Chapter 2Childhood Years in Calamba

Reporter :Borjal, Carla J.BSA-IV

• Calamba was an hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it. It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated ricefields and sugar-lands.

Calamba, the Hero’s Town

Mount Makiling

• An inland lake of songs and emerald waters beneath the canopy of azure skies.

Laguna de Bay

Island of Talim

•Famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

Antipolo

Memories of My TownSweet and caressing did blowWith coolness full of delight;

When I look at the lily whiteFills up with air violentAnd the stormy elementOn the sand doth meekly sleep;When sweet 'toxicating scentFrom the flowers I inhaleWhich at the dawn they exhaleWhen at us it begins to peep;

I sadly recall your face,Oh precious infancy,That a mother lovinglyDid succeed to embellish.I remember a simple town;My cradle, joy and boon,Beside the cool lagoonThe seat of all my wish.

• Oh, yes! With uncertain paceI trod your forest lands,And on your river banksA pleasant fun I found;At your rustic temple I prayedWith a little boy's simple faithAnd your aura's flawless breathFilled my heart with joy profound.Saw I God in the grandeurOf your woods which for centuries stand;Never did I understandIn your bosom what sorrows were;While I gazed on your azure skyNeither love nor tendernessFailed me, 'cause my happinessIn the heart of nature rests there.

• Tender childhood, beautiful town,Rich fountain of happiness,Of harmonious melodies,That drive away my sorrow!Return thee to my heart,Bring back my gentle hoursAs do the birds when the flow'rsWould again begin to blow!But, alas, adieu! E'er watchFor your peace, joy and repose,Genius of good who kindly disposeOf his blessings with amour;It's for thee my fervent pray'rs,It's for thee my constant desireKnowledge ever to acquireAnd may God keep your candour!

• The first memory of Rizal was his happy days in the family garden when he was 3 years old.

• Second childhood memory of Rizal was the daily Angelus Prayer.

• Third childhood memory was the nocturnal walk in the town, when there was a moon.

Earliest Childhood Memories

Devoted Son of the Church • At the age of three, he began to take part in the family

prayers.

• When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible.

The Hero’s First SorrowIn 1865, Concha (Concepcion) died of sickness at the age of three.

•He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious processions.

•He was so seriously devout that he was launghingly called Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.

•The scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest that he used to visit and listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life.

On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was born.

After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. They visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La Concordia College in Santa Ana.

Pilgrimage to Antipolo

The Story of the Moth

• “The Story of the Moth” about the mother moth warning its offspring of the danger of fluttering to close to flame. The little moth did not heed the advice, thus it was burned by the flame. Gave him the moral lesson that if one must succeed, he must take risks and prepare for the worst consequences. Without courage, there will be no glory.

•Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talent for art.

•At the age of five, he began to make sketches with his pencil and to mould in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy.

ARTISTIC TALENT“Alright laugh at me now!

Someday when I die people will make monuments &

images of me!”

Since early boyhood he had scribbled verses on loose sheets of paper and on the textbooks of his sisters.At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children)

First Poem by Rizal

First Drama by Rizal

• Rizal, who was eight years old, wrote his first dramatic work which was in Tagalog comedy. It is said that it was staged in a Calamba festival and was delightfully applauded by the audience.

Rizal as Boy Magician

•Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in magic. He learned various tricks such as making a coin appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.

•He entertained his town folks with magic-lantern exhibitions.

• He also gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppet show).

• In later years when he attained manhood, he continued his keen predilection for magic. He read many books on magic and attended the performances of the famous magicians of the world.

1. Heredity Influence: Malayan ancestors- love for freedom, innate desire to travel and indomitable courage.Chinese ancestors- serious nature, frugality, patience and love for children.Spanish ancestors- elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult and gallanty to ladies.

Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood

Father- Profound sense of respect, the love for work and the habit of independent thinking.Mother- religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice and the passion for arts and literature.

2. Environmental Influences:The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family- inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal.

The religious atmosphere at his home- religious nature.Brother, Paciano- love for freedom and justice.Sisters- courteous and kind to women.Aya (Nurse Maid)- interest in folklore and legends.Tito Jose Alberto- artistic ability.Tito Manuel- frail walking and wrestling.Tito Gregorio- voracious reading of good books.

Father Leoncio Lopez- love for scholarship and intellectual honesty.Sorrows in his family- character, enabling him to resist blows of adversity in late years.

3. Aid of Divine Providence:God- versatile gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of nationalism and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a noble cause.

Reporter :Borjal, Carla J.BSA-IV