He was a hardy and independent-minded man, who talked less and worked more, and was

strong in body and valiant in spirit.

Sibling relationship among the Rizal children was affectionately cordial. As a little
boy, Rizal used to play games with his sisters. Although he had boyish quarrels with them,
he respected them. Years later when he grew to manhood, he always called them Doña or
Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single). For instance, he called his older sister "Doña
Ypia," his oldest sister "Señora Saturnina," and his unmarried sisters “Señorita Josefa" and
"Señorita Trinidad."

In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila, he
remembered his beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In
Memory of My Town).

On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order
to fulfill his mother's vow which was made when Jose was born. Doña Teodora could not
accompany them because she had given birth to Trinidad.

After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. It
was the first time Jose saw Manila. They visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding student
at La Concordia College in Santa Ana.

Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za. On the night of January 20, 1872, about 200 Filipino soldiers and
workmen of the Cavite arsenal under the leadership of Lamadrid, Filipino sergeant, rose in
violent mutiny because of the abolition of their usual privileges, including exemption from
tribute and polo (forced labor) by the reactionary Governor Rafael de Izquierdo.
Unfortunately, this Cavite Mutiny was suppressed two days later by troop reinforce- ments
from Manila. The Spanish authorities, in order to liquidate Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, leaders of the secular movement to Filipinize the Philippine
parishes, and their supporters (Jose Ma. Basa, Attorneys Joaquin Pardo de Tavera and
Antonio Ma. Regidor, etc.) magnified the failed mutiny into a "revolt” for Philippine
independence.

Accordingly, Gom-Bur-Za (Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora), despite the archbishop's plea for
clemency because of their innocence, were executed at sunrise, February 17, 1872, by order
of Governor General Izquierdo. Their martyrdom was deeply mourned by the Rizal family
and many other patriotic families in the Philippines. Paciano, enraged by the execution of
Burgos, his beloved friend, teacher, and housemate, quit his studies at the College of San
Jose and returned to Calamba, where he told the heroic story of Burgos to his younger brother
Jose, who was then nearly eleven years old. The martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za in 1872 truly
inspired Rizal to fight the evils of Spanish tyranny and redeem his oppressed

Four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za and with Doña

Rizal's First Year in Ateneo (1872-73). On his first day of class in the Ateneo, in June, 1872,
Rizal first heard Mass at the college chapel and prayed fervently to God for guidance and
success. When the Mass was finished, he went to his class, where he saw a great number of
boys, Spaniards, mestizos and Filipinos. Rizal's first professor in the Ateneo was Fr. Jose
Bech, whom he described as a "tall, thin man, with a body slightly bent forward, a harried
walk, an ascetic face, severe and inspired, small deep-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was
almost Greek, and thin lips forming an arc whose ends fell toward the chin." Being a
newcomer and knowing little Spanish, Rizal was placed at the bottom of the class. He was an
externo, hence he was assigned to the Carthaginians, occupying the end of the line. After the
first week, the frail Calamba boy progressed rapidly. At the end of the month, he became
“emperor". He was the brightest pupil in the whole class, and he was awarded a prize. "How
pleased I was,” he said, “when I won my first prize, a religious picture!" He was proud of it
because it was the first prize he ever won at the Ateneo. To improve his Spanish, Rizal took
private lessons in Santa Isabel College during the noon recesses, when other Ateneo

students were playing or gossiping. He paid three pesos for those extra Spanish lessons, but
it was money well spent. In the second half of his first year in the Ateneo, Rizal did not try
hard enough to retain his academic supremacy which he held during the first half of the term.
This was because he resented some remarks of his professor. He placed second at the end of
the year, although all his grades were still marked "Excellent".

