Lagarde, Jonnifer V.

Bped-2

Activity #2

Title: Rizal's Travels Ref. Chapter 6-In Sunny Spain Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings -by Gregorio
F. Zaide

Answer the following questions.

1.
A. Why did Rizal leave for Spain?
Rizal decided to leave the country not just to complete his medical studies in Europe.
Hidden purposes for his voyage: to make a name for himself in the realm of journalism;
to observe and study European society; and to prepare himself for the task of liberating
the Filipinos from Spanish tyranny.
B. Describe his journey.
The departure of Jose Rizal for Spain was kept secret from Spanish authorities, friars and
even to his parents especially to his mother because she would not allow him to go. Only
handful of family members and trusted family friends were informed. In order to avoid
detection, he used the name Jose Mercado, name of his cousin in Calamba. Before his
departure, he scribbled farewell letters to his parents and his sweetheart Leonor Rivera.
On May 3, 1882 he boarded on Salvador bound for Singapore. He was the only Filipino
passenger. The captain of the ship, Donato Lecha from Asturias Spain, befriended him
although some Spaniards who spoke ill of the Philippines peeved him. To while away his
boredom he played chess and always came out victorious for he was truly a good chess
player. They landed on Singapore on May 9 and registered to Hotel de la Paz and spent a
couple of days sightseeing.
He was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de
Madrid on June 21, 1884. The next academic year, he studied and passed all subjects
leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine. However, he did not submit the thesis
required for graduation nor paid the corresponding fees. He was not awarded his
Doctor’s Diploma.
Jose Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with  higher grades. He
was awarded the Degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad
Central de Madrid on June 19, 1885 (his 24th birthday) with the rating of excellent. Rizal
faced financial problems after two years in Madrid. Due to locust invasions and droughts
that destroyed the farms back home, his monthly allowances were late and there times
where they did not even arrive at all.
He was also popular in Madrid and on one occasion was invited as a guest speaker in
a banquet held in honor of Juan Luna and Felix R. Hidalgo, sponsored by the Filipino
community to celebrate the victory of their first and second prizes in a national fine arts
exposition. Here he gave a speech which was applauded and greeted with ovations. The
speech showed his already developing spirit of nationalism.
Rizal later soon after received the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and continued
working for the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then traveled to Berlin where his first
novel, Noli Me Tangere, was printed with the help of a rich friend, Dr. Maximo Viola.
After publishing Noli Me Tangere with the assistance of his rich friend, Dr. Maximo
 Viola, the novel was praised by friends but caught the attention of his enemies who
condemned it as expected. Rizal even stated.
Shortly after, Jose Rizal finally met his close friend and long time writing companion,
Dr. Blumentritt at a railroad station in Czechoslovakia, for the first time.
After five years in Europe, Jose Rizal finally left for his hometown, Calamba. He wanted
to live a peaceful life as a doctor, but because of his novel, friars were enraged. He came
home disregarding Paciano’s warnings and that of his friend, Blumentritt.
C. Why was it made secret?
Rizal departure for Spain was kept secret to avoid detection by the Spanish
authorities and the friars. Even his own parents did not know because he knew that they
would not allow him to go especially his mother. Only his brother Paciano, his uncle
( Antonio Rivera) Father of Leonor Rivera, his sister Neneng and Lucia, the valensuela
family Capitan Juan and CapitanaSanday and their daughter Orang, Pedro A. Paterno, his
compadre Mateo Evangelista the Ateneo  Jesuit fathers and some intimate
friends,  including Chengoy ( Jose M. Cecilio ) knows his departure. The kind of Jesuit
Priest gives him letters of recommendation to the members of their society in Barcelona.
He used the name Jose Mercado a cousin from Biṅan.
2. Give some remarkable events that happened to Rizal in the following countries:

a. Singapore

(May 3, 1882) During the voyage he carefully observed the people and things on board the
steamer. There were sixteen passengers. He was the only Filipino and the rest were Spaniards,
British, and Indian Negroes. The captain of the ship, Donato Lecha befriended Rizal. To kill boredom
of the voyage, Rizal played chess with his fellow passengers. He then defeated them many times, for
he was a good chess player. On May 9, the Salvadora docked at Singapore. He then stayed at Hotel
de la Paz and spent two days on a sightseeing soiree of the city. He saw the famous Botanical
Garden, the beautiful Buddhist templates, the busy shopping district, and the statue of Sir Thomas
Stanford Raffles, who was the founder of Singapore. 

