EMPOWERED MOM

Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

(June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896)

When I was in College, I got to know more of Dr. Jose P. Rizal in our history subject, RIZAL. It was a study of the life and struggles of our national hero.  I had a very good teacher. She could talk about Rizal’s life with great fascination and she does not read word per word from the book. She was a story teller, who, like me, has always been interested with Rizal. Obviously, she has read well and researched well about our national hero that she shares every detail, as if Rizal was part of her being— she speaks Rizal, she breathes Rizal.. and I, I fell in love with Rizal. It was as if Rizal was my favorite actor, my favorite singer, may favorite doctor, my favorite artist, my favorite everything..

The stories of his love affairs swept me, and my female classmates off our feet, as if we were Leonora Rivera, Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken, or even O Sei San.. Then of course, there was his works and the process of how they have become instrumental in the course of attaining Philippine Independence. Rizal’s travels made us see the importance of learning new things despite traveling on a budget, and the people that he met, who have all contributed to the success of his journeys.

But then, those were not all that our teacher shared with us. She told of Rizal’s intrigues and affairs, even traced his mom’s and dad’s affairs, as well as his brother’s and some of his sisters’. These kinds of information, you do not get from the books that we were accustomed to. But our teacher shared them all. Negative as some of the stories may have been, still, they do not make me lose faith in our National Hero. In short, such intrigues are but shortcomings that are not at all important.. My heart will forever be Rizal’s, come what may!

FYI: Recently, I read something that is actually negative about Rizal’s mom. Still, it does not make any difference. As a matter of fact, it has added to my admiration for Rizal’s mom.. After all, she has been instrumental in the growth of Rizal, as well as his desire to learn more and become more than what is expected of him—

I salute Miss Charina Domingo, my teacher, for all the wonderful things we learned about JPR. More importantly, I thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Truly, studying about Rizal and his life and works, makes for greater appreciation for our national hero..

And to you, our national hero, Happy 149th Birthday Dr. Jose P. Rizal…