private library (the
largest in Calamba) which consisted of more
than 1,000 volumes. In addition, the children are
sent to colleges in Manila.
 Aside from being one of the wealthiest families
in town, they were also highly esteemed and
were known for being hospitable and cultured,
participating among the various socio-cultural
and religious gatherings and events in town.
Rizal Family Profile
 The Rizal family had a simple, contented and happy life
at the beginning. Jose’s parents are strict; training the
children to love God, behave well, be obedient and
respect people, regardless of status. They hear mass
together every Sunday and Catholic holidays, prayed
together daily at home around Angelus and the rosary
before retiring to bed at night. All these would be
drastically altered beginning 1872 and more so around
1889.
 The children, however, were given ample time to play
with the children of other families. Jose’s aya (nanny)
would be the source of the many folktales that he would
eventually with his Austrian friend, Ferdinand
Blumentritt.
Jose Rizal’s Birth &
Baptism
 He was born on the moonlit night of Wednesday, June
19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna
province. His mother almost died during the delivery due
to his big head.
 He was baptized in the Catholic church of his town on
June 22 by the parish priest, Fr. Rufino Collantes, who
was a Batangueno. His godfather was Fr. Pedro Casanas,
native of Calamba and close friend of the family. His
name “Jose” was chosen by his mother who is a devotee
of St. Joseph.
 Fr. Collantes remarked during baptism: “Take good care
of this child, for someday, he will become a great man.”
His words proved to be prophetic.
Mercado Rizal Family
The Rizal Family
 Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven children of
Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonzo Realonda.
 Jose’s father, Francisco, was born in Binan, Laguna, on
May 11, 1818. He first attended a Latin school in his
hometown, was later sent to study philosophy and Latin
at the College of San Jose in Manila. When his parents
died, during his early manhood, he moved to Calamba
and became a tenant farmer of the Dominican-owned
hacienda.
 He got married to Teodora Alonzo on June 28, 1848,
after the death of his sister who took care of him since
childhood. His wife gave birth to eleven children.
Rizal Family

 Francisco Mercado was an independent-minded

man who talked less and worked more; was
respected in town to become cabeza-de-
barangay of Calamba.
 Teodora, Jose’s mother, was born in Meisic, Sta.
Cruz, Manila on November 8, 1826 and was
educated at the College of Sta. Rosa, a well-
known college for girls in the city. She is a
talented woman whose interests lay in literature,
culture and business, and is well-versed in
Spanish.
Rizal Family
 Jose referred to his mother as “loving and
prudent.” When her vision was failing in old age,
her son took up medicine, specializing in
opthalmology, in order to operate on her. She
died in Manila on August 6, 1911 at the age of 85
in a rented house. Shortly before her death, the
American colonial government offered her life
pension. She courteously rejected it saying: “ My
family has never been patriotic for money. If the
government has plenty of funds and does not
know what to do with them, better reduce the
taxes.”
The Rizal Children
 God blessed the marriage of Francisco and Teodora with
eleven children—two boys and nine girls:
 1. Saturnina (1850-1913)—eldest, nicknamed Neneng
(affectionately called “Maneng” by Jose/Pepe; she married
Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas;
 2. Paciano (1851-1930)—was the elder and only brother of Jose
who became his “second father” sending Jose to Europe to study,
giving the latter 700 pesos upon departure. Paciano was the
financial supporter of Jose until the time that the latter started
practicing medicine. After the death of Jose, Paciano joined the
revolution and was later appointed general of the revolutionary
forces in Laguna. His common-law wife was Severina Decena. He
died in Los Banos, Laguna on April 13, 1930. Their only child,
Emiliana Rizal, married a first cousin, Antonio Rizal Lopez, Jr., the
son of Narcisa Rizal with Antonio Lopez, Sr. Pilosopong Tasyo, a
character on Rizal’s Noli, was patterned after him.
The Rizal Children
 3. Narcisa (1852-1939)—the third child was a teacher and a musician
by profession, and married Antonio Lopez who was a school teacher
in Morong, Rizal.;
 4. Olimpia (1855-1887)—married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph
operator in Manila;
 5. Lucia (1857-1919)—was married to Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, a
nephew of Fr. Casanas. Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was
denied Christian burial for being the brother-in-law of Jose.
 6. Maria (1859-1945)—married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan,
Laguna;
 7. Jose (1861-1896)—was nicknamed Pepe. During his exile in
Dapitan, lived with Josephine Bracken, an Irish girl from Hongkong.
Jose had a son by her but the baby died a few hours after birth; Jose
named him Francisco, after his father, and buried him in Dapitan.
Rizal Children

 8. Concepcion (1862-1865)—also known as

“Concha;” who died at the age of three; was
Jose’s first sorrow in life.
 9. Josefa (1865-1945)—affectionately called
“Panggoy;” remained a spinster.
 10. Trinidad (1868-1951)—pet named “Trining;”
also died a spinster
 11. Soledad (1870-1929)—nicknamed “Choleng;”
married Pantaleon Quintero, a native of
Calamba
Genealogy of Jose Mercado
Rizal’s Ancestry
 Jose Rizal was a 9th-generation patrilineal descendant of Domingo Lam-co, a
Chinese immigrant entrepreneur from Jinjiang, Quanzhou and arrived in
Manila about 1690; became a Christian and married a well-to-do Sangley
Christian girl of Manila, Ines de la Rosa.
 To free his descendants from Sinophobic animosity of the Spanish
authorities, Lam-co changed the surname to the Spanish “Mercado”
(market) to indicate their Chinese merchant roots.
 Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a son, Francisco Mercado, who
resided in Binan, Laguna; married a Chinese-Filipino mestiza, Cirila
Bernacha, and was elected gobernadorcillo of Binan.
 One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Jose’s grandfather) married Cirila
Alejandro, a Chinese-Filipina mestiza, who became gobernadorcillo, like his
father. They had thirteen children and one of them as Francisco Mercado,
Jose’s father.
 Francisco lost his father at the age of eight and grew to manhood under the
care of his mother. While studying in Manila, he met and fell in love with
Teodora Alonzo Realonda. They married on June 28, 1848 and settled down
in Calamba.
The Surname “Rizal”
 On 1849, Gov.-Gen. Narciso Claveria ordered all native
families in the Philippines to choose new surnames from
a list of Spanish family names. Jose’s father, Francisco,
adopted the surname “Rizal” (originally Ricial, “the green
of young growth” or “green fields”), which was
suggested to him by a provincial governor, or as Jose
described him, “a friend of the family.” However, the
name change caused confusion in the business affairs of
Francisco, most of which begun under the old surname.
After a few years, he settled on the name “Rizal
Mercado” as a compromise, but usually, just used the
original surname “Mercado.”