1. The Mercado - Rizal Family
The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co, the family's paternal ascendant was
a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a
Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood
aside from Chinese.
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso
Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna on
April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio
de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa
Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later a
general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

2. TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
The 9 Women of Rizal
November 29, 2007 triciacampos2007

3. There were at least nine women linked with Rizal; namely Segunda
Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O-Sei San,
Gertrude Beckette, Nelly Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby and Josephine
Bracken. These women might have been beguiled by his intelligence,
charm and wit.
Segunda Katigbak and Leonor Valenzuela
Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his
first love was engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel
Luz. After his admiration for a short girl in the person of
Segunda, then came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from
Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink,
that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on
the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.
Leonor Rivera (with Teodora Alonso)
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest
influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during
his travel. Unfortunately, Leonor‟s mother disapproved of her
daughter‟s relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero.
She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor believing
that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the
Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother‟s choice.
Consuelo Ortiga
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga‟s daughters, fell in love with
him. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems.
The Ortiga‟s residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He
probably fell in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses.
He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because
he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy hid friendship
with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.
O Sei San
O Sei San, a Japanese samurai‟s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art
of painting known as su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his
knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic
mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and
lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation
there offered him a lucrative job.
Gertrude Beckett
While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in
the house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum.

4. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters.
She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal
suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.
Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters.
He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.
Nellie Boustead
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other
ladies. While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the
resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his
host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio
of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan‟s brother and also a frequent visitor of
the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal.
In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks
against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately,
Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.
Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to
be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie‟s mother did not like
a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however,
parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.
Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in
Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby
sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love with each other. Suzanne cried
when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid.
Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-
year old petite Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy
disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter of
George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for
eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness and
boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a better diversion that
to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars
and they considered her as a threat to Rizal‟s security.
Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due
to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer‟s blindness was untreatable, he
left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal‟s family in Manila. Upon
her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their
marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying
them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine‟s consent took
her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later give birth

5. prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked
or frightened her.
Jose Rizal: Travels and Adventures
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Before reaching Madrid to pursue his medical career in 1882, Jose Rizal had many
stopovers. He visited the progressive English colony of Singapore, traversed the
historic waterway of Suez Canal via the steamship Djemnah, reached the Italian city
of Naples, disembarked at the French port of Marseilles, then took a train to the
historic city of Barcelona. His Filipino schoolmates from the Ateneo Municipal threw
a party as they welcomed his arrival. In Barcelona, Rizal wrote his first essay on a
foreign soil – the “El Amor Patrio” (Love of Country) – which he sent to his
friend, Basilio Teodora, an editorial staff member of the Diariong Tagalog. By the
end of 1882, Rizal decided to leave Barcelona for Madrid.
Rizal lived a frugal life in Madrid, strictly budgeting both his (1) money for food,
clothing and school materials; and (2)time for his studies and social life. He joined
the Circulo Hispano Filipino and wrote the poem, Me Piden Versos (They Asked Me
for Verses). In 1884, Rizal made a splendid speech which saluted two Filipino masters
of painting, Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, in a banquet held at the
National Exposition of Fine Arts. He met and almost fell in love with Consuelo Ortiga
y Rey if not for his engagement with Leonor Rivera and his friendship with Eduardo
de Lete who had a romantic feeling for Consuelo.
First Travel
In 1885, the 24-year old Rizal went to Paris, France to pursue his career as an
ophthalmologist. He tried his skills in music and studied solfeggio, piano and voice
culture for a month and a half. He worked as an assistant to the renowned
ophthalmologist, Dr. Louis de Weckert, and left for Heidelberg after a year. He settled
in the house of a Lutheran, Karl Ullmer and worked in the clinics of famous Polish
and German ophthalmologists, Dr. Javier Galezowsky and Dr. Otto Becker,
respectively. In Heidelberg, he was astound with the flowers along the Neckar River,
especially the forget-me-nots, which made him compose the poem, A Las Flores de

6. Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg), on April 22, 1886. It was also in this
German city where the long-distance friendship between Jose Rizal and Ferdinand
Blumentritt began.
Rizal traveled to Leipzig and attended some lectures at its local university. After
which he went to Berlin to further study ophthalmology and other languages, to get
familiar with the scenic Germany, to be part of the scientific community, and to finish
his novel,Noli Me Tangere. However, he was struck by financial problem in Berlin as
he was short of allowance from Calamba.
[edit] Back to the Philippines
The stunning beauty of the European lands did not stop Rizal from continuously
adoring his native land. After the Noli Me Tangere was published, he decided to
return to Calamba despite the many warnings he received from friends and relatives
alike. He had four reasons for returning to the Philippines:
1. to perform an operation on Doña Teodora's eyes;
2. to defend his oppressed countrymen more effectively than doing so in a foreign
land;
3. to find out how his Noli was received by the Filipinos and Spaniards; and
4. to know the reason for Leonor Rivera's long silence.
Aboard the steamer Djemnah, Rizal sailed to the East via the Suez Canal on June 3,
1887 and reached Saigon on the 30th of July. From Saigon, he boarded the
steamer Hayfong bound for Manila. On the sixth day of August, he arrived in Manila
and visited some friends, and reached Calamba two days later. In his native land, he
opened a medical clinic and restored his mother's vision. Such “miraculous” news
spread throughout the community like wild fire, thus, his clinic was flocked by people
aspiring for a better eyesight. Newly arrived from Germany, he began to be known as
“Doctor Uliman” (from the word Aleman).
Regarding his novel Noli Me Tangere, Rizal met Governor General Emilio
Terrero who informed him of the charges against him. As a defense, Rizal told
Terrero that the Noli only exposes the reality. Not having read the book yet and out of
curiosity, the governor general asked for a copy of the controversial novel, which he
later confessed that he enjoyed reading. He saw no problem on the book, yet to protect
Rizal's life which was then in danger, he assigned Jose Taviel de Andrade, a young
Spanish lieutenant, as Rizal's personal bodyguard. Soon enough, the attackers and
defenders of the novel resurfaced.

7. [edit] Second Travel
Realizing that his family's and friends' safety were at risked; and that his fight against
the Spaniards have better chance of winning if he'd stay abroad, Rizal, six months
after, finally decided to sail back to Europe. Before his departure, a friend from Lipa
City,Batangas asked of him a poem dedicated to the industrious workers in their town.
Privileged, Rizal wrote the Himno Al Trabajo (Hymn to Labor).
[edit] A glance of East Asia
On February 3, 1888, for the second time, Rizal sailed to Hongkong as a frustrated
being who wanted the utmost reform in his native land. Terrero’s former
secretary, Jose Sainz de Varranda, followed Rizal in the said British colony, and was
believed to be commissioned by the Spanish authorities to spy on the hero. After
almost three weeks, on board the American steamer, Oceanic, he left Hongkong and
sailed to Japan where he was invited by Secretary Juan Perez Caballero to live at
the Spanish Legation. His instinct told him that it was a bait – a way for the Spanish
officials to keep track of his activities. And since it was economical to stay at the
legation and he believed that he had nothing to hide, he accepted it. Rizal was
impressed by the scenic Japan and had keenly observed the life, customs and culture
of the people. He had fallen in love not only with the view but more to its women,
particularly with the 23-year old O-Sei-San (a.k.a. Usui Seiko).
[edit] Sail to the West
Rizal was almost tempted to settle in Japan with O-Sei-San, but on April 13, 1888,
Rizal boarded the English steamer, Belgic bound for the United States, reaching the
land on April 28. He visited San Francisco, left it on the second day for Oklahoma,
then to Sacramento, then to Reno, and finally to New York. On May 16, 1888 the
ship, City of Rome sailed for Liverpool and where he decided to stay in London until
March 1899. Rizal chose to stay in London so that he could improve his English
skills, study and do an annotation of Antonio Morga's Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas and because he believed that the said English city was a safe place for him to
carry on the reforms he wanted for the Philippines. He stayed at Dr. Antonio Ma.
Regidor's home and boarded at the Beckett family where he fell in love with Gertrude.
[edit] In Great Britain
In London, Rizal received both good news and bad news from home. The good news
was that Rev. Vicente Garcia was defending his Noli from the attacks of the friars. On
the other hand, the bad news were that the Filipino signatories of the “Petition of
1888” and the tenants of the Calamba agrarian trouble were facing persecution; that

