Pearl of the Orient: Discover Old Philippines “Rizal spent many happy days in Madrid. He attended musical concerts, dances and operas. He drank coffee with them at Restaurant de Madrid, Antiguo Cafe de Levante and other restaurants. He attended dances for he loved to dance.

In Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic essay entitled “Amor Patrio” which was his first written article on Spain’s soil. He then sent his article to Basilio Teodoro Moran, publisher of Diariong Tagalog. Basilio was deeply impressed by the article congratulated Rizal and asked Rizal to publish more articles.

Unformatted text preview: Rizal in Spain • • Reasons why Rizal wanted to go to Spain: o To finish medicine o Hidden purposes: To observe and study European society To polish his writing skills To lead the Philippines in its fight against Spain Departure for Spain: o Paciano, Saturnina, Lucia, Antonio Rivera, Valenzuela …

Rizal was impressed by the way the Spanish Masons openly and freely criticized the government policies and lambasted the friars. In March 1883, he joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid. His reason for joining was to secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight against the friars in the Philippines.

Rizal’s plans of coming back home • As early as 1884, Rizal wanted to go back to the Philippines for the following reasons: – Financial difficulties in Calamba – Dissatisfaction with his studies in Madrid – Desire to prove that there is no reason to fear going home.

Rizal was not a licensed doctor Though Rizal practiced ophthalmology and dentistry, he was not a licensed doctor because he never finished his course in medicine. Whew! Well, that at least makes him human like we are.

Amor Patrio