Early Life

Question 1

What is Rizal’s Full Name?

Answer 1

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

Question 2

Rizal was born at

Answer 2

the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna.

Question 2

Rizal was born on

Answer 2

June 19, 1861

Question 3

His birth occured at what time

Answer 3

eleven and twelve o’clock at night (just a few days before the full moon).

Question 3

Rizal’s mother struggled with giving birth due to?

Answer 3

the size of his head

Question 4

Father Rufino Collantes believed that someday the child Rizal would become a great man because?

Answer 4

he associated his large head with intelligence

Question 4

Rizal was baptized by

Answer 4

the parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes

Question 5

the name “Protacio” was inspired by

Answer 5

Saint Gervacio Protacio (whose feast is celebrated every June 19th)

Question 5

The surname Mercado comes from?

Answer 5

Rizal’s Chinese ancestor, Domingo Lam-co.

Question 6

His name Jose comes from

Answer 6

Saint Joseph or San Jose (to which his mother was a devout follower)

Question 7

What is Domingo Lamco’s relation with Rizal?

Answer 7

he is the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Question 8

Why did Lam-co changed his family’s surname to Mercado (“market”) in 1731?

Answer 8

In order to avoid Anti-Chinese sentiment from the Spanish authorities

Question 8

Lamco married a christian girl named?

Answer 8

Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa

Question 9

who arrived in Manila about 1690 and became a Christian

Answer 9

Domingo Lamco

Question 10

Domingo Lamco is a

Answer 10

a chinese immigrant from the Fukien city of Changchow

Question 11

The surname Rizal is the surname adapted by the Mercados during the 1840s because of what degree

Answer 11

Claveria Decree

Question 12

What date did Governor-General Narciso Claveria mandated that Filipinos adopt surnames to facilitate census work and tax collection. Since there was no system for surnames.

Answer 12

On Nov. 29, 1849

Question 13

Each province was given a list from which each family could choose a new surname. All of which came from this book:

Answer 13

Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos or Alphabetical Catalogue of Surnames in English.

Question 14

The Mercados of Calamba chose the unlisted name _____

Answer 14

Rizal

Question 15

The family’s original choice was ______, which means “the green of young growth” or “green fields”, reflecting their livelihood.

Answer 15

Ricial

Question 16

Instead Don Francisco thus settled on the combination name ‘______’ as a compromise in order to not cause confusion in the commercial affairs of the family

Answer 16

Rizal Mercado

Question 17

The surname Alonso comes from?

Answer 17

Rizal’s mother’s old family name

Question 17

The “_” in Spanish names indicates the conjunction “and” and separates the patriarch’s and matriarch’s surnames.

Answer 17

y

Question 18

The surname Realonda was the adapted surname of the _______ of Binan due to the Claveria Decree.

Answer 18

Alonsos (Just like the Mercados, they continued to use the surname Alonso)

Question 19

Rizal’s Nickname

Answer 19

Pepe (According to the book In Excelsis, writer Felice Prudente Santa Maria explains that Rizal got the nickname “Pepe” because the letters “P.P.” were always used after the name of Saint Joseph)

Question 20

In Latin, “P.P.” stands for “pater putativus.” which means

(Note: In Spanish, the letter “P” is pronounced as “peh,” which led people to start calling Saint Joseph “Pepe” instead of “Jose.”)

Answer 20

“putative father.”