8. his brothers-in-law, Manuel T. Hidalgo and Mariano Herbosa, were exiled
to Bohol and was denied Christian burial, respectively; and his friend, Laureano
Viado, a UST medical student, was imprisoned for possessing a copy of his Noli.
During his stay in this country, Rizal also made used of his time in writing essays and
articles for the La Solidaridad. On June 12, 1889, with Filipino and Spanish friends,
they founded the Asociacion Hispano-Filipino which aimed for union and reforms.
After ten months, Rizal left London and departed for Paris.
[edit] In France
In Paris, Rizal continued his study on various languages and practiced his artistic
skills, and finished two statues - “The Beggar” and “The Maid With A Basket.” He
organized a social club called Kidlat Club which brought together young Filipinos
residing in France. Soon, the members of the said club founded a new Filipino society
– the Indios Bravos, an organization which envisioned Filipinos being recognized by
Spain for being excellent in various fields of knowledge.
By January 1890, Rizal's annotation of the Sucesos was finally printed and publihed
by the Garnier Freres.
[edit] In Belgium
With his roommate, Jose Albert, Rizal celebrated Christmas in Paris. Shortly
after New Year, he visited London for the last time and on January 28, 1890, left Paris
for Brussels. With Albert, they left the extravagant and gay social life in Paris and
stayed in a boarding house owned by the Jacoby sisters in Brussels. Rizal continued
contributing for La Solidaridad under the pseudonyms Dimas Alang and Laong Laan.
From Calamba, Rizal received letters telling that the agrarian trouble in the province
was getting worse, and as such, he decided to go home. But instead of going home, a
letter from Paciano told him that they already lost the case against the Dominicans and
they were in need of a lawyer who would defend their family and the families in
Calamba from Madrid. Rizal traveled to Madrid to seek justice but in vain – he could
not find the right person and he heard that his family was already evicted from their
land in Calamba and other family members were banished to Mindoro and Manila.
[edit] In Spain
Rizal had many misadventures in Madrid. For one, he challenged Antonio Luna
and Wenceslao Retana in a duel. With Luna, it was about the latter's frustration with
his unsuccessful “love affair” with Nellie Boustead, and so gave negative remarks on
the lady which Rizal did not tolerated. The other encounter was with Retana who had
insulted Rizal and his family by writing in La Epoca, an anti-Filipino newspaper, that

9. the Rizal family in Calamba was ejected from their lands because they did not pay
their rents. It is also from this city where Rizal heard the news of Leonor Rivera's
marriage with Henry Kipping, an Englishman, which terrible broke his heart.
Another marked event in Madrid was the Marcelo H. del Pilar-Jose Rizal rivalry for
leadership in the Asociacion Hispano Filipino. A faction emerged from the Filipinos
in Madrid, the Rizalistas and Pilaristas, Rizal and del Pilar's compatriots,
respectively, during the organization's election. Losing the election, Rizal decided to
go back home, fearing that his presence may result to bigger and stronger faction
among the Filipinos in Madrid. But instead of going straight to Hongkong, he went
back to Brussels to finish his second novel, the El Filibusterismo. (For a detailed
discussion regarding the novel, click here).
[edit] Back in Hongkong
After the Fili was published, Rizal left Europe. Aboard the S.S. Melbourne, he sailed
to Hongkong where he lived for seven months. His reasons for venturing to Hongkong
were the following :
1. to leave behind his rivalry with del Pilar;
2. to facilitate a Propaganda Movement in Hongkong; and
3. to be proximate to his family in the Philippines.
On November 20, 1891, Rizal arrived in Hongkong and was cordially welcomed by
the Filipino residents in the city, particularly, his friend Jose Ma. Basa. He resided at
No. 5 D' Aguilar Street, No. 2 Rednaxela Terrace and opened a medical clinic there.
Rizal had a continued correspondence with his family in Calamba and had been aware
of the unsettled agrarian problem. Through a letter from his brother-in-law, Manuel T.
Hidalgo, he had been informed of the deportation of twenty-five persons in Calamba,
including the Rizal family. This news made Rizal even more desperate to return to
Manila, but his sorrow was replaced by surprise when his family visited him in
Hongkong and celebrated the 1891 Christmas with him.
While in Hongkong, Rizal practiced his medical career. With the help of his friend,
Dr. Lorenzo P. Marquez, they built a large clientèle and opened a medical clinic
where he was recognized as an excellent eye surgeon. He was equally supported and
aided both morally and financially by his family and friends with his chosen career.
Another marked event during Rizal's stay in Hongkong was his plan to move the
landless Filipinos to Borneo and transform the said wilderness into a “New Calamba”
through the so called Borneo Colonization Project. In April 1892, he visited Borneo
and negotiated with the British authorities who are willing to provide 100,000 acres of

