A Glimpse of Jose Rizal's Favorites

All favorites of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Things we should know about the favorites of our national hero and other trivia.

 For busy people who always tend to forget the significance of 30th day of December due to New Year's rush..I guess it's time to take a look back to commemorate the life and works of  Dr. Jose  Rizal, one of the Philippines' national hero. It is celebrated every December 30, (the day of Rizal's execution at Bagumbayan), now known as Rizal Park, in 1896.

Since it's our national holiday, this will be more delightfully appropriate for a celebration.So we feature a list of Rizal's favorites.  Just like us, his favorites would make us understand how he was like as an ordinary person. Given the fact that his writings were very much instrumental in our Philippine history but also reveal those list of his favorites. So let us try to take a look back as we quickly glimpse the history and his favorites.

And here are Rizal's list of favorites:

Rizal's favorite dishes:

Ginisang Mungo at Tinapa Photo courtesy of Century Park Hotel

• Is Dr. Jose Rizal a  real doctor? No! because he did not pass the thesis that's why he is not a doctor.

-Dr. Rizal was adventurous with food, enjoying simple local fare as well as the sophisticated European cuisines. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila.

• While in Dapitan, he discovered a new species of beetle, frog and lizard which were named after him.Rhacophorus rizali is an arboreal frog , Draco rizali is a gliding agamid lizard and arboreal insectivore found in Zamboanga and the Sulu Archipelago.

Moules a la Mariniere, or mussels cooked in white wine, is reminiscent of the dishes that Dr. Rizal enjoyed when he lived in France to work as an ophthalmologist and to hone his skills in music. Photo courtesy of Century Park Hotel.

• Jose liked to listen stories told by his nurse on moonlit nights such as the "formidable aswang, frightful nuno, or parce-nobis, as she used to call an imaginary being."

Rizal's favorite food for breakfast:

- Sardinas Secas known as Tuyo

Sardinas secas or tuyo

Suman at Tsokolate Photo courtesy of Sugarboi.de.leon for Pinoy Etchetera

• Jose composed poetry and songs about freedom , happiness and beauty in nature such as "The Flowers of Heidelberg," "Mi Retiro" and "Himno a Talisay"

Rizal's favorite sports:

- Fencing

•  He loved to write folk tales about talking animals like the illustrated parable "Monkey and the Turtle." It's a story that teaches us the value of hard work , honesty and true friendship.

Rizal's first favorite novel/book:

-Count of Monte Cristo

A book about Edmond Dantès, a handsome, promising young sailor, skillfully docks the three-masted French ship, the Pharaon, in Marseilles after its captain died en route home.

• Jose created sculptures out of terracotta clay -- the young women in Oyang Dapitana; a fierce and frightening Wild Boar, and his pet dog Syria attacking an alligator in Mother's Revenge.

Rizal's favorite fruit/dessert

- Fresh Tropical Mango

One of the crave desserts of Rizal who he repeatedly requested in his letters to his family while he was in exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte from 1892 to 1896.

• Jose's first teacher was his mother, Teodora Alonzo. She taught him how to say his prayers, the alphabet and to read and write. She would often tell him fables such as "The Moth and the Lamp."

Rizal's favorite flower:

Santan flower

• Jose used natural dyes from plants for his paints. He would crush plants to get their color: green from sili; yellow from ginger; maroon from achuete seeds; violet from duhat; and black from soot.

Forget Me Not flower

• Is Dr. Jose Rizal a Mathematician? Yes! he is a polymath person.

Rizal's favorite song

Santa Lucia

Here's a video of the song Santa Lucia grabbed from youtube user Hisham Qaddomi. Check the video below:

Favorite Park in Spain
Parque del Buen Retiro

Rizal was inspired to name his place of exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga as " Mi Retiro" image courtesy of google.com


Favorite color
Green

image credit

Favorite Teacher in Ateneo
Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez 1849- 1928

Known as Rizal's Batman. The Spanish Jesuit priest was Rizal's favorite teacher in Ateneo (in Literature) It was under him that Rizal learned the Greek and Latin classics.Also who pushed Rizal to cultivate literary skills and poetry. image credit


Favorite Pet
Dog (Aspin)

As a child he had a pet dog named "Usman" according to the historian Zaide. In Rizal's Calamba. Laguna ancestral home there is a statue of a young Rizal with a dog that the statue says is named " Verguenza" image credit

• What is the complete name of Rizal?  Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

I hope you learned something new from this blog. For comments and suggestions please drop your message on a comment box below. Thanks for reading!