biography of jose rizal english

Biography of José Rizal, National Hero of the Philippines

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Life in Europe

Novels and other writing, program of reforms, exile and courtship, trial and execution.

• Ph.D., History, Boston University
• J.D., University of Washington School of Law
• B.A., History, Western Washington University

José Rizal (June 19, 1861–December 30, 1896) was a man of intellectual power and artistic talent whom Filipinos honor as their national hero. He excelled at anything that he put his mind to: medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture, sociology, and more. Despite little evidence, he was martyred by Spanish colonial authorities on charges of conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion when he was only 35.

Fast Facts: José Rizal

• Known For : National hero of the Philippines for his key role inspiring the Philippine Revolution against colonial Spain
• Also Known As: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda
• Born : June 19, 1861, at Calamba, Laguna
• Parents : Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos
• Died : December 30, 1896, in Manila, the Philippines
• Education : Ateneo Municipal de Manila; studied medicine at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila; medicine and philosophy at the Universidad Central de Madrid; ophthalmology at the University of Paris and the University of Heidelberg
• Published Works : Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo
• Spouse : Josephine Bracken (married two hours before his death)
• Notable Quote: "On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart."

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861, at Calamba, Laguna, the seventh child of Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos. The family were wealthy farmers who rented land from the Dominican religious order. Descendants of a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lam-co, they changed their name to Mercado ("market") under the pressure of anti-Chinese feeling among the Spanish colonizers.

From an early age, Rizal showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at the age of 3 and could read and write at age 5.

Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, graduating at age 16 with the highest honors. He took a post-graduate course there in land surveying.

Rizal completed his surveyor's training in 1877 and passed the licensing exam in May 1878, but he could not receive a license to practice because he was only 17. He was granted a license in 1881 when he reached the age of majority.

In 1878, the young man enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas as a medical student. He later quit the school, alleging discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors.

In May 1882, Rizal got on a ship to Spain without informing his parents. He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid after arriving. In June 1884, he received his medical degree at the age of 23; the following year, he graduated from the Philosophy and Letters department.

Inspired by his mother's advancing blindness, Rizal next went to the University of Paris and then to the University of Heidelberg for further study in ophthalmology. At Heidelberg, he studied under the famed professor Otto Becker (1828–1890). Rizal finished his second doctorate at Heidelberg in 1887.

Rizal lived in Europe for 10 years and picked up a number of languages. He could converse in more than 10 different tongues. While in Europe, the young Filipino impressed everyone he met with his charm, intelligence, and mastery of a range of different fields of study. Rizal excelled at martial arts, fencing, sculpture, painting, teaching, anthropology , and journalism, among other areas.

During his European sojourn, he also began to write novels. Rizal finished his first book, " Noli Me Tangere " (Latin for "Touch Me Not"), while living in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, with the Rev. Karl Ullmer.

Rizal wrote "Noli Me Tangere" in Spanish; it was published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. The novel is a scathing indictment of the Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, and its publication cemented Rizal's position on the Spanish colonial government's list of troublemakers. When Rizal returned home for a visit, he received a summons from the governor-general and had to defend himself against charges of disseminating subversive ideas.

Although the Spanish governor accepted Rizal's explanations, the Catholic Church was less willing to forgive. In 1891, Rizal published a sequel, titled " El Filibusterismo ." When published in English, it was titled "The Reign of Greed."

In his novels and newspaper editorials, Rizal called for a number of reforms of the Spanish colonial system in the Philippines. He advocated freedom of speech and assembly, equal rights before the law for Filipinos, and Filipino priests in place of the often-corrupt Spanish churchmen. In addition, Rizal called for the Philippines to become a province of Spain, with representation in the Spanish legislature, the Cortes Generales .

Rizal never called for independence for the Philippines. Nonetheless, the colonial government considered him a dangerous radical and declared him an enemy of the state.

In 1892, Rizal returned to the Philippines. He was almost immediately accused of being involved in the brewing rebellion and was exiled to Dapitan City, on the island of Mindanao. Rizal would stay there for four years, teaching school and encouraging agricultural reforms.

During that period, the people of the Philippines grew more eager to revolt against the Spanish colonial presence. Inspired in part by Rizal's progressive organization La Liga , rebel leaders such as Andres Bonifacio (1863–1897) began to press for military action against the Spanish regime.

