JOSE RIZAL-Date of birth: June 19, 1861

Place of birth: Calamba, Laguna, Philippines

Date of death: December 30, 1896 (aged 35)

Place of death: Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park), Manila, Philippines

Major organizations: Propagandistas, La Liga Filipina

Major monuments: Rizal Park, Manila

Alma mater: Ateneo Municipal de Manila, University of Santo Tomas, Universidad

Central de Madrid, University of Paris, Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda[1] (June 19, 1861 – December 30,
1896, Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent
advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered
the Philippines' national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a
Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a
martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

The seventh of eleven children born to a wealthy family in the town of Calamba, Laguna,
Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled
in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then
traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad
Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He attended the
University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal
was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages.[2][3][4][5] He was a prolific poet,
essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two
novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo.[6] These are social commentaries on the
Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful
reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish
colonial authorities.

As a political figure, Jose Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization
that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan[7] led by Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio
Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by
violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his
martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.

Moments before his execution by a firing squad of native infantry of the Spanish Army,
backed by an insurance force of Spanish troops, the Spanish surgeon general requested to
take his pulse; it was normal. Aware of this, the Spanish sergeant in charge of the backup
force hushed his men to silence when they began raising '¡vivas!' with the partisan crowd.
His last words were those of Jesus Christ: "consummatum est",--it is finished.[3][28][29]
He was secretly buried in Pacò Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave.
His sister Narcisa toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the
cemetery with guards posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot,
there never having any ground burials, she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site
"RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.

RIZAL PARK

Rizal Park is situated in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines. It is at the northern
end of Roxas Boulevard, overlooking Manila Bay.

Rizal Park's history began in the early 1700s during the Spanish rule. While Manila's
social and business activities were confined within Intramuros, a small area just south of
the walls was cleared to prevent sneak attacks from the patriotic natives. The area was
shaped like a small moon (lunette) and thus was named Luneta. The Park was also called
Bagumbayan (English: New Town) in Spanish colonial era, and later known as Luneta.

Luneta has been the site of some of the most significant moments in Philippine history .
Among them are the execution of José Rizal on December 30, 1896, whose execution
made him a hero of the Philippine Revolution. (It was officially renamed Rizal Park in
his memory.); the Declaration of Philippine Independence from American rule on June
12, 1946; and the political rallies of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in 1986.

The 0km marker across the monument also serves as the point of origin or Kilometre
Zero to all other cities in the Philippines.

The site is continuously guarded by ceremonial soldiers, known as Kabalyeros de Rizal

(Knights of Rizal). His poem, now popularly known as "Mi Ultimo Adios" ("My Last
Farewell") is inscribed on the memorial plaque.

The name "Luneta" is synonymous to the word lunette; the park was said to have the
shape of a half moon in Spanish times and situated next to a Spanish fort serving as a
buffer during rebellions by the locals.

• Monumentalizing Rizal (text by Robert Paulino)

The Rizal Monument in Luneta was designed by a Swiss sculptor named Richard
Kissling. Furthermore, Kissling was only the second placer in the international art
competition held between 1905 – 1907 for the monument design.

The first-prize winner was Carlos Nicoli of Carrara, Italy. His scaled plaster model titled
“Al Martir de Bagumbayan” (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan) bested 40 other accepted
entries. Among his plans were the use of marble from Italy (in contrast to the unpolished
granite now at Luneta) and the incorporation of more elaborate figurative elements.
The park in modern times has become a local spot for families to have picnics on
Sundays and holidays and a major tourist attraction of Manila. It has a small man-made
lake with a replica of the Philippine archipelago in the middle. The park has recreational
value as well, as bands, orchestras and other sorts of entertainment are provided for free
in its open-air auditorium, aptly called "Concert at the Park".

Other attractions of Rizal Park include the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, the
Department of Tourism main office, the National Museum of the Filipino People, The
National Library of the Philippines, the Orchidarium and Butterfly Pavilion, the
Planetarium, the monument of Lapu-Lapu, a fountain area, a children's lagoon, a chess
plaza, a light and sound presentation on the last days of José Rizal, a large open stone
model of the Philippine islands, and the Quirino Grandstand.

