DR. JOSE PROTACIO MERCADO RIZAL ALONZO Y REALONDA

MEANINGS OF NAME

· Doctor- completed his medical course in Spain and was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid
· Jose- was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph)
· Protacio- from Gervacio P. which come from a Christian calendar
· Mercado- adopted in 1731 by Domigo Lamco (the paternal great-greatgrandfather of Jose Rizal) which the Spanish term mercado means ‘market’ in English
· Rizal- from the word ‘Ricial’ in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again
· Alonzo- old surname of his mother
· Y- and
· Realonda- it was used by Doña Teodora from the surname of her godmother based on the culture by that time

· June 19, 1861- moonlit of Wednesday between eleven and midnight Jose Rizal was born in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna
· June 22, 1861- aged three days old, Rizal was baptized in the Catholic church
· Father Rufino Collantes- a Batangueño, the parish priest who baptized Rizal
· Father Pedro Casanas- Rizal’s godfather, native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family
· Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery- the governor general of the Philippines when Rizal was born