In Dapitan, Rizal met and fell in love with Josephine Bracken, who brought her stepfather to him for a cataract operation. The couple applied for a marriage license but were denied by the Church, which had excommunicated Rizal.

The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Rizal denounced the violence and received permission to travel to Cuba to tend to victims of yellow fever in exchange for his freedom. Bonifacio and two associates sneaked aboard the ship to Cuba before it left the Philippines and tried to convince Rizal to escape with them, but Rizal refused.

He was arrested by the Spanish on the way, taken to Barcelona, and then extradited to Manila for trial. Rizal was tried by court-martial and charged with conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion. Despite a lack of evidence of his complicity in the Revolution, Rizal was convicted on all counts and given a death sentence.

He was allowed to marry Bracken two hours before his execution by firing squad in Manila on December 30, 1896. Rizal was just 35 years old.

José Rizal is remembered today throughout the Philippines for his brilliance, courage, peaceful resistance to tyranny, and compassion. Filipino schoolchildren study his final literary work, a poem called " Mi Ultimo Adios " ("My Last Goodbye"), and his two famous novels.

Spurred by Rizal's martyrdom, the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898. With assistance from the United States, the Philippine archipelago defeated the Spanish army. The Philippines declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, becoming the first democratic republic in Asia.

• de Ocampo, Estaban A. " Dr. Jose Rizal, Father of Filipino Nationalism ." Journal of Southeast Asian History .
• Rizal, José. "One Hundred Letters of José Rizal." Philippine National Historical Society.
• Valenzuela, Maria Theresa. " Constructing National Heroes: Postcolonial Philippine and Cuban Biographies of José Rizal and José Martí ." Biography .
• Biography of Antonio Luna, Hero of the Philippine-American War
• Biography of Apolinario Mabini, Philippines' First Prime Minister
• Biography of Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino Revolutionary Leader
• Revolutionary Heroes of the Philippines
• Profile of Emilio Jacinto of the Philippines
• Biography of Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino Independence Leader
• Manuel Quezon of the Philippines
• The Philippines: Facts and History
• The Philippines: Geography and Fact Sheet
• Biography of Ninoy Aquino, Filipino Opposition Leader
• Spanish-American War: Battle of Manila Bay
• Spanish-American War: Commodore George Dewey
• Biography of Corazon Aquino, First Female President of the Philippines
• The Spanish-American War
• Biography of Ferdinand Marcos, Dictator of the Philippines
• Biography of Fe del Mundo, Noted Filipino Pediatrician

The Life and Legacy of José Rizal: National Hero of the Philippines

Dr. José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, is not only admired for possessing intellectual brilliance but also for taking a stand and resisting the Spanish colonial government. While his death sparked a revolution to overthrow the tyranny, Rizal will always be remembered for his compassion towards the Filipino people and the country.

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Humble beginnings

José Protasio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861 to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonzo in the town of Calamba in the province of Laguna. He had nine sisters and one brother. At the early age of three, the future political leader had already learned the English alphabet. And, by the age of five, José could already read and write.

Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (now referred to as Ateneo De Manila University ), he dropped the last three names in his full name, after his brother’s advice – hence, being known as José Protasio Rizal. His performance in school was outstanding – winning various poetry contests, impressing his professors with his familiarity of Castilian and other foreign languages, and crafting literary essays that were critical of the Spanish historical accounts of pre-colonial Philippine societies.

A man with multiple professions

While he originally obtained a land surveyor and assessor’s degree in Ateneo, Rizal also took up a preparatory course on law at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). But when he learned that his mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine school in UST and later on specialized in ophthalmology. In May 1882, he decided to travel to Madrid in Spain , and earned his Licentiate in Medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid.

Apart from being known as an expert in the field of medicine, a poet, and an essayist, Rizal exhibited other amazing talents. He knew how to paint, sketch, and make sculptures. Because he lived in Europe for about 10 years, he also became a polyglot – conversant in 22 languages. Aside from poetry and creative writing, Rizal had varying degrees of expertise in architecture, sociology, anthropology, fencing, martial arts, and economics to name a few.

His novels awakened Philippine nationalism

Rizal had been very vocal against the Spanish government, but in a peaceful and progressive manner. For him, “the pen was mightier than the sword.” And through his writings, he exposed the corruption and wrongdoings of government officials as well as the Spanish friars.