On an area on the right side of the park stands a set of statues depicting Rizal's execution,
situated on the spot where he was martyred. Contrary to popular belief, the monument is
not the spot where he was executed, but the monument is situated there to serve two
purposes: to serve a kilometer zero or starting point od measure for the distances from
manila, and to guide incoming boats and ships to Manila Bay, prior to the erection of a
lighthouse.

The large flagpole in front of the Rizal Monument is Kilometer Zero, the point from
which road distances are measured in the Philippines.

EVENTS IN HISTORY

• February 17, 1872 - Execution of Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora -- three Filipino priests accused of subversion arising from the 1872
Cavite mutiny.

• December 30, 1896- José Rizal's execution (see above).

• July 4, 1946 - Official ceremonies proclaiming a fully-independent Republic of

the Philippines were held on this site.

• January 15, 1995 - The closing Mass of the X World Youth Day 1995 was held at
Luneta Park attended by more than 5 million people.

• November 27, 2005 - Rizal Park was the venue of the opening ceremony for the
2005 Southeast Asian Games at the Quirino Grandstand. It was held at an open-
air park instead of a stadium, a historic first for a Southeast Asian games' opening
ceremony. It was again used on December 5, 2005 for the games' closing
ceremony.
RIZAL SHRINE

The Rizal Shrine dedicated to the lifework of José Rizal is located on Santa Clara Street,
Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila, 1002 Philippines.

This is a fortified complex which houses the building the Philippines' national hero spent
his last night and where his family later found concealed in an oil lamp, the famous poem
Mi último adiós (My Last Farewell). The shrine is home to various memorabilia, books,
manuscripts and artworks belonging to the prodigious and multifaceted Rizal. Fort
Santiago served as barracks for Spanish artillery soldiers during Spain's colonization of
the islands.

FORT SANTIAGO

Fort Santiago (Spanish: Fuerza de Santiago) is a defense fortress built for Spanish
conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the walled
city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines.

The location of Fort Santiago was once the site of the palace and kingdom of Rajah
Suleiman, a Muslim chieftain of pre-Hispanic Manila. It was destroyed by the
conquistadors (Martin de Goiti) when, upon arriving in 1570, they encountered several
battles with the Islamic natives. The Spaniards destroyed the native settlements and
erected the Fuerza de Santiago in 1571.

The first fort was made out of log structures and earth. Most of it was destroyed in the
Spanish-Chinese War of (1574-1575), by invaders of Chinese pirates led by Lim Ah
Hong who besieged the area which resulted to death of de Goiti. The Spaniards fought a
fierce conflict and eventually drove the pirates out up to Pangasinan where the last
conquistador (Juan de Salcedo) avenged the death of Goiti by capturing Lim Ah hong and
burnt to death together with his subordinates. In 1589 the fort was constructed with hard
stone and finished in 1592. It became the main fort for travels and spice trade to the
Americas and Europe for 333 years. The famous Manila Galleon trade to Acapulco,
Mexico started sailing from the Fuerza de Santiago.

The fort is shielded by 22 feet (6.7 m)-high walls, with a thickness of 8 feet (2.4 m) and
an entrance measuring 40 feet (12 m) high. It is located at the mouth of the Pasig River
and it was once the premier defense fortress of the Spanish Government in the
Philippines. During World War II it was captured by the Japanese, and sustained heavy
damage from American and Filipino mortar shells during the Battle of Manila in
February 1945. It was later restored by the Intramuros Administration during the 1980s.
Today the fort serves as a museum which houses well-preserved legacies of the Spanish
government, José Rizal (which is called the Plaza de Armas), Rizal Shrine, and the prison
dungeons for criminals used by the Spanish officials.
M4 Sherman tank at the ruins of the Fort Santiago gate, Intramuros, February 28, 1945

José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned in the fort before his execution
in 1896. the site features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his final footsteps
representing the walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution.

INTRAMUROS

Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the
Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of
the Philippines. Its name, in Latin, intramuros, literally "within the walls", meaning
within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is
surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish colonial period,
Intramuros was considered Manila itself.

