3. After being court-martialed, Rizal returned to his cell in Fort Santiago to prepare his rendezvous with destiny. During his last 24 hours on earth – from 6:00 A.M. of Dec. 29 to 6:00 A.M. of Dec. 30, 1896 – he was busy meeting visitors which includes his family and friends. He was also able to write his last poem – his final contribution for the emancipation of the Filipino people. INTRODUCTION 02 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
5. December 29, 1896 6:00 A.M. – Captain Rafael Rodriguez read Rizal’s death sentence – he will be shot at the back by firing squad at 7:00 A.M. in Bagumbayan. 7:00 A.M. – Rizal was moved to the prison chapel where he spent his last moments. His first visitors were Jesuit priests. 7:15 A.M. – Rizal reminded Fr. Luis Viza the statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus whom he carved as a student in Ateneo. Last Hours of Rizal 04 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
6. December 29, 1896 8:00 A.M. – Rizal had a breakfast with Fr. Antonio Rosell. After breakfast, his attorney, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade came. 9:00 A.M. – Fr. Frederico Faura arrived. Rizal reminded the priest of his earlier ‘prophecy’ about Rizal. 10:00 A.M. – More Jesuit priests had visited him. After then, he was interviewed by Santiago Mataix for the newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid. Last Hours of Rizal 05 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
7. December 29, 1896 12:00 – 3:30 P.M. – Rizal was left alone in his cell. He took his lunch and continued writing his farewell poem which he hid in an alcohol cooking stove. He also wrote his last letter to Professor Blumentritt. 3:30 P.M. – Father Vicente Balaguer returned to his cell and discussed with Rizal his retraction letter. Last Hours of Rizal 06 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
8. December 29, 1896 4:00 P.M. – Teodora Alonzo visited him. They had a very emotional encounter. Rizal gave the alcohol cooking stove to Trinidad which contains his farewell poem. Several priests have visited him afterwards. 6:00 P.M. – Don Silvino Lopez, dean of the Manila Cathedral visited him. 8:00 P.M. – Rizal had his last supper. He told Captain Dominguez that he forgave his enemies including the military judges. Last Hours of Rizal 07 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
10. December 29, 1896 9:30 P.M. – Rizal was visited by Don Gaspar Cestano, fiscal of the Royal Audience de Manila. 10:00 P.M. – The draft of the retraction letter sent by the anti-Filipino Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda was given by Fr. Balaguer to Rizal for his signature. He had rejected it. Last Hours of Rizal 09 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
11. Upon Rizal’s death, his supposedly ‘retraction letter’ became of one of the most controversial documents in our history. This ‘retraction letter’ allegedly contains his renunciation of the Masonry and his ‘anti-Catholic religious ideas.’ Depending on whose side you are on, some Rizalists claims that it is fake while some believe it to be genuine. There had been some evidences but so far these had only heated up the debate between the two factions. Retraction Letter 10 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
12. December 30, 1896 3:00 A.M. – Rizal heard Mass, confessed his sins and took Holy Communion. 5:30 A.M. – He took his last breakfast. After which he wrote his last letters for his family and his brother, Paciano. Last Hours of Rizal 11 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
13. Now I am about to die, and it is to you I dedicate my last lines, to tell you how sad I am to leave you alone in life, burdened with the weight of the family and our old parents. “ ” Letter to Paciano 12 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
14. December 30, 1896 5:30 A.M. – Josephine Bracken arrived together with Rizal’s sister, Josefa, with tears in her eyes, bade him farewell. Rizal embraced him for the last time, and before she left, Rizal gave her a last gift – a religious book, Imitation of Christ by Father Thomas Kempis. Last Hours of Rizal 13 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
15. December 30, 1896 6:00 A.M. – As the soldiers were getting ready for the death march to Bagumbayan, Rizal wrote his last letter to his beloved parents. Last Hours of Rizal 14 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
16. My beloved Father, pardon me for the pain with which I repay you, for sorrows and sacrifices for my education. I did not want it nor did I prefer it. Goodbye Father, goodbye. “ ” Letter to his Father 15 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
17. To my very dear Mother, Sra. Dona Teodora Alonso 6 o’oclock in the morning, December 30, 1896. “ ” Letter to his Mother 16 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
18. At about 6:30 A.M., a trumpet sounded at Fort Santiago, a signal to begin the death march to Bagumbayan. Rizal walked calmly with his defense counsel and two Jesuit priests at his sides. He was dressed elegantly in a black suit, black derby hat, black shoes, white shirt and black tie. His arms were tied behind from elbow to elbow. There a lot of spectators lining the street from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan. 17 Death March to Bagumbayan Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
19. As he was going through the narrow Postigo Gate, Rizal looked at the sky and said to one of the priests: “How beautiful it is today, Father. What morning could be more serene! How clear is Corregidor and the mountains of Cavite! On mornings like this, I used to take a walk with my sweetheart.” While he was passing in front of the Ateneo, he saw the college towers above the walls. He asked: “Is that the Ateneo, Father?” “Yes”, replied the priest. 18 Death March to Bagumbayan Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
