This year, 2018, marked the 122nd death anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal. The very first Rizal day was commemorated back in 1898, two years after he was executed in Bagumbayan, Philippines.
We all know already Rizal as the patriot who loved his country until his final moment. This time around, let us try and know him as the man who experienced love in his lifetime.
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| Dr. Jose Rizal from KAMI.com.ph |
Here are some of Rizal's many lovers over the years.
1. Segunda Katigbak
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| Segunda Katigbak from ironexplores.com |
Rizal knew Segunda Katigbak through her brother, Mariano Katigbak, who was Rizal's friend and classmate. Rizal was very much like all adolescent boys when he met her. Because Segunda was studying in the same school as her sister, Rizal would go to La Concordia College not only to visit her sister but also to have the chance to see Segunda. He lost hopes on pursuing her when he knew that Segunda was arranged to marry Manuel Luz.
2. Leonor Valenzuela
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| Leonor Valenzuela from spot.ph |
Rizal used his excellence in writing to get his way with Leonor Valenzuela. He wrote letters to her using invisible ink. The invisible ink would only be seen when touched with light. According to historians, this trick of Rizal made Leonor fall for him. Although, the most probable reason for Rizal to use this trick was that he was also fond of another girl that time who was also named Leonor, coincidentally.
3. Leonor Rivera
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| Leonor Rivera from en.wikipedia.org |
Leonor Rivera was a distant relative of Rizal. They were also childhood friends. You know what happens with childhood friends. As they grow and mature, they notice changes and soon after, they become childhood sweethearts. Leonor learned about Rizal's nationalistic aspirations and she was not happy about Rizal leaving the country. Eventually, Leonor was arranged to marry Henry Charles Kipping. Rizal was hurt upon learning about her marriage.
4. Nellie Boustead
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| Nellie Bousted from ourhappyschool.com |
Rizal met Nellie Boustead on one of his European trips. He stayed with her family and even hanged out with Antonio Luna, who was pursuing Nellie at the time. Little did Antonio knew that Nellie was developing feelings for Rizal. Antonio burst out on a gathering under the influence of alcohol, raging into sarcastic remarks about Rizal and Nellie. According to historians, a duel was about to begin between Rizal and Antonio. Luckily, they were intercepted and apologies were made. This has got to be one of the biggest "what ifs" in our history, but they say that there are no "what ifs" in history.
5. Josephine Bracken
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| Josephine Bracken from en.wikipedia.org |
Josephine Bracken is Mrs. Jose Rizal. They met when Josephine and his father reach out to Rizal while he was exiled in Dapitan to treat the ailing eyes of her father. Soon after, they fell for each other and settled in Dapitan.
Jose Rizal was indeed adored by many, there were also Suzanne Jacoby, and O-Sei-San, to name a few more, and maybe that was because of his personality. He was a very clever man. Because he was a frequent traveler, he had to have the personality of a man willing to adjust and adapt to any culture and nation.
He was clever enough to successfully interact with different people and actually leave a mark on their lives.
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