While in Barcelona, Rizal contributed essays, poems, allegories, and editorials to the Spanish newspaper, La Solidaridad. Most of his writings, both in his essays and editorials, centered on individual rights and freedom, specifically for the Filipino people . As part of his reforms, he even called for the inclusion of the Philippines to become a province of Spain.

But, among his best works , two novels stood out from the rest – Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo ( The Reign of the Greed).

In both novels, Rizal harshly criticized the Spanish colonial rule in the country and exposed the ills of Philippine society at the time. And because he wrote about the injustices and brutalities of the Spaniards in the country, the authorities banned Filipinos from reading the controversial books. Yet they were not able to ban it completely. As more Filipinos read the books, their eyes opened to the truth that they were suffering unspeakable abuses at the hands of the friars. These two novels by Rizal, now considered his literary masterpieces, are said to have indirectly sparked the Philippine Revolution.

Rizal’s unfateful days

Upon his return to the Philippines, Rizal formed a progressive organization called the La Liga Filipina. This civic movement advocated social reforms through legal means. Now Rizal was considered even more of a threat by the Spanish authorities (alongside his novels and essays), which ultimately led to his exile in Dapitan in northern Mindanao .

This however did not stop him from continuing his plans for reform. While in Dapitan, Rizal built a school, hospital, and water system. He also taught farming and worked on agricultural projects such as using abaca to make ropes.

In 1896, Rizal was granted leave by then Governor-General Blanco, after volunteering to travel to Cuba to serve as doctor to yellow fever victims. But at that time, the Katipunan had a full-blown revolution and Rizal was accused of being associated with the secret militant society. On his way to Cuba, he was arrested in Barcelona and sent back to Manila to stand for trial before the court martial. Rizal was charged with sedition, conspiracy, and rebellion – and therefore, sentenced to death by firing squad.

Days before his execution, Rizal bid farewell to his motherland and countrymen through one of his final letters, entitled Mi último adiós or My Last Farewell. Dr. José Rizal was executed on the morning of December 30, 1896, in what was then called Bagumbayan (now referred to as Luneta). Upon hearing the command to shoot him, he faced the squad and uttered in his final breath: “ Consummatum est” (It is finished). According to historical accounts , only one bullet ended the life of the Filipino martyr and hero.

His legacy lives on

After his death, the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898. And with the assistance of the United States , the Philippines declared its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. This was the time that the Philippine flag was waved at General Emilio Aguinaldo’s residence in Kawit, Cavite.

Today, Dr. Rizal’s brilliance, compassion, courage, and patriotism are greatly remembered and recognized by the Filipino people. His two novels are continuously being analyzed by students and professionals.

Colleges and universities in the Philippines even require their students to take a subject which centers around the life and works of Rizal. Every year, the Filipinos celebrate Rizal Day – December 30 each year – to commemorate his life and works. Filipinos look back at how his founding of La Liga Filipina and his two novels had an effect on the early beginnings of the Philippine Revolution. The people also recognize his advocacy to achieve liberty through peaceful means rather than violent revolution.

In honor of Rizal, memorials and statues of the national hero can be found not only within the Philippines, but in selected cities around the world. A road in the Chanakyapuri area of New Delhi (India) and in Medan, Indonesia is named after him. The José Rizal Bridge and Rizal Park in the city of Seattle are also dedicated to the late hero.

Within the Philippines, there are streets, towns/cities, a university (Rizal University), and a province named after him. Three species have also been named after Rizal – the Draco rizali (a small lizard, known as a flying dragon), Apogania rizali (a very rare kind of beetle with five horns) and the Rhacophorus rizali (a peculiar frog species).

To commemorate what he did for the country, the Philippines built a memorial park for him – now referred to as Rizal Park, found in Manila . There lies a monument which contains a standing bronze sculpture of Rizal, an obelisk, and a stone base said to contain his remains. The monument stands near the place where he fell during his execution in Luneta.

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Who is José Rizal?

Josè Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda was born in the town of Calamba, Laguna, Philippines on June 19, 1861 and died at age 35 on December 30, 1896 in Manila, Philippines.

He was the seventh of eleven children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished families. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called “a model of fathers,” came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called “loving and prudent mother,” was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila.

At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, Sa Aking Mga Kabata , which revolves on the theme of love of one’s language.

Rizal at 13

In 1887, at age 16, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of “excellent” from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo.

