A Birthday Tribute to the Philippines National Hero

DR. JOSE RIZAL

                                   June 19, 1861 - December 30, 1896

“One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.”
~Dr. Jose P. Rizal (Letter to Mariano Ponce – 1890)

Gat Jose Rizal is the Filipino for all seasons - a “Universal Genius”, “the Pride of the Malay Race”, “the Gift of God to the Oppressed Malays”, a “Towering Intellect”, a doctor of medicine, a man of letters, a linguist, an agronomist, and a man of the world. His works Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo loaded with so much symbolism depicted the hapless situation in the country awaken the people’s consciousness, contributed to him being declared as the national hero by the Philippine government in the early 20th century. We think of him in both literary terms, symbolic/political and for most in terms of history.

The passage of Rizal Law by Congress through the efforts of Senators Jose P. Laurel and Claro M. Recto and its enactment by President Ramon Magsaysay in 1956, requiring that the NOLI and the FILI should be taught in schools in their unexpurgated texts and every student take the course on Rizal or Philippine Institution as was termed in UP, the most vocal and dynamic supporter of this law, brought about a decade of nationalism – Issues at stake were the American military bases, the Parity Amendment and the Laurel-Langley Agreement.

The reading of Rizal's novels and his writings raised a generation of nationalist students.  Mid-60’s up to the early 70’s. Remember demonstrations against US imperialism?  Vietnam War? Dictated economic policies from the US AID and IMF/WB?  Marcos diktador! Tuta!? (An excuse to declare Martial Law)

And yet many professors far removed from the city, taught this course more on the journalistic and literary side than that of political philosophy and symbolism. Students then (and now) were hardly enthusiastic; read and pass the course – not in any way challenged by reading Dr. Jose Rizal’s work. Teachers often teach Noli Me Tangere more on the romantic side of the novel – Crisostomo Ybarra’s handsome description and Maria Clara’s – beauty and traits (mahinhin at mayumi – has become the symbol of a true Filipina) especially the Idilio en la Azotea or Suyuan sa Balcon when Crisostomo Ybarra professed in a very romantic rendition his love for Maria Clara. Students never had the opportunity of learning the two novels the way Dr. Rizal intended them to be understood. 

This non-violent martyr who loved his country in many ways continues to inspire us today. As a patriot and as a lover although he never married. He must have broken many hearts, and we know he had his share of heartbreaks too, on several occasions.

Jose Rizal who inspired the Philippine Revolution which ended Spanish rule in the Philippines, accused of treason, adjudged guilty was shot by musketry in what is now called the Luneta in Manila  in the morning of December 30, 1896 at the age of  35.

However, in this web-based era, for the young generation, Jose Rizal is a strikingly iconic figure in our history. (Especially with Cesar Montano's portrayal.) He is revered but like all other heroes …had become extraneous relic.

OFWS aptly termed by the late President Corazon Aquino as the ‘modern heroes’ with its inherent ‘martyrdom’, is seeded number one – suits the bill like a glove – hard-currency earner – the framework of the Philippine economy.

What better tribute to our national hero than to present to the present generation the heart-rending poem “Mi Ultimo Adios” he wrote in the evening before his execution.  Some of the stanzas are reproduced here. 

Mi Ultimo Adiós

                                                      By José Rizal

My Last Farewell

                                        Translated by Charles Derbyshire

Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido edén,
A darte voy, alegre, la triste, mustia vida;
Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,
También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

(Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'd

Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,
Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest
Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost. )

Yo muero, cuando veo que el cielo se colora
Y al fin anuncia el día, tras lóbrego capuz;
Si grana necesitas, para teñir tu aurora,
i Vierte la sangre mia, derrámala en buen hora,
Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz!

(I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;
And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake
To dye with its crimson the waking ray.)

Adiós, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,
Amigos de la infancia, en el perdido hogar;
Dad gracias, que descanso del fatigoso día;
Ad íos, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegría;
Adios, queridos seres.

Morir es descansar.

(Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,
Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed!
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day!
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!)

Acknowledgement

Grateful to: Cesar Torres for the poem and Eddie Calderon for Idilio en la Azotea