The Rizal Family's origin

Rizal apparently came from a Chinese-Filipino descent – Francisco Mercado Y Chinco. Francisco Mercado was born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818. He took up Philosophy and Latin in the Colegio de San Jose in Manila. After his parents’ death, he moved to Calamba. There he became a tenant farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda and later became one of the town’s wealthiest men. He was able to establish a private library and kept carriage. The name ‘Francisco’ was in high honor in Laguna for it had belonged to a famous sea captain who had been given the ENCOMIENDA of BAY for his services.

Rizal’s mother Teodora Alonso came from the clan of Lakan Dula, known as the last Malay king of Tondo. She was also traced to Eugenio Ursua whose ancestors came from Japan. She was the second daughter of Lorenzo Alberto Alonso who was a former representative of Spanish Cortes and Brigida de Quintos whose parents were Manuel de Quintos, of a well-known family in Pangasinan and Regina Ursua who was the daughter of Benigna and Eugene Ursua.

As already noted, Teodora Alonso had a trace of Japanese ancestry. Moreover, she was of Ilocano-Tagalog-Chinese-Spanish descent. Combining the paternal and maternal ancestry, therefore Jose Rizal was born with Malay, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish lineages in his blood. Teodora Alonzo died on August 16, 1911 at the age of 84.

Rizal's surname

Domingo Lam-Co, the great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal, decided to use Mercado as his surname in 1731 to match his profession, being a merchant. He used this surname from 1731 to November 11, 1849 as soon as Governor-General Narciso Claveria posed a regulation that requires them to make use of Spanish family names. Meanwhile, for Don Francisco Mercado, Rizal’s father, Rizal was used, which means new pasture or greenfield.