In celebration of the 150th birthday of national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, I am attempting to write on a facet of our Hero which have never been showcased before - HIS SENSE OF HUMOR.  I find  humor whether intended or not intended throughout his life. I find it through his biographies and anecdotes and  excerpts from his writings, letters and vignettes. The depiction of his sense of humor, I hope, will lessen somehow the bitterness and sting of the tragedy of his martyrdom and further enhance his stellar character of a loving patriot, brother and friend and also illustrate his animosity towards his enemies in a tempered and lighter mood.
 
This article was inspired by a letter of a dear friend and historian, Sir Jose Lozada,.  He pointed out to me about the incident of Fra. Damaso in the Noli Me Tangere novel, when the Friar showed up in a church procession. When the Friar was walking past the spectators on the sideroad, a nursemaid could not control a four year old girl who was crying loudly papa, papa.  Fr. Damaso gave a scorning glance to avoid being embarrassed for a mistaken indentity of being claimed as the father of the child. I am writing this article in English interpersed with Tagalog so as not to lose the nuances and punchline of the vernacular as intended and written by the hero himself.
 
Dr. Jose P. Rizal had a tremendous sense of humor  He could enliven a crowd. He even made jokes about himself.  His life was fraught with a sense of humor even
from his christening day and up to the time before his martyrdom in Bagumbayan.  The baptizing priest Rufino Collantes on June22, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna
who noticed the unusually large head of the baby Jose Rizal, said to infant's mother Teodora Alonzo " Ginang, alagaan ninyo ang ulo ng iyong anak sapagkat
magiging dakila siya pagdating ng araw."  On the day he was about to be shot to death on December 30, 1896, he was given a soft boiled egg in a cup.  Sumungaw ang mabining ngiti kay Rizal, kinuha niya ang mangkok na may malasadong itlog at ibinaba sa may sulok ng selda at nagsabing "para na ito sa mga bubuwit
magpista na rin sila. "  The last sentence is lifted verbatim from the book by Austin Coates " Rizal -Makabayan at Martir ".
 
Rizal wrote SATIRES such as " The Vision of Friar Rodriguez ".  This friar wrote the" CAINGAT CAYO " which condemned Noli and imposed the ban of reading the novel under the  pain of sin. Our hero wrote another  article entitled " Through the Telephone" a satire against Fra Salvador Font who also criticized his novel.  In the latter work, the overblown sacrifices and contrived holiness of the friars were transmitted through the newly invented telephone and were received enthusistically hook line and sinker in Europe.  Satire is akin to dry or wry humor but still humor nonetheless. 
 
I will lift  passages from various letters he wrote to his sisters, to his friend Ferdinand Blumenritt, to his colleague Mariano Ponce, to the women of Malolos.  Most of these letters are in Tagalog because they came from the translated work of Austin Coates " Rizal - Makabayan at Martir ".
 
In his letter to the women of Malolos, he praised the ladies for recognizing that the commandments of God were diferent from those of the friars, that holiness was not expressed in the duration on ones knees, long prayer, large scapulars, old prayerbooks but in the right morals and conduct and stright thinking and sincere heart. Walang maiinom sa labo at mapait na bukal; walang matamis na bunga sa punlang maasim.  In his letter addressed to Mariano Ponce at sa mga kasama sa La Solidaridad dated April 1889: kung sila'y mabitay, ay ipalagay nilang sila'y namatay sa sakit na frailitis o frailofobia ( sakit na galing sa mga fraile o galit sa fraile ).
 
Kung walang 1872, ay wala sana ngayong Plaridel, Jaena, Sancianco.  Si Rizal sana ngayon ay isa ngHeswita. ( 1872 - GOMBURZA Martyrdom )Ipinalalagay kong walang ganoong fraile na  dapat pakitunguhan gaya ng sa Filipinas, at kung mayroon man ay marahil iba ang tikas at ugali. "
 
In his letter dated Dec 30, 1882 to Josefa, Rizal's 7th sisterwhom he addressed as PANGGOY ( His pet name for his sister who had the pudgiest nose ): Huwag mong antaying ako'y pumuti at magmukhang kastila. To his sister Trinidad his 8th sister dated March 11,1886  on the women of Germany   Sila'y masisipag, nagsisipag-aral at palakaibiganin.  Sila'y hindi tsismosa.  In a letter dated Februay 7, 1886 toMaria his 5th sister: Sa Europa kapag taglamig at sa panahong ito'y mahal ang mga bulaklak ay bihirang makamalas ng isang hapag na ang mga bulaklak ay tuyong tuyo na o halos tuyo, datapuwat diyanna hindi naman
binibili ang mga bulaklakna sariwa ay magiging kapintasan ang gumamit ng lantang bulaklak. at palakaibigan,  Sila'y hindi mga tismosa.
 
In his various letters to Ferdinand Blumentritt :  Kaming lahat halos ay nagaaral sa mga Hesuwita na talagang namang  hindi nagturo sa amin ng pagmamahal sa tinubuang bayan, bagamat kami'y tinuruuan ng kagandahang asal at kabutihang loob.  Hindi ko matitiis ang pamumuhay sa Madrid, doon kaming lahat ay vox clamantis indeserto ( voice crying in the wilderness).  Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa ako napagiging Europeo.  Laging kong ninais na umuwi sa bayan na aking mga ninuno.  Lagi ng nilulunggati ng kambing ang paninirahan sa bundok.  Ako ay nasa Roma.  Iyan ang aking dahilan.  Maghapon akong naglalakad kahit na napainit sapagkat ang Roma sadyang dapat magkahalaga ng isang sakit ng ulo. Ako ay ipinalalagay na isang tiktik ng nga Aleman, kinatawan ni Bismarck, protestante, mason, mangkukulam, kaluluwang malapit ng parusahan at maraming iba pa.
 
Somewhere in Noli, ipinakilala ni Rizal si Vicente Barrantes ( isa sa mga kritiko't kaaway tunkol sa Noli) na isang taong pandak at komang.  Binansagan niya si Fra Damaso na punggok at sulipat ang paningin.
 
We know Rizal was a serious person, serious in his love of his native land and serious in his quest to alleviate the disease and cancer that ailed all the Filipino people. However amidst this seriousness, we must not forget his sobriety of character, his sense of humor that always lifted  up his sagging spirit, lightened up
his depressing living condition in Europe and enabled him to act to the best of his ability and genius to realize his dream of eradicating ignorance and depraving poverty of his Filipino people.
 
 

 

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