OBLENA, Reden C.

(NME1) Life and Works of Rizal (Homework)

Unang Parte. Reaksyon

Sa panahon ngayon, sa aming henerasyon, una sa lahat, iba nang klase ng “videos” ang aming
kinakasanayan. Ang paraan ng pagkukuwento sa buhay ni Rizal ay naging hindi ganoon kaganda o
kaepektibo (base sa aking nakita sa aking mga kamag-aaral) sa kadahilanang luma na ito, idagdag pa na
‘di ganoon kalakas ang speaker na nagamit. Ganoon pa man kauna-unawa naman ito para sa katulad
kong hindi ganoon kalaki o kalawak ang kainteresan sa mga ganitong bagay. Kung tutuusin, napakaayos
nang pagkakagawa dito – sa pagkakahati ng mga pangyayari sa buhay ni Rizal, ang pagsasalaysay, ang
pagkaka-edit, atbp. Kung aking bibigyan nang pansin para noong mga araw na bago pa lamang ito. Ito ay
para sa pagkakagawa sa presentasyon ng naturang sine.

Maraming mga bagay ang nalinaw sa akin sa buhay ni Rizal. Namangha ako sa isang tulad n’ya
dahil sa mga panahon iyong, nagawa n’yang maglakbay sa iba’t-ibang bansa nang parang walang hirap
na kung iisipin ay hindi ganoon kadali ang maglakbay noong mga panahon n’ya kumpara ngayon. Noong
bata pa ‘ko, isang bayani “lamang” ang pagkakakila ako sa kanya na ang ibigsabihin ay isang taong
huwarang talaga, halos walang mali sa buhay, isang BAYANI na titingalaain ng kahit sino, hindi katulad
ng isang taong karaniwan – hanggang sa makilala ko ang tunay na pangalan niyang napakahaba kung
ikukumpara sa mga pangalan ngayon. Hindi lang s’ya isang tao. Binubuo din siya ng mga kaugaliang
kinaaayawan din ng ibang tao – hindi s’ya perpekto. Natutunan ko na ang lahat ng mga malalaking bagay
sa mundo ay hindi lang binubuo o nakukuha sa mga perpektong galaw. Ang paghihirap ay isa rin sa sa
mahahalagang sangkap nito; hindi lahat ng mga “masasamang” bagay ay nakakasama (tulad ng ang
pagkakaroon ng “partner” na hindi nagtatagal at napapalitan “agad-agad”. Dahil ang mga masasamang
nararamdaman ay nasusuklian o naibubuhos sa mga bagay sa paligid na kung iisipin ay kaparehas lang
din ng ating nararamdaman tuwing tayo ay masaya. Normal na pamumuhay pala iyon. Hindi ko na
maisip ang magtanim nang masamang loob sa mga “kalaban”. Ito ay dahil kahit anong gawin mo,
habang magkasama kayo sa mundong ito, kayo pa rin ang gagawa nang historya, masama man o
maganda.

Napaisip rin ako kung pa’no kung may katulad si Rizal ngayon sa kasalukuyan. Mas madami pa
kaya ang kaya n’yang gawin kumpara sa Rizal na kinilala namin? Maliban sa pagiging isang mahusay sa
iba’t-ibang larangan nuon, pati kaya sa makabagong teknolohiya, maging mahusay s’ya? O magamit n’ya
kaya ito sa ibang paraan na sa halip na sa ikaunlad o makatulong, maaari kayang maimpluwensyahan din
s’ya na magamit ang mga ito sa ibang mga bagay na karaniwang ginagawa ng mga kabataan ngayon?

Sa pag-aaral n’ya ng maraming linggwahe, napagtanto ko, sa kadahilanang nag-aaral din ako
nang ibang linggwahe, na natutunan kaya n’ya talaga pati ang pagsusulat nito? O ang mga titulong
nakuha n’ya na “maraming natutunang linggwahe”ay sa aspeto ng pagsasalita lang?

