A Hero's Execution

Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, or just Jose Rizal, he stands for a lot of things for a lot of people.. He is a:

Land Surveyor and Assesor - as he came from family of wealthy landowners, Jose Rizal decided to study for a degree in Land Surveying and Assessment at the Ateneo de Municipal de Manila where he graduated on March 14, 1877, with honors or sobresaliente.

A Physician - In 1878, he enrolled in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at University of Santo Tomas to become an Ophthalmologist so he can treat his mother's impending blindness. Citing discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors in Medicine, Rizal left the medical program in 1882.
He then went to Spain to finish his degree in Medicine at the Universidad Centrale de Madrid where he graduated in 1884. In his pursuit to further increase his knowledge in his chosen field of specialization - ophthalmology - he studied at the University of Heidelberg under the distinguished eye specialist, Professor Otto Becker.

A Poet, Essayist and Novelist - Two of his most famous books are "Noli Me Tangere" (Touch Me Not) and "El Filibusterismo" (The Reign of Greed), the novels that opened up the eyes of the Filipino men to claim our righteous freedom from the Spaniards.

A Philosophist and Propagandist

and The Lover

But most of all, he is Our National Hero.. He used all his brilliance, all his talents, both as a polymath and a polyglot (conversant in twenty-two languages) to open the minds and hearts of Filipinoes into claiming our rightful freedom from oppression from the Spaniards, who thought of him as a traitor to their cause and had him executed.. This was the main site of his execution where this memorial stood to remind all generations of his legacy - OUR FREEDOM.

P.S.
His story to come on my next Blip of his main monument..

Trying to catch up on everyone else's journal is indeed difficult especially when one is on holiday and wi-fi is not always that accesible.. we're here at my dad's home province to visit his grave as it is his birthday tomorrow.. It was quite busy today with another plane ride and the welcome by relatives here, and the giving away of presents from UK.. So will catch up with you guys once all the hoohaa has calmed down a bit..

Hugs and Kisses to everyone!