10. land for the Filipinos. Many Filipino patriots found this project amusing, thus,
promoted the said project. However, there were a number who objected it, one of
which was Rizal's brother-in-law, Hidalgo. Twice did Rizal wrote a letter addressed
to Governor General Eulogio Despujol informing his Borneo colonization project,
with whom he received no response. Instead, Despujol commanded the Spanish
consul-general in Hongkong to notify Rizal that such project was very unpatriotic, and
by immigrating Filipinos to Borneo, the Philippines will surely be lacking of laborers.
Despite the many oppositions from friends and relatives, he decided to return to
Manila on the following reasons:
1. to discuss with Governor General Despujol his Borneo colonization project;
2. to form the La Liga Filipina in the Philippines; and
3. to prove that Eduardo de Lete's allegations on him and his family in Calamba
were wrong.
Before his departure, he wrote three more letters – the first addressed to his parents
and friends; the second one, to the Filipinos; and the last to Governor General Eulogio
Despujol. Instead of having the protection he desired, Rizal and his sister, Lucia, fell
into the Spanish trap – a case was secretly filed against Rizal, and Despujol ordered
his secretary, Luis de la Torre, to verify whether the patriot had naturalized himself as
German citizen or not. And so the siblings sailed across the China Sea without prior
knowledge of what awaits them in the Philippines.
Answer:
1. Instability if colonial administration
2. Corrupt officials
3. No representation in the Spanish Cortes
4. Human Rights denied to the Filipinos
5. No equality before the law
6. Maladministration of justice
7. Racial discrimination
8. Failocracy
9. Forced labor
10. Hacienda's owned by Friars
11. Guardia Civil
Rizal Family
Orignally surnamed Mercado, the Rizal family, as it became later known, was one of the prominent and
influential families of Calamba. The Mercados acquired their fortune through the industry of

11. both Francisco and Teodora. They were the first to build a bahay na bato to own a carruaje (horse-drawn
carriage); to maintain a personal library; and to send their children to colleges in Manila.
Aside from being one of the wealthiest families in the town, they were also highly esteemed and were
known for being hospitable and cultured, participating in many social, cultural and religious gatherings
and events in their community.
Contents
[hide]
1 Rizal's ancestry and parents
2 Rizal's surname
3 Family Traditions
4 Family Members
5 Paternal Ancestors
6 Influential Relatives
7 References
8 External Links
9 Related Resources
10 Citation
[edit] Rizal's ancestry and parents
Running in Rizal‟s blood were mixtures of different races. Austin Craig accounted that Rizal had a trace of
chinese ancestry that came from a businessman named Domingo Lam-Co, the ancestor of Rizal‟s father,
who was born in Chinchew, China. From Amoy, China where he was residing then, Lam-Co migrated to
and invested in the Philippines in the late 17th century and married a half-breed Chinese-Filipina
named Ines dela Rosa.
Rizal apparently came from a Chinese-Filipino descent – Francisco Mercado Y Chinco. Francisco
Mercado was born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818. He took up Philosophy and Latin in the Colegio de
San Jose in Manila. After his parents‟ death, he moved to Calamba. There he became a tenant farmer of
the Dominican-owned hacienda and later became one of the town‟s wealthiest men. He was able to
establish a private library and kept carriage. The name „Francisco‟ was in high honor in Laguna for it had
belonged to a famous sea captain who had been given the ENCOMIENDA of BAY for his services.
Rizal‟s mother Teodora Alonso came from the clan of Lakan Dula, known as the last Malay king of Tondo.
She was also traced to Eugenio Ursua whose ancestors came from Japan. She was the second daughter
of Lorenzo Alberto Alonso who was a former representative of Spanish Cortes and Brigida de
Quintos whose parents were Manuel de Quintos, of a well-known family in Pangasinan and Regina
Ursua who was the daughter of Benigna and Eugene Ursua.
As already noted, Teodora Alonso had a trace of Japanese ancestry. Moreover, she was of Ilocano-
Tagalog-Chinese-Spanish descent. Combining the paternal and maternal ancestry, therefore Jose Rizal

