Rizal@159

Pencil sketch by Rizal -- Port city of Aden (Yemen). Near the entrance to the Suez Canal. May 28, 1882.

I always maintain that one great source of Rizal's thoughts is his correspondence. Collected letters which somehow give one that advantageous glimpse of who the man was. His biographers often mention only some quotations from this correspondence that often leaves the more curious in us, asking for more.

In June of 1882 (138 years ago), Rizal's ship was navigating the Suez Canal on its way to Europe. He had a letter to his parents and siblings (dated June 7), written in Spanish, mentioning the event. But another interesting letter to the family followed two weeks after the Suez crossing when Rizal was already in Barcelona. It describes his experience setting foot for the first time in Europe -- his intellectual homeland.

The letter goes: "We descended there were four of us and accompanied by a cicerone (tour guide).  We toured the city. It was the first Europe I had ever set foot in. From pleasure to pleasure, from surprise to surprise, I traveled in an elegant coach with a guide, who spoke French. Those carefully cobbled streets with wide, smooth black stone tiles crossed by streetcars. Statues, fountains, monuments, arches are drawn here and there, houses, towering counters, and shops sparkling with the abundant expenditure of gold and glass attract the attention of travelers especially if it comes from the colonies. A crowd that speaks a melodious language, in a continuous coming and going, elegant ladies and gentlemen walk the streets. In the corners, announcements or proclamations of Freemasonry around the world about Garibaldi's death"

Then he described Marseilles: "I was in Marseille for two and a half days but I was bored being in my lonely room. Many of the passengers stayed at the hotel. I was walking through those wide and clean cobbled streets similar to Manila, full of people, drawing the attention of all the world. I was called Chinese, Japanese, American, etc., never Filipino! Poor country nobody has news of you... This is the most elegant and sculptural society that I have seen. Concerning their houses, most of these are built with statues, caryatids, and bouquets, sphinxes, busts, etc., etc., large, admirable for the rich,  glass and marble elegantly combined...The stores are with glass doors and locks so that the cold does not penetrate, and at first, I did not enter them thinking it was prohibited. All objects almost exposed to the public carry their price next to it and it should be noted that everything is cheap. But many people go around, fruit vendors, newspapers, flowers, stalls where oysters, clams, shrimp are seen. The sidewalks of Carrer de la Canebiere are as wide as a regular street, and I was very shocked that some signs are very elegant of gold and crystal"...

Like Edmond Dantes of his favorite "The Count of Monte Cristo', descriptions of roads, cafes, museums, and other curiosities did not escape the young traveler. Reading these letters, noticing it's style and composition, one is given the impression that Rizal is not only writing to his family. He is also telling his story. Above all, the letters seem to be meant for the future, for the whole country, for Filipinos. As if he was corresponding to us from the past. He was dead sure of his great destiny ahead?

It might be boring for you. Happy Birthday, Pepe!

Pasig City. 19. June 2020