Consuelo Ortiga y Rey: Why Jose Rizal suddenly gave up his affection for her
© by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Editor’s note: This is the sequel to the author’s well-read article, “Consuelo Ortiga y Rey: The “Crush ng Bayan” in Rizal’s Time”
Eduardo de Lete, Jose Rizal’s friend who was also in Spain, was actually one of the reasons Rizal gave up his affection for Consuelo Ortiga y Rey.
Lete seriously liked Ms. Ortiga and Rizal did not wish to ruin their friendship over a lady. It was said that even Maximino and Antonio Paterno, Rizal’s other good friends in Spain, regularly visited the lady. (Thus, we can submit that Consuelo was the “crush ng bayan” among Filipinos in Madrid in Rizal’s time).
It can be remembered that Eduardo de Lete (the ‘karibal’ of Rizal) was one of the Filipinos who promised Rizal of helping in the writing of a nationalistic novel, but ended up contributing nothing—for they, according to Rizal, were more interested to write on women and would rather spend their time gambling or flirting with Spanish women.
It was not clear if Lete and Consuelo ‘became an item’ but this Lete—whom Rizal considered in suppressing his feelings for Consuelo—later attacked the hero through an article in ‘La Solidaridad’ on April 15, 1892, depicting Rizal as coward, egoistic, opportunistic, and someone who had abandoned the country’s cause. Officially therefore, this Lete had hurt the hero’s feeling not just once but at least twice.
Rizal’s admiration for Consuelo was immortalized by the poem he wrote, ‘A La Señorita C.O. y R’. This poem which is now subjectively regarded as one of Rizal’s best was written either as a reaction to Consuelo’s request or out of Rizal’s pure volition as an admirer. Ultimately though, Rizal really had to give up his feeling for Consuelo for he was then still engaged to Leonor Rivera. (© 2013 by Jensen DG. Mañebog)
Read the prequel: “Consuelo Ortiga y Rey: The “Crush ng Bayan” in Rizal’s Time”
Jensen DG. Mañebog, the contributor, is a book author and professorial lecturer emeritus in the graduate school of a state university in Metro Manila. His unique e-books on Rizal (available online) comprehensively tackle, among others, the respective life of Rizal’s girlfriends, parents, siblings, and co-heroes. (e-mail: [email protected])
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