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RIZAL LEFT FOR SPAIN

SECRET DEPARTURE
Rizals departure was kept secret to avoid detection by the Spanish authorities and the friars
The kind Jesuit priests gave him letters of recommendations to members of their Society in
Barcelona.
Rizal departed on May 3, 1882 boarded the Salvadora with the following route: Manila
Singapore Colombo through the Suez Canal Naples and Marseiles Barcelona.
Only Uncle Antonio Rivera, Paciano, and his sisters, and some close friends knew of his
departure.
Paciano gave him P700, Saturnina gave him a diamond ring
An allowance of P35 per month was promised by Paciano through Uncle Antonio
Rizal used a passport named Jose Mercado

TO SINGAPORE
During his voyage he observed the people and things around him and compared them with
those in the Philippines.
He was the only Filipino on board.
Rizal saw Singapore and was impressed by its progress and beautiful sights
He admired the confidence of the natives of Singapore with their government
Rizal stayed at Hotel de Paz for his two day stop over at Singapore.
He transferred to Djemnah, a French steamer bound to Europe.
Djemnah was larger and cleaner than the Salvadora
He tried to speak french
After a week he reached Point de Galle, that afternoon they sailed and docked at Colombo
Ceylon
The steamer crossed the Indian Ocean to Cafe Guardafui in Africa. The trip was difficult
because of a stormy weather. Rizal was sea sick

On June 2 he arrived at the terminal of Suez Canal, enjoyed and was thrilled by the historic
waterway
Djemnah proceeded to Europe. June 11, Rizal reached Naples.
This Italian City pleased him because of its business activity, its lively people, and its
panoramic beauty
Night of June 12, the steamer docked at the French harbor of Marsielles
He visited the Chateau dIf, where Dantes, the hero in The Count of Monte Cristo was
imprisoned.
He stayed three days in Marseilles, enjoying every day of his sojourn

IN BARCELONA
At Marseilles, Rizal took the train to Barcelona
Rizal reached his destination Barcelona on June 16, 1882.
Rizal found Barcelona to be a great city. With an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism, and
its people were open-hearted, hospitable and courageous.
The Filipinos in Barcelona, some of whom were his schoolmates in Ateneo, welcomed Rizal.
They threw a party for Rizal at their favorite caf in Plaza de Catalina.
In Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic essay entitled Amor Patrio (Love of Country).
He wrote this essay on the request of his friend, Basilio Teodoro Moran, publisher of the first
bilingual newspaper in Manila, the Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882. (Spanish and
Tagalog)
He wrote this essay using the pen name Laong Laan.
The essay caused quite a stir among the readers in the Philippines.

RIZAL IN MADRID
Rizal received a sad news about the cholera that was ravaging Manila and the provinces.
On a letter he received from Paciano dated September 15, 1882, the Calamba folks were
having afternoon novenas and nocturnal procession, praying to God to stop the dreadful
epidemic

Another sad news he received was from Chengoy (Jose M. Cecilio) telling how Leonor Rivera
was getting thinner because of the absence of a love one
Upon Pacianos advise, Rizal left Barcelona in the fall of 1882 and established himself in
Madrid, the capital of Spain.
At Madrid he enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid (Central University of
Madrid) on November 3, 1882
There he took two courses: Medicine and Philosophy and Letters.
Aside from his studies, Rizal also took painting and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of
San Carlos
Rizal also took private lessons in French, German, and English;
Rizal led a Spartan life in Madrid. He lived frugally, spending his money only on food,
clothing, lodging, and books.
His only vice was taking part in the Madrid Lottery.
He spends his leisure time reading and writing at his boarding house, attending reunions
with fellow Filipino students and practicing fencing and shooting.
During Rizals stay in Madrid, he would frequently visit the home of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey
who lived with his son Rafael and daughter Consuelo.
Don Pablo was a former city mayor of Manila during the administration of the liberal
governor general Carlos Ma. De la Torre.
Rizal was attracted by Consuelos beauty and vivacity. As he made a poem entitled A La
Senorita C.O. y P. to express his admiration for her.
Rizal, however, backed out from his romance with Consuelo because
(1) he was still engaged with Leonor Rivera and
(2) his friend and co-worker in the Propaganda Movement, Eduardo de Lete was madly in
love with Consuelo.
Shortly after arriving in Madrid in 1882, Rizal joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino, a
society of liberal Spaniards and Filipinos.
As a member of this society Rizal wrote a poem entitled Me Piden Versos (They ask me
for Verses)

RIZAL JOINED MASONRY


Freemasonry or the Masons, were a secret society composed of liberal and republican
Spaniards in Spain. Amongst them were prominent and intellectual Spaniards.
The Spanish Masons openly and freely criticized the government policies and particularly
lambasted the friars.
In March 1883, Rizal joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid. His Masonic name
was Dimasalang
Later he transferred to Lodge Solidaridad where he became a Master Mason.
Rizal joined Freemasonry to secure their aid in the fight against the Friars in the Philippines.
Amongst the prominent members of the Masons, included, Miguel Morayta, statesman
and professor; Francisco Pi y Margal, journalist and former President of the short-lived First
Spanish Republic; Manuel Becerra, Minister of Ultramar; Emilio Junoy, journalist and
member of the Spanish Cortes; and Juan Zorilla, parliamentarian and head of the Republican
Progressive Party.
Two reasons why he became a Mason:

The bad friars in the Philippines unworthy of their priestly habit or calling

He needed the help of the Masons to fight the bad friars in the Philippines. (it
was a shield to use in his fight against the evil forces of tyranny)

RIZAL'S ADMIRATION TO LUNA AND HIDALGO


National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid - 1884
The Filipino community in Spain sponsored a banquet to celebrate the double victory of the
Filipino artist in the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid.
Juan Luna, with his Spoliarium won the first prize.
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won the second prize with his Christian Virgins Exposed to
the Populace
Rizal in his speech, saluted Luna and Hidalgo as two glories for Spain and the Philippines,
whose artistic achievements transcended geographical frontiers and racial origins.
In Rizals speech, he said genius is universal.

Genius knows no country, genius sprouts everwhere, genius is like light, air, the
patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God.

RIZAL DEFENDS THESIS FOR A PHILOSOPHY AND LETTERS


DEGREE
The academic year 1884-1885 Rizal passed all subjects leading to the degree of Doctor of
Medicine.
Rizal completed his medical course in Spain. He was awarded the Degree of Licentiate in
Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid on June 21, 1884.
The next academic year (1884-85) he studied and passed all subjects leading to the Degree of
Doctor of Medicine. However, he was not awarded his Doctors Diploma because he did not
present his thesis nor paid the corresponding fees
Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters and was awarded the degree on June
19, 1885, his 24th birthday.
By obtaining a degree in Philosophy and Letters, Rizal became qualified to be a professor of
humanities in any Spanish university.
He did not bother to secure the post-graduate degree of Doctor of Medicine because it was
also good only for teaching.
Rizal knew, however, that with his brown color and Asian racial ancestry no friar-owned
university or college in the Philippines would accept him in its faculty staff.

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