HISTORY

Pre-hispanic settlement

The site of Intramuros was originally a large Indianized-Malayan-Islamic settlement

named "Maynila", ruled by Datus, Rajahs and a Sultan. The name came from "may nila",
"nila" being a water plant (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea) whose star-shaped flowers
clustered in abundance along the riverbanks. "May-nila," transliterates as "There is nila
(here)". Maynila is also sometimes called Maynilad because nila is popularly referred to
as nilad by people unfamiliar with the plant, a correction asserted by historians Ambeth
Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil.[2]

The strategic location of Maynila, being on the Pasig River and the Manila Bay, made it
an ideal location for indigenous Tagalog and kapampangan tribes to trade with other
Asian civilizations, including Chinese, Indian and Islamic merchants who had come from
China, India, Borneo and Indonesia. Maynila was also the seat of power for native chiefs
who ruled the area before Europeans first arrived in Luzon.

SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD

In 1564, Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi sailed from Mexico, and
arrived on the island of Cebu in February 13, 1565. There they established the first
Spanish colony in the Islands. Having heard of the rich resources of Manila by natives,
López de Legazpi dispatched two of his Lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and
Juan de Salcedo to explore the northern regions of the Visayas.

In 1570, the Spaniards arrived in the island of Luzon. After quarrels and
misunderstanding had erupted between the Islamic natives and the Spaniards, both groups
fought for the control of lands and settlements. In 1571, after several months of warfare,
the natives were defeated, and the Spaniards made a peace pact with the Muslim tribal
councils, Rajah Sulaiman III, Rajah Lakandula, and Rajah Matanda; who, in return,
handed over Manila to the Spaniards.

Citing the rich resources and location of Manila, López de Legazpi declared the area as
the new capital of the Spanish colony in the Philippines on June 24, 1571. The King of
Spain, delighted at the new conquest achieved by López de Legazpi and his men,
awarded the city a coat of arms and declaring it Ciudad Insigne y Siempre Leal
("Distinguished and ever loyal city").

The planning of the city of Manila was commenced by López de Legazpi who had
become the first Governor general on the islands. He established forts, roads, churches
and schools. The plans for Intramuros were based on King Philip II of Spain's Royal
Ordinance issued on July 3, 1573 in San Lorenzo, Spain. Its design was based upon a star
fort or trace italienne (a very flat structure composed of many triangular bastions,
specifically designed to cover each other, and a ditch) and covered 64 hectares of land,
surrounded by 8 feet thick stones and high walls that rise 22 feet. It was built to protect
the seat of the Spanish government from hostile native revolts, and raiding Chinese sea
pirates.

Intramuros was completed in 1606 and it served as the center of political, military and
religious power of the Spaniards during the time that the Philippines was a colony of
Spain. Inside Intramuros; there are several Roman Catholic churches, like the Manila
Cathedral and the San Agustin Church, convents and church-run schools, such as the
Universidad de Santo Tomás, the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán and the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila, which were usually being run by religious orders such as the
Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and Jesuits. The Governor's Palace, the official
residence of the Spanish Viceroyalties to the Philippines was originally in Intramuros
before it was officially moved to Malacañang Palace and Fort Santiago. Only Spaniards
and mestizos were allowed to take part on political issues and take residence inside the
walled city. Christian natives and Chinese were allowed to enter, but Spanish officials
prevented them from living inside. The vast majority of the natives and Chinese residents
lived outside the walled city.

WORLD WAR II

At the end of World War II, much of Intramuros was damaged by the returning joint
American and Filipino military forces.

In 1942, when the Japanese forces invaded the Philippines; U.S. forces led by General
Douglas McArthur realized that Manila was indefensible so he declared it an Open City.
He regrouped the USAFFE forces in the Bataan peninsula, only to be trapped there by the
advancing Japanese army.

Upon their return in February 23, 1945, United States forces, including Philippine
Commonwealth troops, shelled Manila, including Intramuros, to flush out the remaining
400 or so Japanese soldiers, in the process of the shelling 100,000 citizens of Manila died
(see Manila Massacre). Intramuros was in ruins following the fighting, and the only
structure that survived was the San Agustin Church; almost no other buildings remained
standing.