12. was born with Malay, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish lineages in his blood. Teodora Alonzo died on
August 16, 1911 at the age of 84.
[edit] Rizal's surname
Domingo Lam-Co, the great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal, decided to use Mercado as his surname in
1731 to match his profession, being a merchant. He used this surname from 1731 to November 11, 1849
as soon as Governor-General Narciso Claveria posed a regulation that requires them to make use of
Spanish family names. Meanwhile, for Don Francisco Mercado, Rizal‟s father, Rizal was used, which
means new pasture or greenfield.
[edit] Family Traditions
The Rizal family‟s traditions are bound by spirituality and firm moral ground. Everyday, they used to
gather to pray the rosary. Their mother would often tell the children to gather up so they can say their
prayers together.
They were filled with obedience, virtue, as well as mutual respect and love for each other, especially for
their parents. The Rizal children addressed their parents as “Tatay” and “Nanay”.
Hence, when Jose lost his little sister Concha in 1865, he grieved bitterly. For the first time, according to
him, he cried because of sorrow and love.
The children also learned a lot from their first teacher, their mother Dona Teodora. She was loving, kind,
and indulgent, but can be a true disciplinarian. There was actually one occasion when Jose refused to
wear a sinamay camisa since it was rough and coarse. Because of his disobedience, his mother spanked
him. Hence, he learned his lesson so well.
Aside from this, Dona Teodora also taught her children to read the Bible. She translated those passages
they did not understand to inculcate in them the value of spirituality and goodness out of reading the Holy
Scripture.
[edit] Family Members
A family of 13, they are paternally of Chinese ancestry and maternally descendants of a maharlika class.
Jose Rizal was a mestizo from both East and West with blood from native, Chinese, Japanese and
Spanish races.
 Francisco Mercado (b. May 11, 1818 – d. January 5, 1898), the father of Jose Rizal and considered
the patriarch of the family, was a native of Biñan, Laguna. He was an educated and industrious
farmer who studied Latin and philosophy atColegio de San Jose in Manila. Of Chinese ancestry, his
great grandfather Domingo Lam-Co was a native of Chinchew (now Quanzhou), China who married
the Filipina Ines de la Rosa. One of the couples' children was Francisco Mercado, who later married
Cerila Bernacha. Bernacha gave birth to Juan Mercado who became Cerila Alejandro's husband and
Francisco's father. Both Francisco's father, Juan, and grandfather, Francisco, became Capitanes or
town mayors of Biñan. Upon the death of his mother, Francisco moved to Calamba where he became
a tenant and farmer of a large Dominican estate. On 28 June 1848, he married Teodora Alonzo
Realonda. In 1850 he petitioned the court to change the family name to Rizal, with all their children
being surnamed as such.

13.  Teodora Alonzo Realonda (b. November 8, 1826 – d. August 16, 1911), a Manileña, was a highly
educated Filipina who graduated from the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Of Spanish and Japanese
ancestry, Teodora was a talented woman whose interests lay in literature, culture, and business, and
was well-versed in Spanish. She helped her husband in farming and in their business. She devoted
herself to the children's education and growth as morally-upright individuals. Teodora's lineage can
be traced to Lakandula, the greatest ruler of Tondo. Her great grandfather, who was of Japanese
blood, was Eugenio Ursua (Ochoa). Her maternal grandfather was Manuel de Quintos who was a
popular lawyer in his time, while her paternal grandfather was Cipriano Alonso who belonged to
Biñan's long list of Capitanes. Teodora was second child of Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo, an engineer and
a recipient of the most sought decoration, the Knight of the Grand Order of Isabela the
Catholic and Order of Carlos III; and Brigida de Quintos, a fair and well-educated lady. With her vision
failing in old age, her son took up medicine, specializing in opthalmologoy, in order to cure her.
 Saturnina Rizal (1850 – 1913), also known as “Neneng,” was the eldest of the Rizal children. She
married Manuel Hidalgo, affectionately called "Maneng" by Rizal, who was a native
of Tanauan, Batangas.
 Paciano Rizal (b. March 7, 1851 – d. 1930) was the elder and only brother of Jose Rizal. Being a
decade older than Rizal, Paciano became a second father to his sibling. He succeeded in sending the
young Jose (Pepe) to Europe to study, giving the latter 700 pesos upon departure. During the
younger years Paciano would continue supporting his brother financially. 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 Baños, Laguna on April 13, 1930. Their
only child Emiliana Rizal married her first cousin Antonio Rizal Lopez Jr., the son of Narcisa Rizal with
Antonio Lopez Sr.
 Narcisa Rizal (1852 – 1939) was the third child of Francisco and Teodora. She was a teacher and a
musician by profession, and married Antonino Lopez who was a school teacher in Morong, Rizal.
 Olympia Rizal (1855 – 1887) was the fourth child of the brood who married Silvestre Ubaldo, a
telegraph operator from Manila.
 Lucia Rizal (1857 – 1919) was the fifth child of the Rizal family who was married to Mariano
Herbosa of Calamba. She died in 1887.
 Maria Rizal (1859 – 1945) was the sixth of the eleven children who married Daniel Faustino Cruz of
Biñan, Laguna.
 Concepcion Rizal (1862 – 1865), also known as “Concha,” was the eight child of the Rizals, who
died at the age of three.
 Josefa Rizal (1865 – 1945) was the ninth child and affectionately called Panggoy. She remained a
spinster throughout her life.