Ganoon pa man, napaisip lang ako kung pa’no n’ya nagawa ang mga bagay na iyon. Napagtanto
ko na hindi pala masama ang makagawa nang maraming mga bagay sa kabila ng mga sinasabi ng mga
tao sa paligid.
 Part 2. Rizal’s Timeline
[1861]
June 19 – Rizal is born in the town of Calamba,
Laguna, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado
Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos
June 22 – Rizal is baptized as José Rizal Mercado
[1872]
February 17 - Three Filipino priests, Mariano
Gomez, José Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto
Zamora, are executed on charges of subversion
June 26 – Rizal attends Ateneo Municipal de
Manila as a day scholar
[1874]
November 14 – Rizal composes the poem “Al
Niño Jesús”
[1875]
December 5 – Rizal writes the poems “El
Combate: Urbiztondo,” “Terror de Joló,” “El
embarque,” and “Y es español: Elcano el
primero en dar vuelta al mundo”
[1876]
April 1 – Rizal pens the poem “Alianza íntima
entre la religión y la buena educación”
December 3 – Rizal pens the poems “El
cautiverio y el triunfo,” “Entrada triunfal de los
Reyes Católicos en Granada” and “La conquista
de Granada”
[1877]
March 14 - Rizal at the age of sixteen obtains
his bachelor of arts degree from the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila with the general average
of sobresaliente (excellent).
June – Rizal meets Miss Segunda Katigbak
[1878]
January 6 – Rizal enrolls in philosophy and
letters at the University of Santo Tomás (UST)
May 21 – Rizal passes the surveyor’s
examination (but is granted a license only after
three years)
June 2 – Rizal enrolls in preparatory and proper
medicine at UST
September 11 – Using the pen name P. Jacinto,
Rizal begins his diary Memorias de un
estudiante de Manila
[1879]
November 22 – Rizal composes his award-
winning poem, “A la juventud filipina” (To the
Philippine Youth)
[1880]
April 13 – Rizal wins first prize for the allegory
“El consejo de los Dioses”
December 8 – Ateneo Municipal de Manila
produces Rizal’s operetta “Junto al Pasig”
[1881]
January 25 – Rizal writes a poem for the Ateneo
rector entitled “Al muy R.P. Pablo Ramón, S.J.,
rector del Ateneo en sus días”
February 10 – Rizal becomes secretary of the
Academia de Ciencias Filosóficonaturales
April 30 – Rizal sketches a pencil drawing of
Leonor Rivera
[1882]
May 3 – Rizal sails for Spain and enrolls at the
Universidad Central de Madrid with financial
help from his brother Paciano
August 20 – Diariong Tagalog publishes Rizal’s
first essay “Amor Patria,” using Laong Laan as
pen name while in Barcelona
[1883]
June 17 – Rizal arrives in Paris
June 18 - Rizal visits Leannec Hospital
June 20 – Rizal visits Lariboisiere Hospital where
Félix Pardo de Tavera is an extern
September 28 – Rizal goes back to Madrid and
enrolls in Universidad Central for a second
course in medicine
November 4 – Rizal’s sister Soledad marries
[1884]
March 11 – Rizal begins to study German
seriously
June 21 – Rizal is conferred the degree of
licentiate in medicine
June 25 – Rizal delivers a speech honoring
Filipino painters Juan Luna and Félix
Resurrección Hidalgo
July 1 – Through the newspaper El Progreso,
Rizal asks for freedom of the press and the
Filipino right of representation in the Spanish
Cortes
August 31 – News of Rizal’s speech about the
two Filipino painters makes him famous in the
Philippines
[1885]
January 1 – In a letter, Paciano tells Rizal that it
would be too dangerous for him to return
immediately to the Philippines
June 16 - Rizal is informed by Manuel Hidalgo
about cholera in Manila
June 19 – Rizal finishes his degree in licentiate
in philosophy and letters in Universidad Central
de Madrid with a grade of sobresaliente
November 19 – Rizal learns about the gambling
habit of Filipinos in Madrid
December 4 - Rizal goes to Paris and practices
ophthalmology with Dr. de Wecker at the
Crugen Clinic, against his brother Paciano’s
wishes
[1886]
February 2 – Rizal arrives in Germany
April 22 – Rizal writes the poem “A Las Flores de
Heildelberg” (To The Flowers of Heidelberg)
July 14 - Rizal becomes a member of the Chess
Club of Germany
October 31 – Rizal meets Dr. Adolf Bernard
Meyer, naturalist of the Dresden University
December 11 – Máximo Viola joins Rizal in
Berlin
December 15 – Rizal starts teaching Viola the
German language
[1887]
January – Rizal becomes a member of the
Ethnographic Society of Berlin
February – Rizal becomes a member of the
Anthropological Society and the Geographic
Society of Berlin
March 21 – Copies of Noli Me Tangere become
available
April – Rizal submits his thesis “Arte Métrica del
Tagalog” to the Ethnographic Society of Berlin
June 19 – Rizal celebrates his 26th birthday in
Geneva, Switzerland
August 5 – Rizal arrives in Manila
August 30 – An order prohibiting the possession
and reading of Noli Me Tangere is issued
September - Olimpia, Rizal’s sister, dies of
hemorrhage while giving birth
[1888]
February 8 – Rizal arrives in Hong Kong
February 28 – Rizal arrives in Japan
March 15 – Rizal sees O-Sei-san for the first
time
April 28 - Rizal arrives in the United States
May 8 – Rizal starts travelling across the
American continent
June 2 - Rizal arrives in London, England
July 9 – Spanish senator Vida denounces Rizal in
the Senate of Madrid, calling Noli Me Tangere
