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Marc Benedict B. Lagman HIS 23

305I

Rizal and Children

By: Ambeth R. Ocampo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

When my students go through Jose Rizal’s expenses in Europe, they note that his biggest and most regular expenses were for the purchase of books and postage stamps. This is not surprising because we all know that he liked to read and study, and to write home a lot because he was homesick in Madrid. Students also note that he bought 1/10 of a lottery ticket every week. When I ask what he did with a ball of yarn, students reply that Rizal probably had a pet cat, and that he used the yarn to darn the holes in his socks or to tie up the maid for kinky sex.

We see ourselves in historical records and I often allow the students to make their own crazy conclusions before drawing them back to the primary source and what it actually says. Other teachers will not allow silly comments in class but I do, hoping that new insight will sometimes be found in a side remark.

Rizal’s letters are seldom read because we are so focused on his novels and poetry in a classroom. Yet it is in and through these letters that we see Rizal plain and gain insight into his works. It may be a trivial matter, but Rizal’s letters to family members are the most endearing. Remember 7-11: that Rizal was the seventh child of 11 born to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso. He was the second of two boys in a home dominated, literally, by women.

Rizal’s sisters were as prolific as their parents, so he was often told about new additions to the family. In a letter dated Nov. 23, 1883, Teodora Alonso related: “Now I’m going to mention to you, one by one, my new debts to the Lord. On June 6, 1882, Lucía delivered a baby boy who was named José. On 15 Sept. 1882, Neneng gave birth to a boy who was named Alfredo. On 14 June 1883, Sisa gave birth to a girl who was given the name María Consolación; on 3 Sept. 1883, Olimpia gave birth to a boy who was named Aristeo; on 24 Nov....