21. Rizal bade farewell to Fathers March and Vilaclara and to his defender, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade. Although his arms were tied, he had firmly clasped their hands in parting. One of the priests blessed him and offered him a crucifix to kiss. He requested the commander of the firing squad that he be shot facing them. His request was denied for the captain had implicit orders to shoot him at his back. Martyrdom of a Hero 20 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
22. A Spanish military physician, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo, asked his permission to feel his pulse. He was amazed to find it normal, showing that Jose Rizal was not afraid to die. The death ruffles of the drums filled the air. Above the drum beats, the sharp command “Fire” was heard, and the guns of the firing squad barked. Rizal, with supreme effort, turned his bullet-riddled body to the right, and fell on the ground dead – with face upward facing the morning sun. It was exactly 7:03 in the morning – aged 35 years, 5 moths and 11 days. Martyrdom of a Hero 21 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
24. I die just when I see the dawn break, through the gloom of night, to herald the day; And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take, pour’d out at need for thy sake, to dye with its crimson the waking ray. “ ” 23 Martyrdom of a Hero Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
25. It is interesting to not that 14 years before his execution, Rizal predicted that he would die on December 30th. He was then a medical student in Madrid, Spain. 24 Martyrdom of a Hero Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
26. To live is to be among men, and to be among men is to struggle, a struggle not only with them but with oneself; with their passions, but also with one's own. “ ” Letter to his family, Dapitan (c. 1884) 25 Jose Rizal Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
27. There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves. “ ” Taken from ‘El Filibusterismo’ 26 Jose Rizal Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
28. My Last Farewell by Jose Rizal Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'dPearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,And were it brighter, fresher, or more blestStill would I give it thee, nor count the cost. On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight, Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed; The place matters not-cypress or laurel or lily white,Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,T is ever the same, to serve our home and country's need. MI ULTIMO ADIOS TRANSLATED BY CHARLES DERBYSHIRE
29. I die just when I see the dawn break, Through the gloom of night, to herald the day; And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake To dye with its crimson the waking ray. My dreams, when life first opened to me, My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high, Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free; No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye. MI ULTIMO ADIOS TRANSLATED BY CHARLES DERBYSHIRE
30. Dream of my life, my living and burning desire, All hail ! cries the soul that is now to take flight; All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to expire ; To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night. If over my grave some day thou seest grow, In the grassy sod, a humble flower, Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power. MI ULTIMO ADIOS TRANSLATED BY CHARLES DERBYSHIRE
31. Let the moon beam over me soft and serene, Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes, Let the wind with sad lament over me keen ; And if on my cross a bird should be seen, Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protestLet some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on highFrom thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest. Pray for all those that hapless have died,For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,For widows and orphans, for captives by torture triedAnd then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain. MI ULTIMO ADIOS TRANSLATED BY CHARLES DERBYSHIRE
32. And when the dark night wraps the graveyard aroundWith only the dead in their vigil to seeBreak not my repose or the mystery profoundAnd perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound'T is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee. And even my grave is remembered no moreUnmark'd by never a cross nor a stoneLet the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'erThat my ashes may carpet earthly floor,Before into nothingness at last they are blown. Then will oblivion bring to me no care As over thy vales and plains I sweep;Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air With color and light, with song and lament I fare, Ever repeating the faith that I keep.
33. My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lendsBeloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by! I give thee all: parents and kindred and friendsFor I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high! Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed !Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day !Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest ! MI ULTIMO ADIOS TRANSLATED BY CHARLES DERBYSHIRE
34. JOSE PROTASIO RIZAL MERCADO Y ALONSO REALONDA Philippines National Hero