He finished the latter course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881.

At 17, Rizal learned that his mother was going blind, so he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors.

On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of “excellent.”  At age 25 he completed his eye specialization and used the newly invented ophthalmoscope to operate on his mother’s eye.

Rizal traveled throughout Europe, America and Asia. He proved to be a versatile genius mastering 22 languages (a polyglot) and a multitude of occupations. He was an architect, artist, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmologist, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian during his short life. He was also proficient in martial arts, fencing and pistol shooting. While in Europe, Rizal published several books with nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies including his two famous novels Noli Me Tangere and

El Filibusterismo . His literary works became an inspiration for Philippine nationalism and his writings exposed the corruption and injustice of the civil and clerical officials, which provoked those in power. Upon his return to the Philippines, he formed a nonviolent society called La Liga Filipina, which sought government reforms.

The goals he sought were:

• The Philippines to become a province of Spain with representation in the Spanish Government.
• Filipino priests in their parishes instead of Spanish friars.
• Freedom of speech and assembly.
• Equal rights for Filipinos

Rizal incensed the government and was exiled to Mindanao for four years. His writings and actions became the catalyst for the Philippine Revolution, which began in 1896.

Rizal denounced the violence that was taking place, but the government still linked him to it and arrested him. After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal associations.

From November 3, 1896, to the date of his execution, he was committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as Mi Ultimo Adios , which is considered a masterpiece and a living document expressing not only the hero’s great love of country but also that of all Filipinos.

In the cold morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has the capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat him as a slave, was publicly executed by firing squad at Bagumbayan Field, now known as Luneta Park, Manila.

He became a martyr of the Philippine Revolution and his nonviolent actions led to Philippine independence from Spain ultimately by violent revolution.

Josè Rizal is the Philippine’s national hero and the anniversary of his death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day.

Written Works

Family tree, women of rizal, josé rizal through the years.

In March 1887, Rizal published in Berlin, Germany his daring novel written in Spanish, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, the ills of Philippine society, the way Filipino culture was backward, anti-progress, anti-intellectual, and not conducive to the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment.

Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight (1900) and The Social Cancer (1912), but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title meaning “touch me not”

Fittingly, Rizal found it a timely and effective gesture to dedicate his novel to the country of his people whose experiences and sufferings he wrote about, sufferings which he brought to light in an effort to awaken his countrymen to the truths that had long remained unspoken, although not totally unheard of. In writing the Noli, Rizal signed his own death warrant.

After the fate of the Noli was sealed by the Spanish authorities, Rizal was prompted to write the continuation of his first novel.

Inspired by what the word filibustero connoted in relation to the circumstances during his time, and his spirits dampened by the tragic execution of the three martyred priests, Rizal aptly titled his second novel El Filibusterismo (also known in English as The Reign of Greed) published in Ghent, Belgium on September 18, 1891. His second novel and a sequel to the NOLI was more revolutionary and tragic than the latter.

The book was dedicated to the memory of the three priests; Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, Fr. Jacinto Zamora (Gomburza) who were accused of being seditious and were executed in Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872.

Rizal Family Sisters

Rizal at 35

Some of my highlights

Novels and essays.

• Noli Me Tángere , novel, 1887 (literally Latin for ‘touch me not’, from John 20:17 )
• El Filibusterismo, (novel, 1891), sequel to Noli Me Tángere
• Mi Último Adiós, poem, 1896 (literally “My Last Farewell” )
• Alin Mang Lahi” (“Whate’er the Race”), a Kundiman attributed to Dr. José Rizal
• The Friars and the Filipinos (Unfinished)
• Toast to Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo (Speech, 1884), given at Restaurante Ingles, Madrid
• The Diaries of José Rizal
• Rizal’s Letters is a compendium of Dr. Jose Rizal’s letters to his family members, Blumentritt, Fr. Pablo Pastells and other reformers
• “Come se gobiernan las Filipinas” (Governing the Philippine islands)
• Filipinas dentro de cien años essay, 1889-90 (The Philippines a Century Hence)
• La Indolencia de los Filipinos, essay, 1890 (The indolence of Filipinos)
• Makamisa unfinished novel
• Sa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos, essay, 1889, To the Young Women of Malolos
• Annotations to Antonio de Moragas, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (essay, 1889, Events in the Philippine Islands)

