Chapter 2: Childhood Years in Calamba

Calamba
- natal town of Rizal
- named after a big native jar
- The happiest period of Rizal’s life was spent in this
lakeshore town, a worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood

CALAMBA, THE HEROES TOWN

Calamba
- a hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order who also owned all the lands
around it
- picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated rice fields and sugar-
lands
- a few kilometers to the south looms the legendary Mount Makiling and beyond this
mountain is the province of Batangas
- east of the town is the Laguna de Bay which is an inland lake of songs and emerald waters
beneath the canopy of azure skies
- in the middle of the lake towers the storied island of Talim and beyond it towards the
north is the distant Antipolo which is famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of
Peace and Good Voyage

Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)

- a poem written by Rizal in 1876, age 15, while he was a student in Ateneo de Manila,
when he rememberes his hometown (see p. 9 for the poem)

EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

- the first memory of Rizal in his infancy was his happy days in the family garden when he
was 3 years old

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 - Rizal as a child was frail, sickly, and undersized that is why he was given the tenderest
care by his parents
- Rizal’s father built a nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime
- An aya (nurse maid) was employed to look after him, that aya was a kind old woman
- twilight songs of the birds ( culiauan, maya, maria capra, martin) as he listened to them
with wonder and joy
- daily Angelus prayer
- the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly Rosary
- the imaginary tales told by the aya aroused Rizal’s interest in legends and folklore
- the aya would threaten Rizal with asuang, nuno, tigbalang, or a terrible bearded and
turbaned Bombay would come to take him away if he would not eat his supper
- nocturnal walk in the town esp. when the was a moon with his aya by the river, where
the trees cast grotesque shadows on the banks

THE HERO’S FIRST SORROW

- death of Little Concha (Concepcion)
- Jose loved the most of his sisters
- Rizal was a year older than her
- Rizal played with her and upon whom Rizal learned the sweetness of sisterly love
- Rizal was very fond of her and cried bitterly at losing her
- died of sickness in 1865, age 3, Rizal was 4 years old then
- “…and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love and grief…”
Others:
- Rizal children were bound by ties of love and companionship, they were well-bred as
their parents taught them to love and help one another

DEVOTED SON OF THE CHURCH

- Rizal grew of a good Catholic
- age 3 when he started to take part in the family prayers

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 - age 5 when he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible
- he seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by the Hermanos and
Hermanas Terceras
- his mother was a devout Catholic
- town priest Fr. Leoncio Lopez was one of the men Rizal esteemed and respected in
Calamba, visiting the priest and listening to his stimulating opinions on current events and
sound philosophy of life

PILGRIMAGE TO ANTIPOLO
- June 6, 1868 with his father, to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was
born, his mother could not accompany them as she has given birth to Trinidad
- first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to Antipolo riding a casco
(barge), his first lake voyage, and did not sleep the whole night as the casco sailed towards
the Pasig River for he was awed by “the magnificence of the watery expanse and the
silence of the night”
- Jose and his father went to Manila afterwards (which was also his first time) after praying
at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo to visit Saturnina, who was then a boarding student
at La Concordia College in Santa Ana

THE STORY OF THE MOTH

- story told by Doña Teodora to her favorite son Jose that made the most profound
impression on him
- the tragic fate of the young moth which “died a martyr to its illusions”, such noble death,
“to sacrifice one’s life for it,” which means for an ideal, is “worthwhile”
- like the young moth, he was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal
-“The Children’s Friend” (El Amigo de los Niños), a Spanish reader

ARTISTIC TALENTS
- age 5, started making sketches with his pencil, mold in clay and wax objects which
attracted his fancy (sketching and sculpturing talent)

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 - it is said that a religious banner always used during fiesta was ruined; at the request of
the town mayor, he painted in oil colors a new banner that delighted the town folks at it
was better that the original one
- he found great joy in nature; riding the pony bought by his father; take long walks in the
meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named Usman
- anecdote of Rizal on his clay and wax images, age 6, laughed at by his sisters for spending
time in those images than participating in their games; he kept silent but as they were
departing, he told them: “All right laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will
make monuments and images of me!”