PRESENT DAY INTRAMUROS

In the 1980s, under the direction of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos, the
Intramuros Administration restored the city and at present the walled city is the only
district of Manila where old Spanish-era influences were retained. Much of the
development of present-day Manila occurred outside the gates of Intramuros, leaving the
surviving walls, streets and churches of Intramuros minimally touched by modernization,
although outlets of Jollibee, McDonald's and Starbucks now sit alongside distinguished
educational institutions within its walls. The old moats that surrounded Intramuros have
been filled up and transformed into a golf course where locals and foreign nationals play
the sport. The garrison that was Fort Santiago is now a tourist spot where visitors can
enjoy the nostalgic romance of a bygone Spanish legacy within its gardens. In 2003,
during Visit Philippines Year, Tourism Secretary Richard J. Gordon cleaned up
Intramuros with the help of student and civilian volunteers as well as raised funds to light
up the place and build a lights and sound museum.

Intramuros now houses some of the higher education institutions in the Philippines.
These are the city-owned Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, the technical school
Mapúa Institute of Technology, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San
Juan de Letran and high schools such as the Manila High School,and Colegio de Santa
Rosa.

Following the design of medieval fortifications, along the massive walls of Intramuros
are strategically located bulwarks: baluarte, ravelins: ravellin, redoubts: reducto. Entrance
to the city are through gates: puerta, most of which have been restored or rebuilt. Most of
these features have names such as Baluarte de San Diego, Baluarte de San Francisco de
Dilao, Baluarte de San Gabriel, Baluarte de Sta. Barbara, Baluarte de San Andres; Puerta
Real, Puerta Isabel II, Puerta del Parian, Puerta Almacenes, Postigo del Palacio, Puerta
Sta. Lucia.

CCP

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (Filipino: Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas)

or simply the CCP is located in Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, and was
opened in 1969 to promote and preserve Filipino arts and culture, and to become a mecca
of culture and the arts in Asia. Since its opening, it has showcased the Bolshoi, Kirov,
Royal Danish ballets, as well as contemporary American, French, German, and
Philippine companies.
The inauguration of the CCP gave Philippine culture and the arts a home. The CCP was
created by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1966 through Executive Order No. 30 with the
purpose of promoting and preserving Filipino arts and culture. It was formally
inaugurated on September 8, 1969, starting a three-month long inaugural festival opened
by the musical Golden Salakot: Isang Dularawan, an epic portrayal of Panay Island, as
its initial presentation. The Center's formal inauguration was attended by a number of
international personalities, including California Governor and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, who
were representing President Richard Nixon.

FOLK ARTS THEATER

Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts Theater)

The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas, more commonly known by its original name of
Folk Arts Theater, this covered proscenium amphitheater is where popular concerts are
usually staged. It has a current seating capacity of 8,458 in ten sections. The theater takes
its name form Francisco Baltazar also known as Francisco Balagtas, revered as one of the
country's greatest poets. Florante at Laura is one of his best known and most beloved
works and his poetry Balagtasismo has shaped generations of Filipino poets. The popular
debate in verse, balagtasan is also named after him.

The building was originally built to seat an audience of 10,000 and was commissioned by
then First Lady Imelda Marcos in 1974 for the Miss Universe Pageant, which was to be
held in Manila. The theater was built in record time of seventy-seven days in time for the
pageant and was designed by Leandro V. Locsin.

Many Concerts both local & foreign were held at the theater, namely the concerts of 80's
supergroup Menudo, British Pop Group 5ive, the 1993 Janet.Tour of Janet Jackson, the
Pure Enery Concert of Gary Valenciano & the solo concert of Philippine's R&B prince
Jay-R.

The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas is also used as a site of different religious

gatherings by different religious groups in the country that they also baptised it as the
Tanghalan ng Panginoon (English: The Theatre of the Lord).

PICC

The Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) is a convention center in the

Philippines. Located at the reclaimed area now known as the Cultural Center of the
Philippines (CCP) Complex in Pasay City (a Manila suburb), this state-of-the-art facility
has been the host of numerous local and foreign conventions, meetings, fairs, and social
events.
On the presence of the PICC, Manila has always been tagged as a "Convention City".

PICC was also the home of the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines, until 2005.

HISTORY

Presidential Decree No. 520 authorized the Central Bank of the Philippines (now Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas) to construct an international conference building, acquire a suitable
area for that purpose, and organize a corporation to manage a conference center. Thus,
the PICC was organized under the Corporation Code.