Poetry/Music

• A La Juventud Filipina
• El Canto Del Viajero
• Briayle Crismarl
• Canto Del Viajero
• Canto de María Clara
• Dalit sa Paggawa
• Felictación
• Kundiman (Tagalog)
• Me Piden Versos
• Mi primera inspiracion
• Mi Ultimo Adiós
• Por La Educación (Recibe Lustre La Patria)
• Sa Sanggol na si Jesus
• To My Muse (A Mi Musa)
• Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
• A Man in Dapitan
• El Consejo de los Dioses (The council of Gods)
• Junto Al Pasig (Along the Pasig)
• San Euistaquio, Mártyr (Saint Eustache, the martyr)

Other works

Rizal also tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural work was “ The Triumph of Science over Death “, a clay sculpture of a naked young woman with overflowing hair, standing on a skull while bearing a torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of humankind during the Dark Ages, while the torch she bore symbolized the enlightenment science brings over the whole world. He sent the sculpture as a gift to his dear friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, together with another one named “The Triumph of Death over Life”.

Mi Ultimo Adios

My last farewell, mi ultimo adiós - spanish, huling paalam.

Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress’d Pearl 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 blest Still 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.

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.

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.

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 protest Let some kind soul o ‘er my untimely fate sigh, And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high From 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 tried And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around With only the dead in their vigil to see Break not my repose or the mystery profound And 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 more Unmark’d by never a cross nor a stone Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o’er That 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.

My Fatherland ador’d, that sadness to my sorrow lends Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by! I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends For 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 !

Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida, Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden! A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida, Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida, Tambien por tí la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar; El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel ó lirio, Cadalso ó campo abierto, combate ó cruel martirio, Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora Y al fin anuncia el día trás lóbrego capuz; Si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora, Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen hora Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz.

Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente, Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor, Fueron el verte un día, joya del mar de oriente Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente, Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor.

Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo, Salud te grita el alma que pronto va á partir! Salud! ah que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo, Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo, Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un dia Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor, Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mía, Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fría De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja á la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave; Deja que el alba envíe su resplandor fugaz, Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave, Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave Deja que el ave entone su cantico de paz.

Deja que el sol ardiendo las lluvias evapore Y al cielo tornen puras con mi clamor en pos, Deja que un sér amigo mi fin temprano llore Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mi alguien ore Ora tambien, Oh Patria, por mi descanso á Dios!

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura, Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual, Por nuestras pobres madres que gimen su amargura; Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura Y ora por tí que veas tu redencion final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio Y solos sólo muertos queden velando allí, No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio Tal vez acordes oigas de citara ó salterio, Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto á ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar, Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada, Y mis cenizas antes que vuelvan á la nada, El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan á formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido, Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré, Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oido, Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fé.

Mi Patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores, Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adios. Ahi te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores. Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores, Donde la fé no mata, donde el que reyna es Dios.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía, Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar, Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día; Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria, Adios, queridos séres morir es descansar

Paalam na, sintang lupang tinubuan, Bayang masagana sa init ng araw, Edeng maligaya sa ami’y pumanaw At perlas ng dagat sa dakong Silangan.

Inihahandog ko ng ganap na tuwa Sa iyo yaring buhay na lanta na’t aba; Naging dakila ma’y iaalay rin nga Kung dahil sa iyong ikatitimawa.

Ang nanga sa digmaan dumog sa paglaban Handog din sa iyo ang kanilang buhay, Hirap ay di pansin at di gunamgunam Ang pagkaparool o pagtagumpay.

Bibitaya’t madlang mabangis na sakit O pakikibakang lubhang mapanganib, Pawang titiisin kung ito ang nais Ng baya’t tahanang pinakaiibig.

Ako’y mamamatay ngayong minamalas Ang kulay ng langit na nanganganinag Ibinababalang araw ay sisikat Sa kabila niyang mapanglaw na ulap.

Kung dugo ang iyong kinakailangan Sa ikadidilag ng iyong pagsilang, Dugo ko’y ibubo’t sa isa man lamang Nang gumigiti mong sinag ay kuminang.

Ang mga nasa ko, mulang magkaisip, Magpahanggang ngayon maganap ang bait, Ang ikaw’y makitnag hiyas na marikit Ng dagat Silangan na nakaliligid.

