Happy 165th birthday, Jose Rizal!: Revisiting the National Hero’s Madrid monument

Amid all these talk about Ateneo University, Ateneans and the heroics of some Ateneo Blue Eagles players, one former Ateneo student, Dr. Jose Rizal, stands out for embodying heroism not only for his colleagues — but for the entire nation — and his legend continues and ripples to as far as Madrid.

If you find Rizal’s monument in Luneta crowded on weekends, the one in Madrid is not any better. Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike queue to take turns in taking photos with the monument that is a near-exact copy of the one in Luneta.

Formally inaugurated on 5 December 1998, the Madrid Rizal Monument had been erected in Chamberi district at the corner of Parque de Santander along Avenida de Filipinas, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Spain.

Born on 19 June 1861 in Calamba, Laguna, Rizal attended Ateneo Municipal de Manila in Intramuros from 1872 to 1877, where he initially struggled but eventually excelled as the top student. There, he wrote poems, carved religious figures, and during his stay, met his first love, Segunda Katigbak.

Rizal first arrived in Madrid in 1882, taking up Medicine and Philosophy & Letters at then Universidad Central de Madrid, now Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Although living on meager allowance, Rizal was able to maximize his time in Madrid, studying sculpture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and took private lessons in English, French and German while practicing shooting and fencing.

But more than self-improvement, Rizal was able to establish the Propaganda Movement and become a leading figure in advocating for social justice and political reforms through his popular novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo that he began writing at the Spanish capital.

In 1890, Rizal returned to Madrid to seek justice for his tenants and family who were evicted from their Calamba properties. It was during this time that he also personally struggled with disputes over his leadership of the Filipino community as well as losing his ex-girlfriend Leonor Rivera to a British engineer. Rizal eventually left Madrid for Biarritz to prevent further disunity among his countrymen.

Spain might have convicted Rizal of rebellion, sedition and illegal association, which led to his death by firing squad on 30 December 1896 in Bagumbayan. But today, even the kingdom and former Philippine colonizer honors Rizal and his contribution to Philippine independence by tracing his footsteps in Madrid.