The construction of the state-of-the-art PICC Complex was undertaken in a short span of
23 months, from November 1974 to September 1976, with Leandro Locsin as architect,
who was subsequently named a National Artist.

From its inception to the present, the PICC has also hosted the annual Awards Night of
the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), the Philippine equivalent
of the Oscars, mostly at its Plenary Hall.

On September 5, 1976, the PICC, Asia's first international convention center was
officially opened to the world when it hosted the 1976 IMF-World Bank Meeting.

Presidential Decree No. 995 created the Batasang Bayan to function as a legislative body
before the Interim Batasang Pambansa convened in 1978. So on September 21, 1976 on
the 4th Anniversary of the birth of the Bagong Lipunan (New Society) the Batasang
Bayan held its inauguration at the PICC. For the first time, the PICC was used to house a
legislative body from 1976 to 1978.

The PICC is dedicated to the task of bringing peoples and nations together and providing
a place where they can meet and exchange ideas that may perhaps open doors to better
world understanding and peace.

As a venue of meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and special events, it caters to

organizers of international, regional Asia Pacific, and local events by providing highly
advanced conferencing equipment and facilities and, most importantly, friendly, efficient,
and professional service.

COCONUT PALACE

The Tahanang Pilipino (Filipino Home), better known as "the Coconut Palace", is a
palace in Manila, Philippines, commissioned by former First Lady Imelda Marcos for
Pope John Paul II's visit in 1981. However, the pope declined the offer, saying that it was
too ostentatious a place to stay while in the poverty-stricken Philippines. The Palace's
architect Francisco Mañosa, later claimed that the Coconut Palace - a showpiece on the
versatility of the coconut and its viability as an export - was planned long before the Pope
even decided to visit the country.[citation needed]

The Coconut Palace, built in 1978, is made of several types of Philippine hardwood,
coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber apparently known as Imelda
Madera. Each of the suites on the second floor is named after a specific region of the
Philippines and displays some of the handicrafts these regions produce. The palace is
located on Eduardo A. Makabenta, Sr. Street at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Complex between the Folk Arts Theatre and the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

The palace is shaped like an octagon (the shape given to a coconut before being served),
the roof is shaped like a traditional Filipino salakot or hat. Some of its highlights are the
101 coconut shell chandelier, and the dining table made of 40,000 tiny pieces of inlaid
coconut shells. Highlighted as one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s most
striking structures for its architecture and interiors, the palace celebrates the coconut as
the ultimate “Tree of Life”. From the coconut's roots to its trunk, bark, fruit, flower and
shell, the palace's design, form and ornamentation echo these elements.

The Coconut Palace has been a guesthouse for many guests, including Libyan leader
Muammar al-Gaddafi, Brooke Shields and George Hamilton. Now, it is a museum, with a
butterfly garden and an orchidarium.

On the fifth season of the reality series The Amazing Race, the Coconut Palace served as
the pit stop when the competing teams went to Manila. The contestants were welcomed
by Luli Arroyo, daughter of current Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

LAPU LAPU

Lapu-Lapu (1491 — 1542) was the datu of Mactan, an island in the Visayas in the
Philippines, who is known as the first native of the archipelago to have resisted Spanish
colonization. He is now regarded as the first Filipino hero.[1][2]

On the morning of April 27, 1521, Lapu-Lapu and the men of Mactan, armed with spears,
kampilan and kalasag, faced Spanish soldiers led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan. In what would later be known as the Battle of Mactan, Magellan and several of
his men were killed.

According to Sulu oral tradition, Lapu-Lapu was a Muslim chieftain,[3] and was also
known as "Kaliph Pulaka".[4] Other Moros also recognize him as a Muslim and as a
Tausūg.[5] A variant of the name, as written by Carlos Calao, a 17th century Chinese-
Spanish poet in his poem "Que Dios Le Perdone" (Spanish, "That God May Forgive
Him") is "Cali Pulacu".[6]
In the 19th century, the propagandist Mariano Ponce used a variant name, "Kalipulako",
as one of his pseudonyms.[7] The 1898 Philippine Declaration of Independence refers to
Lapu-Lapu as "King Kalipulako de Maktan".[