Noo mo’y maningning at sa mga mata Mapait na luha bakas ma’y wala na, Wala ka ng poot, wala ng balisa, Walang kadungua’t munti mang pangamba,

Sa sandaling buhay maalab kong nais Ang kagalingan mo’t ang paiwang sulit Ng kaluluwa king gayak ng aalis: Ginhawa’y kamtan mo! Anong pagkarikit!

Nang maaba’t ikaw’y mapataas lamang, Mamatay at upang mabigyan kang buihay, Malibing sa lupang puspos ng karika’t Sa silong ng iyong langit ay mahimlay.

Kung sa ibang araw ikaw’y may mapansin Nipot na bulaklak sa aba kong libing, Sa gitna ng mga damong masisinsin, Hagka’t ang halik mo’y itaos sa akin.

Sa samyo ng iyong pagsuyong matamis, Mataos na taghoy ng may sintang sibsib, Bayang tumaggap noo ko ng init, Na natatabunan ng lupang malamig.

Bayan mong ako’y malasin ng buwan Sa liwang niyang hilano’t malamlam; Bayan ihatid sa aking liwayway Ang banaang niyang dagling napaparam.

Bayaang humalik ang simoy ng hangin; Bayaang sa huning masaya’y awitin Ng darapong ibon sa kurus ng libing Ang buhay payapang ikinaaaliw.

Bayaang ang araw na lubhang maningas Pawiin ang ulan, gawing pawang ulap, Maging panganuring sa langit umakyat, At ang aking daing ay mapakilangkap.

Bayaang ang aking maagang pagpanw, Itangis ng isnag lubos na nagmamahal; Kung may umalala sa akin ng dasal, Ako’y iyo sanang idalangin naman.

Idalangin mo rin ang di nagkapalad, Na nangamatay na’t yaong nanganhirap sa daming pasakit, at ang lumalangap naming mga ina luhang masaklap.

Idalangin sampo ng bawa’t ulila at nangapipiit na tigib ng dusa; idalangin mo ring ikaw’y matubos na sa pagkaaping laong binata.

Kung nababalot na ang mga libingan Ng sapot na itim ng gabing mapanglaw, at wala ng tanod kundi pawing patay, huwang gambalain ang katahimikan.

Pagpitagan mo ang hiwagang lihim, at mapapakinggan ang tinig marahil, ng isang saltero: Ito nga’y ako ring inaawitanka ng aking paggiliw.

Kung ang libingan kong limot na ang madla ay wala nang kurus at bato mang tanda sa nangangabubukid ay ipaubayang bungkali’t isabog ang natipong lupa.

Ang mga abo ko’y bago pailanglang mauwi sa wala na pinaggalingan, ay makalt munag parang kapupunanng iyong alabok sa lupang tuntungan.

Sa gayo’y walaa ng anoman sa akin, na limutin mo ma’t aking lilibutin ang himpapawid mo kaparanga’t hangin at ako sa iyo’y magiging taginting.

Bango, tinig, higing, awit na masaya liwanag aat kulay na lugod ng mata’t uulit-ulitin sa tuwi-tuwina.

Ako’y yayao na sa bayang payapa, na walang alipi’t punoing mapang-aba, doo’y di nanatay ang paniniwala at ang naghahari Diyos na dakila.

Paalam anak, magulang, kapatid, bahagi ng puso’t unang nakaniig, ipagpasalamat ang aking pag-alis sa buhay na itong lagi ng ligalig.

Paalam na liyag, tanging kaulayaw, taga ibang lupang aking katuwaan, paaalam sa inyo, mga minamahal; mamatay ay ganap na katahimikan

Martyrdom of Rizal Mural

The Martyrdom of Rizal Mural, done in 1960 is one of the best known work of Carlos “ Botong ” V. Francisco, Philippine National Artist for Visual Arts in 1973. Francisco is best known for his landmark murals depicting some of the Philippine historical events. The mural depicts the execution of Philippine National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal at Bagong Bayan (now Rizal Park) on December 30, 1896. The mural was commissioned by Fort Santiago as part of the Rizal Shrine.

The painting is a Photo on Canvas by Photographer David Fabros based on the original Martyrdom of Rizal Mural.

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Jose Rizal: 12 facts you need to know about Philippines’ national hero

Asia philippines.