b. Suez Canal

From Colombo, the Djemnah continued the voyage crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape
coast of Africa. Rizal sighted the barren coast of Africa, for the first time, which he called an
‘inhospitable land but famous’. The next stopover was in Aden. He found the city, hotter than Manila
and was amused to see the camels for it was also his first time seeing them. From Aden the ship
proceeded to the city of Suez, the Red Sea terminal of Suez Canal. Upon arrival, Rizal disembarked
and went sightseeing. What impressed him most was the beautiful moonlight which reminded him
of Calamba and his family. The Djemnah took five days to traverse the Suez Canal. Rizal was thrilled
because it was his first trip through this canal which was built by Ferdinand de Lasseps. At Port Said,
Rizal landed in order to see the interesting sights. He was fascinated to hear multi-racial inhabitants
speaking a wide variety of language. 

c. Naples and Marseilles

From Port Said, the ship proceeded on its way to Europe. On June 11, Rizal reached Naples.
This city pleased Rizal because of its business activity, its lively people and its scenic beauty. He was
fascinated by the Mouth Vesuvius, the Castle of ST. Telmo and other historic sights of the city. The
night of June 12, the steamer docked at the French harbor of Marseilles. Rizal bid farewell to his
fellow passengers. He visited the famous Chateau d’lf where Dantes, was imprisoned. He stayed two
and a half days in Marseilles.

d. Barcelona

On the afternoon of May 15, Rizal left Marseilles to proceed to Spain via train. He crossed
the Pyrenees and stopped for a day at the frontier town of Port Bou. After the passport inspection at
Port Bou, Rizal continued his trip by rail, finally reaching Barcelona on June 16, 1882. His first
impression of Barcelona was unfavorable. He thought of it as an ugly, dirty and its residents are
inhospitable. Later, he changed his impression and liked the city. He found it as a great city, with an
atmosphere of freedom and liberalism. He also found its people were open-hearted, hospitable, and
courageous. He enjoyed promenading along Las Ramblas which was the famous street in Barcelona.
Filipinos in Barcelona were some of his classmates in Ateneo, welcomed him. They gave him a party
at café Plaza de Cataluña. After toasts, Rizal in turn gave them the latest news and gossips in the
Philippines. In Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic essay entitled “Amor Patrio” which was his first
written article on Spain’s soil. He then sent his article to Basilio Teodoro Moran, publisher of
Diariong Tagalog. Basilio was deeply impressed by the article congratulated Rizal and asked Rizal to
publish more articles. While living in Barcelona, Rizal received bad news about the cholera outbreak
ravaging Manila and the provinces. Many people died and more were dying daily. Sad news was that
his beloved Leonor Rivera was getting thinner because of the absence of her loved one. Also,
Paciano advised Rizal to continue his medical course in Madrid. Heeding his advice, Rizal left
Barcelona in the fall of 1882 and proceeded to Madrid.

e. Madrid

On November 3, 1882, Rizal enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid. He took up took
courses—Medicine and Philosophy and Letters. Aside from the two major courses, he also studied
painting and sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando; he took lessons in French,
German, and English under private instructors; and assiduously practiced fencing and shooting in the
Hall of Arms of Sanz y Carbonell. Rizal lived a simple life in Madrid and knew that he came to Spain
to study and prepare himself for the service of his fatherland. He budgets his money and time and
never wasted a peseta for gambling, wine and women. On Saturday evening, he visits the home of
Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey who lived with his son and daughter. Don Pablo has been city mayor of
Manila. Rizal then had a love affair with Consuelo Ortiga y Perez, the daughter of Don Pablo. Rizal,
being a lonely man in a foreign country and far from his natal land, was attracted by Consuelo’s
beauty and vivacity. Their love did not flourish because he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera and a
friend of Rizal is also in-love with Consuelo.  