Summer Vacation (1873). At the end of the school year in March, 1873, Rizal returned to
Calamba for summer vacation. He did not particularly enjoy his vacation because his mother
was in prison. To cheer him up, his sister Neneng (Saturnina) brought him to Tanawan with
her. This did not cure his melan- choly. Without telling his father, he went to Santa Cruz and
visited his mother in prison. He told her of his brilliant grades at the Ateneo. She gladly
embraced her favorite son. When the summer vacation ended, Rizal returned to Manila for
his second year term in the Ateneo. This time he boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6
Magallanes Street. His landlady was an old widow named Doña Pepay, who had a widowed
daughter and four sons.

Second Year in Ateneo (1873-74). Nothing unusual happened to Rizal during his second term
in the Ateneo, except that he repented having neglected his studies the previous year simply
because he was offended by the teacher's remarks. So, to regain his lost class leadership, he
studied harder. Once more he became "emperor". Some of his classmates were new. Among
them were three boys from Biñan, who had been his classmates in the school of Maestro
Justiniano. At the end of the school year, Rizal received excellent grades in all subjects and
a gold medal. With such scholastic honors, he triumphantly returned to Calamba in March,
1874 for the summer vacation. Prophecy of Mother's Release. Rizal lost no time in going to
Santa Cruz in order to visit his mother in the provincial jail. He cheered up Doña Teodora's
lonely heart with news of his

molput u alls. Teenage Interest in Reading. It was during the summer vacation in 1874 in
Calamba when Rizal began to take interest in reading romantic novels. As a normal teenager,
he became interested in love stories and romantic tales. The first favorite novel of Rizal was
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. This thrilling novel made a deep impression
on him. His boyish imagination was stirred by the sufferings of Edmond Dantes (the hero) in
prison, his spectacular escape from the dungeon of Chateau d'If, his finding a buried treasure
on the rocky island of Monte Cristo, and his dramatic revenge on his enemies who had
wronged him. Rizal read numerous other romantic novels with deep interest. The reading
habit helped to enrich his fecund mind.

Third Year in Ateneo (1874-75). In June 1874, Rizal returned to the Ateneo for his junior
year. Shortly after the opening of classes, his mother arrived and joyously told him that she
was released from prison, just as he had predicted during his last visit to her prison cell in
Santa Cruz, Laguna. He was happy, of course, to see his mother once more a free woman.
However, despite the family happiness, Rizal did not make an excellent showing in his
studies as in the previous year. His grades remained excellent in all subjects, but he won only
one medal — in Latin. He failed to win the medal in Spanish because his spoken Spanish was
not fluently sonorous. He was beaten by a Spaniard who, naturally, could speak Spanish with
fluency and with right accentuation. At the end of the school year (March 1875), Rizal
returned to Calamba for the summer vacation. He himself was not impre- ssed by his
scholastic work.

Poems Written in Ateneo. It was Doña Teodora who first discovered the poetical genius of
her son, and it was also she who first encouraged him to write poems. However, it was
Father Sanchez who inspired Rizal to make full use of his God-given gift in poetry and
improved the latter's poetical art by opening his mind to the enriching influence of the
world's literature.

Fortunately, Rizal's tragic first romance, with its bitter disillusionment, did not
adversely affect his studies in the University of Santo Tomas. After finishing the first year of
a course in Philosophy and Letters (1877-78), he transferred to the medical course. During
the years of his medical studies in this university which was administered by the Dominicans,
rival educators of the Jesuits, he remained loyal to Ateneo, where he continued to participate
in extra-curricular activities and where he completed the vocation course in surveying. As a
Thomasian, he won more literary laurels, had other romances with pretty girls, and fought
against Spanish students who insulted the brown Filipino students.

at the start of his junior year at the University of Santo Thomas, he lived in “Casa
Tomasina." at No. 6 Calle Santo Tomas, Intramuros. His landlord-uncle,

The kind Jesuit priests gave him letters of recommendation to the members of their Society
in Barcelona