anti-Catholic
December 13 – La Solidaridad is founded with
Marcelo H. del Pilar as editor in chief
[1889]
March 31 – Rizal’s “Me piden versos” (They Ask
Me For Verses) is published in La Solidaridad
under the pen name Laong Laan
April 12 – Dr. Luis M. de Pardo delivers a speech
against Rizal and Noli Me Tangere before the
Spanish Congress
May 23 – Rizal’s brother-in-law Mariano
Herbosa dies of cholera
July 12 - Rizal arrives in Paris, spending days
proofreading Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
September 10 – Rizal meets Sr. Segismundo
Moret, a former minister of the Spanish
government who admires Noli Me Tangere
[1890]
February 2 – Rizal arrives in Brussels, Belgium
May 26 – Rizal’s annotations of Morga’s
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas become widely
read in the Philippines
May 28 – Through a letter Rizal informs M. H.
del Pilar about the Filipinos’ gambling habit in
Madrid
June 28 – Friars harass Rizal’s family in Calamba
July 20 – Rizal’s family loses the land case
against the friars
[1891]
March 21 – Rizal finishes his second novel El
Filibusterismo, but plans to revise some
chapters
October 7 – Rizal informs del Pilar that he will
stop writing for La Solidaridad
October 9 – Rizal tells Ferdinand Blumentritt of
his decision to cease writing for La Solidaridad
in order to avoid a schism among the Filipinos in
Spain
December 6 - Rizal’s family reunites in Hong
Kong
December – Rizal is almost attacked by an
Augustinian friar
1892
January 30 – Juan Luna endorses Rizal’s plan of
establishing a Filipino colony in North Borneo
February - The Kataas-taasang Kagalang-
galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan is
founded by Andrés Bonifacio
June 21 – Rizal writes a letter to Governor-
General Eulogio Despujol, informing the latter
of his return to the Philippines
July 6 – Rizal is arrested and imprisoned in Fort
Santiago for sedition and anti-religion
September 1 – Rizal starts corresponding with
Father Pablo Pastells on matters of philosophy
and religion
July 7 – Despujol orders Rizal’s exile to Dapitan
August 20 – Rizal writes a poem “A Don Ricardo
Carnicero” for his guardian in Dapitan
September 21 – Rizal wins the lottery’s second
prize
[1893]
April 30 – Rizal’s “El consejo de los Dioses” is
published in La Solidaridad
May 16 – Rizal’s prison guardian Carnicero is
replaced
August 28 - Leonor Rivera, Rizal’s girlfriend for
eleven years, dies
August 29 – Rizal’s mother visits him in Dapitan
[1894]
February – Governor-General Ramón Blanco
visits Rizal in Dapitan
June – Rizal makes a successful operation on his
mother’s cataract
August – Rizal encourages businessmen in
Dapitan to form a company
August 21 – Rizal exchanges information with
Dr. Adolf Meyer about animal and insect
classification
[1895]
January 1 – Rizal finishes the draft of the
statutes and regulations for the Society of
Dapitan Agriculturists
February - Rizal meets Josephine Bracken
February 22 – Rizal asks George Taufer for the
hand of Josephine Bracken
June 1 – Governor-General Blanco permits Rizal
to establish an agricultural colony in Dapitan
October 22 - Rizal sends a poem to his mother
entitled “Mi retiro” (My Retreat)
[1896]
July 1 – Pío Valenzuela visits and informs Rizal
of the impending revolution against the Spanish
colonial government
July 30 – Rizal receives a letter informing him
that his application to go to Cuba to serve the
Spanish army as a military doctor has been
accepted
August 23 – The Philippine Revolution starts
with the Cry of Pugadlawin
September 4 – On the ship bound for Spain,
Rizal receives news implicating him as the cause
of disturbances in the Philippines
December 11 – In the presence of his defender
Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, Rizal is charged with
sedition. The following day he writes his
defense
December 15 – Imprisoned in Fort Santiago,
Rizal writes a manifesto to the Filipinos to stop
the revolution. The Spanish authorities,
however, do not publish the document
December 27 – Rizal is sentenced to death
December 29 – Rizal is reputed to have written
an unsigned poem, later to become known as
“Mi último adios” (Last Poem of Rizal)
December 30 – At 7:03 am Rizal is executed. In
the afternoon, Narcisa discovers a newly dug
grave at Paco Cemetery. She marks it with a
marble plaque, with Rizal’s initials in reverse

[1898]
May 1 – The Spanish fleet surrenders to the
Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay
July – Narcisa retrieves Rizal’s remains, storing
them in an urn made by Romualdo Teodoro de
Jesús
1901
June 11 – The Philippine Government passes
Act No. 137 which renames the province of
Morong to Rizal in honor of the national hero
September 28 – The Philippine Assembly
approves Act No. 243 to build the Rizal
monument in Luneta

[1912]
December 30 – The Philippine Assembly unveils
the Rizal Monument, twelve years after the
Act’s approval.
Rizal’s remains are transferred to their final
resting place

[1956]
June 12 – The Philippine Government passes
Republic Act No. 1425 which mandates all
public and private schools, colleges and
universities to include a curriculum on the life
and works of José Rizal, particularly a study of
his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo