Doña Teodora Alonzo (Jose Rizal’s mother)
When I was ordained priest on December 2007, many people would ask “Kanino kaya s’yang anak?” (Whose son might he be?). On my primera misa cantada (first sung mass), I met many distant relatives whom I never knew before. They say that many generations ago, the paternal side of my family, migrated from Guagua, Pampanga to Bulacan, my home province. Furthermore, they say that I am the only priest and religious from both sides of the family. And from then on, many have begun to trace my roots.That’s why, I am not surprised to know that until now, the roots of our national hero, Jose Rizal, matter for many Filipinos especially historians. It must’ve been an honor if one can trace his roots and find out that Rizal is a distant relative! But would it be a disgrace to know that his family is not that perfect?
Don Jose Alberto (Jose Rizal's uncle?)
JOSE RIZAL'S ROOT
Jose Rizal himself described his maternal grandfather, Don Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, in a letter to his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt. He said that he was a deputy for the Philippines in the [Spanish] Cortes (Court), and that he was educated in Europe and spoke German, English, Spanish and French. He was honored as a Knight of the Order of Isabel la Catolica. And he generously aided the Dominican mission in Indo-China.
According to researches, he was married to a 12 y/o girl from Vigan named Paula Florentino but they never had a child. Ten years after, Brigida Querubin came into picture in Lorenzo's life. He was not married to Brigida making all her children with Lorenzo illegitimate.
Lorenzo and Brigida had 5 children, namely: Narcisa, Gregorio, Teodora (Jose Rizal's mother), Manuel and the youngest, Jose, to whom Jose Rizal was named after and whose blood relation to the other siblings is in question.
The Rizals of Calamba are related to the Albertos of Biñan. Biographers agree that there is a blood relationship between the two families. However, they disagree on the exact nature of the relationship. Jose Alberto was argued to either be a brother or a half-brother of Teodora Alonso.
1950's aerial view of Biñan(Photo c/o Antero Santos)
THE HOUSE IN BIÑAN
The wealthy maternal grandparents of Jose Rizal, Lorenzo and Brigida, had a mansion in Biñan. The two-storey ancestral home was built in the 1800's with a floor area of approximately 600 square meters.
As a pre-novice in Calamba City in 1999, I have been to Biñan for countless times. I might have passed by the “Alberto Ancestral House” without even knowing its importance in history. The photo above shows Biñan in the 1950's. The Alberto House with the enclosed courtyard can be seen in the lower right, in front of the plaza (town square), at the very heart of thepoblacion (town center).
The children of Lorenzo and Brigida grew up in this bahay na bato (stone house) which the descendants of Jose Alberto refuted.They say that Teodora Alonso did not stay in that house since Jose Alberto was just his half-brother. They did so in order to justify that the house has no connection with Jose Rizal.
When Jose Rizal studied in Biñan at age 9, he did not even stay in this bahay na batobut in his aunt's. This shows that there might had been a tension with the family of Rizal and his uncle Jose Alberto