FIRST POEM BY RIZAL

- gift in literature
- his mother, being a lover of literature noticed his poetic inclination and encouraged him
to write poetry
- age 8, he wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To
My Fellow Children) (see p.16) that revealed his earliest nationalist sentiment
- in poetic verses he proudly proclaimed that a people who truly love their native language
will surely strive for liberty and that Tagalog is the equal of Latin, English, Spanish, and
any other language
FIRST DRAMA BY RIZAL
- after writing his first poem, Rizal, age 8, wrote his first dramatic work, a Tagalog comedy
- said to be staged in a Calamba festival and was delightfully applauded by the audience
- a gobernadorcillo from Paete (town in Laguna famous for lanzones and woodcarvings)
witnessed the comedy and like it so he purchased the manuscript for P2.00 and brought
to his home town and was staged in Paete during its town fiesta
RIZAL AS BOY MAGICIAN
-his interest in magic started since early manhood with him owning a dexterous hands
- tricks such as making coin appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief
vanish in thin air
- magic-lantern exhibitions (ordinary lamp casting its shadows on a white screen; enlarged
shadows on the screen resembling certain animals and persons)
-manipulating marionettes (puppet shows)

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 -El Filibusterismo (Treason), his second novel,Chapter 17 and 18 showed his wide
knowledge in magic
- read many books on magic and attended the performances of the famous magicians of
the world

LAKESHORE REVERIES
-during twilight hours of summer time, Rizal and Usman, shore of Laguna de Bay, meditate
on the sad conditions of his oppressed people
-as he became a man, he write to Mariano Ponce, his friend, that fact that young as he
was, he is already awakened to the unhappy situation of his fatherland and was
determined to fight this injustices, to avenge the many victims of these misdeeds, this
being the idea in his mind, he studied and it can be seen in all his writings, that someday,
God will give him the opportunity to fulfill his promise

INFLUENCES ON THE HERO’S BOYHOOD

A. Hereditary Influence
- according to biological science, there are inherent qualities which a person inherits from
his ancestors and parents
A.1. Malayan Ancestors
- love for freedom
- desire to travel
- indomitable courage
A.2. Chinese Ancestors
- serious nature
- frugality
- patience
- love for children
A.3. Spanish Ancestors
- elegance of bearing
- sensitivity to insult

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 - gallantry to ladies
A.4. Father
- sense of self-respect
- love for work
- habit of independent thinking
A.5. Mother
- religious nature
- spirit of self-sacrifice
- passion for arts and literature

B. Environmental Influence
- according to psychologists, environment, as well as heredity, affects the nature of a
person; includes places, associates, events
B.1. Scenic beauties of Calamba and beautiful garden of the Rizal family
- literary talents of Rizal
B.2. Religious atmosphere at his home
-religious nature
B.3. Paciano
-love of freedom and justice:
B.4. Rizal’s sisters
-courteous and kind to women
B.5. Fairy tales told by his aya during his early childhood
-interest in folklore and legends
B.6.Tio Jose Alberto
-artistic ability
-studied 11 years in a British school in Calcutta, India; travelled Europe
B.7. Tio Manuel

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 -develop his frail body by means of physical exercises, including horse
riding, walking, and wrestling
- a husky and athletic man
B.8.Tio Gregorio
- Rizal’s voracious reading of good books
- a book lover
B.9. Father Leoncio Lopez
- Rizal’s love for scholarship and intellectual honesty
- old and learned parish priest of Calamba
B.10. Death of Concha in 1865 and imprisonment of Rizal’s mother in 1871-74
- contributed for Rizal to strengthen his character, enabling him to resist
blows of adversity in later years
B.11. The Spanish abuses and cruelties he witnessed in his boyhood, e.g. brutal
acts of the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil and the alcalde, unjust tortures inflicted
on innocent Filipinos, execution of the GOMBURZA in 1872
- awakened Rizal’s spirit of patriotism and inspired him to consecrate his
life and talents to redeem his oppressed people

C. Aid of Divine Providence

- greater than heredity and environment in the fate of man
- a person cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation despite having
everything life (brains, wealth, and power) without this
- Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of his nation; endowed
by God with versatile gifts of a genius, vibrant spirit of a nationalist, and the valiant
heart to sacrifice for a noble cause