Barcelona. On the afternoon of 15, Rizal left Marseilles by train for the last lap of his trip to
Spain. He crossed the Pyrenees and stopped for a day at the frontier town of Port Bou. Here
he noticed the indifference accorded by the Spanish immigration officers to tourists, in direct
contrast with the cour- tesy of the French immigration officers. After the passport inspection
at Port-Bou, Rizal continued his trip by rail, finally reaching his destination - Barcelona on
June 16. 1882. Rizal's first impression of Barcelona, the greatest city of Cataluña and Spain's
second largest city, was unfavorable. He thought that it was ugly, with dirty little inns and
inhospitable residents, because he happened to stay upon his arrival at a dingy inn situated
on an unimpressive narrow street in the "town's most ugly side" and the staff and guests in
this inn were indifferent to him. Later, he changed his bad impression and came to like the
city. He found it to be really a great city, with an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism, and
its people were open-hearted, hospitable, and courageous. He enjoyed prom- enading along
Las Ramblas, the most famous street in Barcelona.
JOSE RIZAL: LIFE, WORKS AND WRITINGS The Filipinos in Barcelona, some of whom
were his school- mates in the Ateneo, welcomed Rizal. They gave him a party at their favorite
cafe in Plaza de Cataluña. After the customary exchange of toasts, they told their guest of
the attractions of Barcelona and the customs of the Spanish people; in turnd he gave them
the latest news and gossips in the Philippines. “Amor Patrio.” In progressive Barcelona, Rizal
wrote a nationalistic essay entitled "Amor Patrio" (Love of Country), his first article written
on Spain's soil. He sent this article to his friend in Manila, Basilio Teodoro Moran, publisher
of Diariong Tagalog, the first Manila bilingual newspaper (Spanish and Tagalog). Rizal's
"Amor Patrio,” under his pen-name Laong Laan, appeared in print in Diariong Tagalog on
August 20, 1882. It was published in two texts - Spanish and Tagalog. The Spanish

Romance with Consuelo Ortiga y Perez. Rizal was not a handsome man. In physique, he was
neither dashing nor impos- ing, for he was a shy small man — a few inches above five feet in
height. But he possessed an aura of charisma due to his many-splendored talents and noble
character which made him attractive to romantic young women. No wonder the prettier of
Don Pablo's daughters (Consuelo) fell in love with him. Rizal, being a lonely young man in a
foreign country, far from his natal land, was attracted by Consuelo's beauty and vivacity. He
even composed a lovely poem on August 22, 1883 dedicated to her. In this poem titled A La
Señorita C. 0. y P. (To Miss C. 0. y P.), he expressed his admiration for her. He found solace
and joy in her company. However, before his romance with Consuelo could blos- som into a
serious affair, he suddenly backed out for two reasons: (1) he was still engaged to Leonor
Rivera and (2) his friend and

In the year 1879 the Liceo Artistico-Literario (Artistic-Literary Lyceum) of Manila, a

In Rizal's own words: "She was rather short, with eyes that were eloquent and ardent
at times and languid at others, rosy-cheeked, with an enchanting and provocative smile that
revealed very beautiful teeth, and the air of a sylph; her entire self diffused a mysterious
charm."

His first impression of Barcelona was unfavorable. He thought of it as an ugly, dirty and its
residents are inhospitable. Later, he changed his impression and liked the city. He found it
as a great city, with an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism. He also found its people were
open-hearted, hospitable, and courageous. He enjoyed promenading alona Las Ramblas
which was the famous street in Barcelona.

He was thrilled by the sights and memories of the Eternal City-Rome.

December 13, General Camilo G. de Polavieja became the Governor General of the
Philippines.

Even though this is just for a requirement (and might get a low rating for it), I am still
satisfied and happy because I was able to read through the life of Rizal and his travels.
Rizal as a traveler was not merely a spectator he was very observant of the lifestyle of the
people. This was evident through his diary entries wherein he wrote his observations of
culture and other things. Rizal knew how to live in a country away from his. He was able to
economize and budget his fees, he also works through his free time to earn money. During
the travel of Rizal, he met a lot of people and not just mere people but professionals
including professors and doctors. He was also a smart traveler because he learns the
language of the country he stays. This made him communicate effectively.