Read part of his “Farewell”: His 125th death anniversary is marked today

During his time, Jose Rizal was considered a subversive. A pariah who deserved nothing but death. He advocated non-violence, but was executed anyway on December 30, exactly 125 years ago today, in a place reserved for public executions. He was made a glaring example for anyone who dared to stand up against the mighty.

Rizal, a reformist doctor and a prolific writer, is revered as the national hero of the Philippines. He lived, and died, towards the end of the 350-year Spanish colonial rule. After he died, his ideas thrived. And became a pulsating reality. Filipinos eventually broke free from Spain. Today, the sun never sets on places where Rizal's monuments are found, spread across the planet.

Some of the facts to know about Jose Rizal:

1. FULL NAME

His full name is José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda . He was a patriot, physician, poet par excellence and novelist who inspired the Philippine nationalist movement. He died at age 35, executed by Spanish colonial masters, who ruled the Philippines for 350 years.

2. BIRTHPLACE

Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba town, Laguna province, 54 km south of Manila, to Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda de Rizal y Quintos.

The son of a well-to-do landowner, Rizal was a brilliant student. He initially studied medicine in Manila. At the age of 21, he traveled to Spain to complete his medical degree at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He went to Paris and Germany to specialise in ophthalmology, in part because he wanted to cure his mother’s failing eyesight.

4. POLYMATH

In Germany, he worked at the University Eye Hospital under Dr. Otto Becker. During his stay in Europe between 1882 and 1892, he wrote several poems and two novels.

A polyglot, he learnt several languages — Arabic, Hebrew, Filipino, Ilokano, Bisayan, Subanon, Chinese, Latin, Spanish, Greek, English, French, German, Malay, Sanskrit, Dutch, Japanese, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian — according to historians.

While in Europe, Rizal wrote two novels, which the Spanish colonial government found subversive. His novels had been turned into a number of period movies.

5. EUROPEAN EDUCATION

While in Europe, Rizal committed himself to the reform of Spanish rule in his home country, through peaceful means. He was a passionate writer and published his first novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch me Not/The Social Cancer , 1887), in Berlin. Noli highlighted the evils of Spanish rule in his homeland.

A sequel, El Filibusterismo (1891; The Filibuster/The Reign of Greed ), established his reputation as the leading spokesman of the Philippine reform movement. He also published an annotated edition (1890) of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas , hoping to show that the native people of the Philippines had a long history before the coming of the Spaniards.

Rizal’s political reform programme included integration of the Philippines as a province of Spain, representation in the Cortes (the Spanish parliament), the replacement of Spanish friars by Filipino priests, freedom of assembly and expression, and equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the law.

In 1895, Rizal sought permission to travel to Cuba as an army doctor. His request was approved, but a year later, in August 1896, the armed revolt lead by the Katipunan, a nationalist Filipino society, erupted. Its leader, Andres Bonifacio, took inspiration from the French. Rizal was implicated and jailed. After a show trial, Rizal was convicted of sedition and sentenced to death.

7. EXECUTION

Though José Rizal called for peaceful reform of Spain's colonial rule in the Philippines and abhorred violence in his writings, a colonial court sentenced him to death by musketry. At age 35, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896 in Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park in Luneta, Manila).

After the execution, Rizal fired up the Philippine nationalist movement. Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo (first president) declared independence on June 12, 1898.

8. RIZAL MONUMENTS

Today, Rizal is one of the most revered of Filipino heroes. His monuments are found in different parts of the world: in Germany, Spain, Australia, Austria, China (Hong Kong, Fujian), Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Japan, UK, US (California, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, Washington).

The late Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III is seen delivering his message during the unveiling of the five- meter bronze statue of Dr. Jose P. Rizalat the Rizal Park, Rosemeadow, City of Campbelltown, Australia on October 26, 2012.

9. NATIONAL ICON

Rizal’s main monument today stands in Luneta, the main execution spot of Spanish colonial masters enriched by the blood of Filipino martyrs. The Americans, who succeeded Spain in colonising the Philippines (for about 50 years), emphasised Rizal's views on Filipino nationalism rather than those of the more action-oriented Emilio Aguinaldo and Andrés Bonifacio.

At the turn of the 20th century, however, some in the US media portrayed the people of the Philippines as “pirates”, “barbarians”, “savages”, “incapable of civilisation”.

It was the story and poetry of Rizal that "did something to the House (of US Congress) akin to a miracle,” according to Rep. Henry R. Cooper, author of the Philippine Bill of 1902 — also known as the Cooper Act.

