The Filipino View of Rizal

 Issues Confronting Rizal:

 Rizal fathered Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler:
 He was not in Germany on April 28,1889
 when Hitler was born. Stayed in Austria until
 1887
 He fathered a son by an Austrian chambermaid
 Just left a watch in Hotel Krebs in Leimeritz
 Rizal was the father of Mao Zedong
 Mao was born 1893 in Hunan.
 Rizal stayed in Hongkong and Macau up
 to 1892
Filipino View of Rizal
 Rizal was a womanizer:
 His known relationships were :
 Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Rivera, Leonor
Valenzuela, Vicenta Ybardaloza, Consuelo
Ortiga, Nelly Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, Usui
Seiko, Gertrude Beckett & Josephine Bracken
 He avoided liaisions with women and only
 remained friends to
 them
Filipino View of Rizal
 Was Rizal deserving to be a national hero ?
 There are other national heroes like:
 Emilio Aguinaldo –
 Led the Philippines to independence but later
 pledged allegiance to the Americans
 He was part of the apparatus seeking
collaboration with the Japanese
 According to Mabini in his “ La Revoluccion
Filipino, Aguinaldo would have been the country’s
 greatest hero if he met a glorious death
 in a battle
Filipino View of Rizal
 Andres Bonifacio:
 He never won a single battle
 He sided with one faction of the revolutionary
movement
 Each hero has his ow unique contribution to
our country
Filipino View of Rizal
 Was Rizal an American made Hero?
 He never favored a revolution but a quiet evolutionary
process called education which some writers believe
suited the Americans
 Historian Esteban de Ocampo attributed the choosing
of Rizal over all other heroes in the statement made
by Governor William Taft
 Rizal was considered the greatest national hero:
 General Emilio Aguinaldo declared
 December 30,1898 as “ a Day of
 Mourning for Rizal & other victims of the
 Philippine Revolution
Filipino view of Rizal

 A simple monument erected in Daet,

Camarines Norte : dedicated to Rizal:
December 30, 1898
 It bears the words: “ A Jose Rizal “, “ Noli me
Tangere “ , El Filibusterismo “
 Luneta , Manila : Rizal monument
 constructed in 1911
 Hundreds of Rizal monuments constructed
throughout the Philippines
 One peso coin bearing Rizal’s face
Filipino View of Rizal
 Rizal was considered the Filipino “ Hamlet “
 He sometimes favored revolution, sometimes
to reforms
 He predicted a revolution but feared its
coming
 He advocated first the inculcation of moral
values among Filipinos
Filipino View of Rizal
 Rizal was elevated to the supernatural:
 Religious cults considered him as the Tagalog
Christ
 A Filipino Protestant church has his statue in
the place of worship
 The Santa Iglesia of Luzon believed in Rizal
as Christ
Foreign View of Rizal
 Foreign view of Rizal:
 Indonesia and Malaysia – a few people named
after Rizal
 Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim
called Rizal a renaissance man “
 Rizal monument erected in Xiamen, China
 Suehiro Techo translated Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere”
 Representative Henry Allen Cooper quoted Rizals’
“ Mi Ultimo Adios “ to disprove the belief that
Filipinos are not barbarians or savages
Foreign View of Rizal
 Berlin : a street named after Rizal: Jose Rizal
Strabe
 Spain built a replica of Rizal monument in Madrid
and considered his execution as a mistake
 Romania: Rizal was compared to its national poet:
Mihai Eminescu
 Latin America : Rizal seen as the equal of great
men such as Cuba’s National Hero, Jose Marti
and Chile’s Bernardo O’higins
 Active members of the Knights of Rizal are
Europeans