Jose Rizal’s Parents: How Don Francisco Mercado and Doña Teodora Alonso made him a hero
When we talk about Jose Rizal, we also think of ‘Jose Rizal parents’, the couple responsible for making him what he was. How much do you know about the father and mother of Jose Rizal? Let’s find out.
‘Jose Rizal Parents’: His father, Don Francisco Mercado
Jose Rizal’s father is Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado.
He was a productive farmer from Binan, Laguna. He is commonly described as an independent-minded, taciturn but dynamic gentleman from whom Jose inherited his ‘free soul.’
Don Francisco became ‘tiniente gobernadorcillo’ (lieutenant governor) in Calamba and was thus nicknamed ‘Tiniente Kiko’. (Some students’ comical conjecture that the fictional character ‘Kikong Matsing’ of ‘Batibot’ was named after Don Francisco is, of course, unfounded.)
Francisco’s great grandfather is Domingo Lam-co, a learned pro-poor or ‘maka-masa’ Chinese immigrant businessman who married a sophisticated Chinese mestiza of Manila named Ines de la Rosa.
One of their two children, Francisco (also), resided in Biñan and married Bernarda Monicha. Francisco and Bernarda’s son, Juan Mercado, became the ‘gobernadorcillo’ (town mayor) of Biñan, Laguna. He married Cirila Alejandra and they had 12 children, the youngest being Jose Rizal’s father, Francisco.
Don Francisco was born on May 11, 1818 in Biñan, Laguna. When Fracisco was eight years old, he lost his father. He was nonetheless educated as he took Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila, where he met and fell in love with Teodora Alonso, a student in the College of Santa Rosa.
Read: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Married on June 28, 1848, they settled down in Calamba where they were granted lease of a rice farm in the Dominican-owned haciendas. (For an article that focuses on Francisco Mercado’s life and deep relation with his son Jose, read: Francisco Mercado Rizal: Jose Rizal’s Father
Don Francisco’s influence to Rizal and the hero’s love for his father, read: Jose Rizal’s Love for Francisco Mercado Rizal, His Father
‘Jose Rizal Parents’: His mother, Doña Teodora Alonso
Jose Rizal’s mother is Teodora Alonzo (also spelled ‘Alonso’).
She was an educated and highly cultured woman from Sta. Cruz, Manila. Common biographies state that Doña Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda, also known as ‘Lolay,’ was born on November 8, 1826 in Santa Cruz, Manila and baptized in the Santa Cruz Church.
Strangely however, the volume in the church books that supposedly contains Teodora’s baptismal records is the only one missing in the otherwise complete records down to the eighteenth century (Ocampo, 2012, p. 39).
Asuncion Rizal-Lopez Bantug, the granddaughter of Jose’s sister Narcisa, contrarily claims that Lola Lolay and her all siblings were born in Calamba, but (just) lived in Manila (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 18).
Read: The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Doña Lolay was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, an esteemed school for girls in Manila. She was usually described as a diligent business-minded woman, very graceful but courageous, well-mannered, religious, and well-read. Very dignified, she disliked gossip and vulgar conversation.
Possessing refined culture and literary talents, she influenced her children to love the arts, literature, and music. Herself an educated woman, Lolay sent her children to colleges in Manila.
To help in the economy of the family, she ran sugar and flourmills and a small store in their house, selling home-made ham, sausages, jams, jellies, and others. (Looking back, her business, in a way, predated the meat processing commerce of the Pampangueños today and the ube jam production of some nuns in Baguio.)
It is believed that Doña Teodora’s family descended from Lakandula, the last native king of Tondo. (For young Filipino generations, Lakandula has to be distinguished from the unofficial ‘Hari ng Tondo’, Asiong Salonga, the Manila kingpin who was immortalized in the movie incidentally by Laguna’s former governor E. R. Ejercito.)
Lolay’s great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese descent) who married a Filipina named Benigna. Regina, their daughter, married a Filipino-Chinese lawyer of Pangasinan, Manuel de Quintos.
Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a well-off Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Biñan, took as his ‘significant other’ Brigida Quintos, daughter of Manuel and Regina Quintos. The Lorenzo-Brigida union produced five children, the second of them was Jose Rizal’s mother, Teodora Alonso Quintos.
Through the Claveria decree of 1849 which changed the Filipino native surnames, the Alonsos adopted the surname Realonda. Rizal’s mother thus became Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda. (For a lecture that concentrates on Teodora Alonso’s life and her love for Jose, read: Teodora Alonzo: Jose Rizal’s Mother)
For discussions on Jose Rizal’s great love for her, read: Jose Rizal’s Love for Teodora Alonzo, His Mother. For Teodora’s influence and deep concern for Jose, read: The Story of the Moth, Jose Rizal, and his Mother
These are some of the interesting information about ‘Jose Rizal parents.’ For comprehensive home page of interesting and informative lectures/articles about Jose Rizal, check out: Jose Rizal: Basic Facts and FAQs about the Filipino Hero. And for the various controversies related to Jose Rizal’s family, I invite you to read: The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family.
If you want to know more about Rizal (e.g. Rizal girlfriends), search here:
Copyright © 2014-present by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Jensen DG. Mañebog, the contributor, is an author of textbooks 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 parents, siblings, co-heroes, and girlfriends. (e-mail: [email protected])
Read Also:
The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Questions for Discussion:
What are the basic facts about Rizal? Who is Jose Rizal (summary)?