f. Berlin

After completing his studies in Spain, Rizal went to Paris and Germany for his specialization
in ophthalmology. He chose this course of medicine because he wanted to cure his mother’s growing
eye ailment. He still hasn’t forgotten his ‘secret mission’—to observe the customs and lifestyle of the
Europeans so that someday he will render service to his fatherland. In 1885, after completing his
studies at Central University of Madrid, he went to Paris in order to acquire more knowledge in
ophthalmology. He was 24 then. He stopped over at Barcelona, on his way to Paris, to visit his friend
Maximo Viola who is also a medical student and a member of a rich family in Bulacan. And on the
November of that year, Rizal was living in Paris where he sojourned for about four months. He
worked as an apprentice of Dr. Louis de Weckert, who is a then, a leading French ophthalmologist.
And with his master, his knowledge in ophthalmology improved. While not working at Dr. Weckert’s
clinic, Rizal visited his friends, such as the family of Pardo de Taveras, Juan Luna and Felix
Resurreccion, Hidalgo. Rizal spent many happy hours in the studio of Luna. Luna discussed with Rizal
various problems on art and improved his own painting technique. Rizal posed to some painting of
Luna. He was one of the Egyptian priests in Luna’s painting “The Death of Cleopatra”. 

g. Heidelbergh

Rizal left Paris on February 1, 1886, after acquiring enough experience in the clinic of Dr.
Weckert. He was set to go to Germany. He visited Strasbourg and other German towns. On February
3, 1886, he arrived in Heidelberg, a historic city in Germany famous for its old university and
romantic surroundings.  He lived in a boarding house with some German law students. The German
students found out that Rizal was a good chess player and made him a member of the Chess Player’s
Club. After a few days, he was transferred to a boarding house which was near University of
Heidelberg. He worked at the University Eye Hospital under the direction of Dr. Otto Becker and
attended the lectures of Doctor Becker and Prof. Wilhelm Kuehne at the university. At weekends he
visited the scenic spots around Heidelberg which includes the Heidelberg Castle, the romantic
Neckar Rivera, the theater, and the old churches. Rizal noticed that the German Catholics and the
Protestants practiced ecumenism wherein they live together in harmony and cordiality. On April 22,
1886, spring on Heidelberg, he wrote a poem to the beautiful blooming flowers at the Neckar River.
Among those was his favorite flower—the forget-me-not. Rizal then spent three-month summer
vacation at Wilhelmsfeld, a mountainous village close to Heidelberg. He stayed at the vicarage of a
kind Protestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. He was very delighted in his stay at the Ullmers. On July 31,
1886, Rizal wrote his first letter in German to Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt. Rizal heard that
Blumentritt was interested in the Philippine languages. Along with the letter was a book entitled
Aritmetica. Delighted with Rizal, Blumentritt send gift books to Rizal. This marked the beginning of
their long and frequent correspondence. Rizal was fortunate to be sojourning in Heidelberg when
the famous University of Heidelberg held its fifth centenary celebration on August 6 of 1886. It was
three days before his departure and he was sad because he had come to love the land and the
beautiful city. 

h. Leipzig, Germany

On August 9, 1886, three days after the fifth centenary of the University of the Heidelberg,
Rizal left the city. He boarded a train and visited various cities of Germany until arriving in Leipzig on
August 14, 1886. He attended some lectures in the University of Leipzig and befriended Professor
Friedrich Ratzel, a famous German historian, and Dr. Hans Meyer, German anthropologist. Rizal
translated William Tell from German to Filipino so that Filipinos might know the story of that
champion of Swiss independence. He also translated into Filipino Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy
Tales. Cost of living in Leipzig is the cheapest in Europe so he stayed there for two months and a half.
During his stay, he corrected some chapters in his second novel and also had time for exercise. He
also worked as a proof-reader in a publishing firm and earning some money. 

3. What was considered as Rizal's darkest winter?

RIZAL’S DARKEST WINTER

The winter of 1886 in Berlin was his darkest winter. He lived in poverty because no money
arrived from Calamba and he was flat breaking. He could not pay his landlord and he had scrimped,
eating only one meal a day. His clothes were old and threadbare. His health broke down due to lack
of proper nourishment. This is one of the most memorable days in the life of Rizal.