Era de cuarenta años, sólido de hombros, de constitución recia, más bien alto que bajo, rostro serio y reflexivo, frente abombada, ojos oscuros y rasgados: un filipino de pura cepa. Su nombre era Francisco Mercado Rizal.
–Rafael Palma–
(Biografía de Rizal, 1949)
TODAY IN FILIPINO HISTORY: 11 May 1818 — the birth of Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro.
Don Francisco was a “mestizo sañgley” (Chinese mestizo) who was born and reared in Biñán, La Laguna. His great grandfather, Lam-Co, was a Chinese immigrant from Fújiàn in China. His parents were Juan Mercado and Cirila Alejandro. He studied in Colegio de San José, a grammar school in Manila (what is now Intramuros) where he studied Latin and Philosophy (later, in 1875, the school became a part of the Universidad de Santo Tomás).
At the age of 29, he married Teodora Alonso Realonda of Santa Cruz, Manila. They had 11 children: nine girls and two boys, one of whom was Dr. José Rizal, our country’s foremost national hero. In 1849, the family adopted the additional surname Rizal in compliance with the Clavería Decree.
The family resided in Calambá, La Laguna where the Rizal patriarch became a wealthy “inquilino” (tenant) of the Dominican-owned Hacienda de San Juan Bautista. He, together with the aid of his eldest son Paciano, was able to rent almost 380 hectares, one of the largest leased lands of the hacienda. In order to gain more profit, Don Francisco partitioned the lands and leased them out to lesser tenants. This enabled the family to live a prosperous and comfortable life, thus giving the Rizal children more time and focus toward education.
EL FILIPINISMO 