Here are some interesting trivia on the national hero, some were presented by Atty. Michael Camilo Datario in Rizal Day in Dagupan City. He mentioned that the better way to honor the national hero is to learn less known facts about his life.
Rizal collected 3 animals while he was exiled in Dapitan. These animals were named after him: a. Apogonia Rizali (a type of beetle), Draco Rizali (a specie of dragonfly), and Rhacophorus Rizali (a specie of toad).
While studying in Spain, he had to pawn a ring that was owned by his sibling, Saturina to pay for his exams
Rizal's physique is interesting, he was only five feet and three inches tall and a a waistline of 25-26 inches. He is also known to have a big head. His hats were 6 1/2 inches across and the interior measures eight inches from front to back
On the Eve of his execution, Rizal stuffed unknown papers in his pockets and shoes as he assumed that his body would be given to his family, but his body was dumped in an unmarked grave in Paco cemetery. Although due to the aftermath of his death, the papers have been deteriorated and the contents were never identified.
Lanzones and mango are the favorite fruits of Rizal. His breakfast, according to his cook in Dapitan were hot chocolate, rice, and tuyo. His meals were also composed of three viands.
Rizal had a third unfinished work known by historians as “Maka-misa,” (Maka-misa is not actually a title of the novel but only a single chapter) this unfinished work was started by Rizal in 1892 in Hongkong. It was written in Tagalog initially but later on gave up and he continued with Spanish.
He made humorous comics in Germany entitled “The Baptism of Two Brothers.” He made the it to entertain the landlord's children, he used cuss in his work.
While in Dapitan, Rizal wrote an extensive written discourse on witchcraft with translation entitled the “Treatment and Cure of the Bewitched.” A part of it explained that witches are not always old and ugly.
Rizal established a school in Dapitan had 21 students who were never asked to pay, but were required to work for the community.
Rizal as a polyglot, had the habit of switching from one language to another. His biographers had a problem because of this in translating his biographies. He was conversant in 22 languages.
In the Popular video game, Tekken, a female character named Josie Rizal was inspired by Rizal. Her costume colors were composed of the colors of the Philippine Flag and there was a Sampaguita design on her waist.
Rizal had tuberculosis but he healed himself.
There were a total of 8 Filipino who composed the firing squad during Rizal's execution.
A descendant from the executioners revealed that only one rifle was loaded with a live bullet while the others only had blanks. This was done to ease their guilt because they believed that Rizal was innocent.
Sources:
FilipiKnow. (2019, June 18). 36 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Jose Rizal. FilipiKnow. https://filipiknow.net/jose-rizal-facts/
Sarmiento, V. H. (2019, December 29). 10 interesting things about Dr. Jose Rizal. Retrieved from https://pia.gov.ph/features/articles/1003610