This organic act about the Philippines provided for the following: 

• Extension of the Bill of Rights to Filipinos;
• Establishment of an elective Philippine Assembly, after the proclamation of peace and two years after the publication of the Philippine census;
• Appointment of two resident commissioners to represent the Filipino people in Washington;
• Retention of the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the legislature, with the Philippine Assembly as the lower house; and
• Conservation of the natural resources of the Philippines for the Filipinos”.

My Last Farewel  is Rizal’s 14-verse valedictory written shortly before he was put to death. It expresses love, unfathomable grief and shows a man with unwavering convictions. His words honoured his homeland (“our Eden lost”), the lost culture of pre-Hispanic Philippines, his parents and friends and points to the injustices he had witnessed at the hands of colonial masters:

“Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caressed Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!

“Gladly now I go to give you this faded life’s best. And were it brighter, fresher, or more blessed, Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.”

“I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land... You who have it to see, welcome it — and forget not those who have fallen during the night.”

“And if colour is lacking my blood you shall take, poured 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 loved 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.”

“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 your sake, that you may aspire; And sleep in thy bosom eternity’s long night.” -

“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 your sake, that you may aspire; And sleep in thy bosom eternity’s long night.”

"If over my grave some day you see 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.”

“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 protest Let some kind soul over my untimely fate sigh, And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high; From thee, O 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 tried. And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.”

“And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around, With only the dead in their vigil to see, Break not my repose or the mystery profound, And perchance you may hear a sad hymn resound It is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.”

“And even my grave is remembered no more, Unmarkedd by never a cross nor a stone, Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it over,. That my ashes may carpet earthly floor, Before into nothingness at last they are blown. Then will oblivion bring to me no care, As over your vales and plains I sweep; Throbbing and cleansed in you space and air, With colour and light, with song and lament I fare; Ever repeating the faith that I keep.”

“My Fatherland adored, that sadness to my sorrow lends, Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last goodbye! I give you all: parents and kindred and friends. I go where there are no slaves, hangmen or oppressors; where faith does not kill; where the one who reigns is God.”

“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!”

"Mi Ultimo Adios". Poem by José Rizal, translated by Charles Derbyshire (1897).

11. KILOMETRE 0

The remains of Rizal, after exhumation on August 17, 1898, were kept in the Rizal family house in Binondo until they were brought to their final resting place in Luneta. On December 30, 1912, a solemn ceremony was held to finally bury the remains in the base of the monument dedicated in memory of Rizal. The Philippines' main Kilometre 0 is found in Luneta, across the Rizal statue.

An Italian sculptor Carlo Nicoli of Carrara, Italy, won a design contest for the Rizal memorial. Nicoli’s scaled plaster model was titled Al Mártir de Bagumbayan  (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan), besting 40 other accepted entries. Nicoli won the ₱5,000 prize for this design.

12. BRP RIZAL FRIGATE

The naval ship BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Philippine Navy. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and launched in 2019, the 108-metre vessel is the first purpose-built frigate of the service.

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The following articles are filed under the Life category.

How Rizal Became the National Hero of the Philippines

Find out why Jose Rizal (and not Andres Bonifacio) is the national hero of the Philippines.

Nick Joaquin: Translator of Rizal’s Works

Nick Joaquin became renowned as a translator of Jose Rizal’s works after he translated “Mi Ultimo Adios” into English as “Land That I love, Farewell!”.

Jose Rizal’s Sisters

Rizal had nine (9) sisters namely, Saturnina, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad.

The Death of Jose Rizal

The death of Jose Rizal on December 30, 1896 came right after a kangaroo trial convicted him on all three charges of rebellion, sedition and conspiracy.

The Childhood of Jose Rizal

The childhood of Jose Rizal can be characterized by his desire to learn, even frequenting the church nearby his home to watch and observe people.

The Women in Rizal’s Life

At least 9 women were linked to Jose Rizal: Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor River, and Josephine Bracken were among Jose Rizal women.

Jose Rizal Family

Jose Rizal’s thirteen-member-family consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II, his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda, himself, nine sisters and one brother.

Talambuhay ni Jose Rizal

The following is a short biography of Jose Rizal in Filipino. For the English biography of the national hero of the Philippines, see  Jose Rizal Biography .