14.  Jose Rizal (June 19, 1861- December 30, 1896), later to become the Philippine national hero, was
the second son and seventh child.
 Trinidad Rizal (1868 – 1951) was the tenth child who, like Josefa, died without a husband.
 Soledad Rizal (1870 – 1929) was the youngest of the brood who later married Pantaleon Quintero, a
native of Calamba.
[edit] Paternal Ancestors
 Domingo Lam-Co, the family root, arrived from Amoy, China in 1660s and changed his name to
Mercado in 1697. He married late in life.
 Francisco Mercado y Chinco, the first son of Domingo Lam-co.
 Juan Mercado y Monica, youngest son of Francisco Mercado y Chinco, a captain in the Spanish army
 Petrona, Potenciana and Francisco Mercado, Sr., children of Juan Mercado. The youngest Francisco
Mercado, Sr. was the father of Jose Rizal, Francisco Mercado (Junior).
[edit] Influential Relatives
Jose‟s relatives who influenced him greatly mostly consisted of his mother‟s brothers: Tio Jose, Tio
Manuel, and Tio Gregorio.
 Tio Jose - He is the youngest among the siblings of Teodora, and was schooled in Calcutta, India.
He was Jose Rizal‟s inspiration as he sketches and paints. Tio Jose encouraged him to engage in
sculpturing.
 Tio Manuel - Known to be big and strong, he influenced Jose to visit the outdoors, do long walks with
his pet black dog, Usman, and even go horseback riding with his horse, castaño.
 Tio Gregorio - Through his Tio Gregorio, Jose learned the value of hard work, careful observation of
life, as well as independent thinking. Through him, Jose likewise became interested in the printed
page.
Childhood 1

15. Definition: The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time fr
om infancy to puberty.
Adolescent1
Definition: Growing; advancing from childhood to maturity.
Adolescence 1
Definition: The state of growing up from childhood to manhood or womanhood; youth, or the period
of life between puberty and maturity,generally considered to be, in the male sex, from fourteen to twe
nty-one. Sometimes used with reference to the lower animals.
Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development
The Socio-Cultural Perspective
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Cognitive Development
Vygotsky
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Psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that children learn through interactions with their surrounding
culture. This theory, known as the socio-cultural perspective, states that the cognitive developmentof
children and adolescents is enhanced when they work in their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD
for short). To reach the ZPD, children need the help of adults or more competent individuals to
support or scaffold them as they are learning new things.
According to Vygotsky's theory, children can do more with the help and guidance of an adult or other
person more experienced person than they can do by themselves. The Zone of Proximal
Development defines skills and abilities that are in the process of developing. The ZPD is the range of

16. tasks that one cannot yet perform independently, but can accomplish with the help of a more
competent individual. For example, a child might not be able to walk across a balance beam on her
own, but she can do so while holding her mother's hand. Since children are always learning new
things, the ZPD changes as new skills are acquired.
In the example above, the child's mother provided assistance to the child. The mother acted as a
scaffold in that situation. Scaffolding is the structure or guidance of a more experienced person.
There are many different ways of scaffolding, including breaking the task down into smaller steps,
providing motivation, and providing feedback about progress as the person progresses.
As time goes by, the adult will continually adjust the amount of support they give in response to the
child's level of performance. For example, as the child becomes more confident in her balance, her
mother can go from holding both hands, to eventually holding one hand, and eventually she can stop
holding her hand. The child will soon be able to walk unassisted. Therefore, scaffolding instills the
skills necessary for independent problem solving in the future.
In conclusion, Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development states that interactions with other people
are essential for maximum cognitive development to occur.