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In Calamba, Laguna

19 June 1861
JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was
born in Calamba, Laguna.

22 June 1861
He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev.
Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casaas as the sponsor.

28 September 1862
The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizals
baptismal records were entered, were burned.

1864
Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.

1865
When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the
age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first
time.

1865 1867
During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by
the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the
rudiments of Latin.

At about this time two of his mothers cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing
Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and
taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of
nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He
advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as
thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything."

6 June 1868
With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take
the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of
delivery which nearly caused his mothers life.

From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time
studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.

1869
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was
written in tagalog and had for its theme "Love of Ones Language."




Childhood Years in Calamba
Earliest Childhood Memories:
Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of his childhood in his native town Calamba. Its scenic beauties
and its industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks profoundly affected his mind and character. The
happiest period of Rizals life was spent in this lakeshore town.

The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was in the family garden when he was 3yrs. old. Because he
was a frail, sickly and undersized, he was given the tenderest care by his parents. His father built a Nipa
cottage for him to play in the daytime.

Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, his mother gathered all the children
at the house to pray the Angelus.

He also remembered the aya (nurse maid) related to the Rizal children amy stories about the fairies; tales
of buried treasure and trees blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories.

Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little Concha ( Concepcion), who was a year younger than him. He
played with her and from her he learned the sweetness of sisterly love.

Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was only 3yrs. old. Jose cried bitterly at losing
her. The death of Concha brought him his first sorrow.

Rizal grew up a good catholic. At age of 3, he would take part in the family prayers. When he was 5yrs.
old, he was able to read the Spanish family bible.

He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join religious processions.

One of the men he esteemed and respect in Calamba was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town
priest. He used to visit him and listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy
of life.

On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his
mothers vow, which was made when Jose was born. After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo,
Jose and his father went to Manila to visit Saturnina, who was a boarding student in La Concordia
College in Santa Ana.

Of the stories told by Dona Teodora, Jose remembered the Story of the Moth. The tragic fate of the young
moth, which died a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress on Rizals mind. He justified such noble
death, asserting that to sacrifice ones life for it, meaning for an ideal, is worthwile. And, like that young
moth, he was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal.

At age of 5, he began to make sketches with his pencil and to mould in his clay and wax objects. Jose
had the soul of a genuine artist. He also loved to ride the pony that which his father gave him and take
long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named Usman.

Aside from his sketching and sculpturing talent, Rizal possessed a God-given gift for literature. At age of
8, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow
Children).

After writing his first poem, Rizal who was then 8yrs. old, wrote his first dramatic work which was a
Tagalog comedy.

Rizal was also interested in magic. He learned various tricks, such as making a coin disappear and
making a handkerchief vanish in thin air. He read many books on magic and attended performances of
the famous magicians in the world.

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