happy birthday pepe!

Dr. Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda

June 19, 1861 - December 30, 1896

Remembering the national hero's birthday today. (Photo taken inside the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago)

jose rizal monument

Another look at Jose Rizal's monument at Luneta (Rizal Park). Photo taken using iPhone on our way home from Manila Ocean Park yesterday (will post photos of the Manila Ocean Park in the succeeding days, hope you wont get tired of it when i start the series hehehe).

I know i've posted Jose Rizal's monument here and here but i just cant resist posting this photo, first time i got the chance to capture it with the Philippine flags flying and showing vivid colors.

martyrdom of jose rizal

The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal in Luneta, a Light & Sound Sculptural Tableau is a memorial honoring the Philippine's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal - an audio-visual and three-dimensional diorama of Rizal's execution, consisting of life-size sculptures by Eduardo Castrillo.

The tableau is an open-air theater presentation, featuring a 30 minute dramatization of the most poignant moments of Rizal's final hours, through 8 monumental sculptural clusters in an interplay of light & sound.

Entrance Fee to the Martyrdom of Jose Rizal:
P 10.00 per head - Day Tour (8am - 5pm)
P 50.00 per head - Evening Presentation
Tagalog version (7pm)
English Version (8pm)

with 50% discount to all students with valid ID

*note that the evening presentation is by schedule only (minimum of 15 persons)

PS. yes those monoblocks from yesterdays photo serve as chairs in the presentation

off duty

From my previous post, i've mentioned that Jose Rizal's monument is being guarded 24/7 by "statues" ... and i was lucky on this day that i chance upon seeing the guards move! twas time to change the guards - they even have a ritual in doing so - and i captured it :) wheeee

jose rizal monument

Another view of jose rizal's monument, Manila's famous landmark, located at Luneta or Rizal Park. Posted this monument before, click here for the front view.

martyrdom of dr. jose p. rizal

A sculpture by Ildefonso Paez Santos in collaboration with Eduardo Castrillo commemorating the martyrdom of our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Located in the northwestern part of Rizal Park, near Jose Rizal's monument.

The marker says "Jose Rizal Y Mercado. Filipino physician, propagandist, writer, and patriot was executed within these hallowed grounds at exactly 7:03 in the morning of December 30, 1896 by an eight-man squad of Filipino riflemen from the 17th infantry regiment, the Magallanes of the Spanish Colonial Army. Those who witnessed Rizal's public execution included Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, his legal defender during his trial for alleged treason against Spain and the two Jesuit priests Fr. Jose Villaclara S.J. and Fr. Estanislao March S.J. who accompanied Rizal during his final walk before his execution. Rizal's martyrdom fanned the flames of the Filipino revolution of 1896 and inspired the Filipinos in their resolute and epic fight for freedom"

nickname: pepe

I know I should have posted this before doing the Rizal Shrine series, sorry I forgot that not all who happen to visit this blog knows Jose Rizal that much. I’m not going to give you his biography here but you can check out this official website and wikipedia’s entry here that will give you an insight on his remarkable life.

This is the closeup photo of Jose Rizal's status at the Plaza Armas, which you've already seen in this post.

jose rizal

This is a statue of Jose Rizal in his cell, notice that the statue is binded... this statue depict him on his last day, on his way to martyrdom. This is where the yesterday's shoeprints starts.

shoeprints

When you enter the fort you'll immediately notice these shoeprints. You'd see people flocking the entrance trying to trace it... while others try to count the steps. These shoeprints depict the steps where Jose Rizal (our national hero) passed on his way from his cell in Fort Santiago to Luneta to meet his death through firing squad in the early hours of December 30, 1896 which made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution. I tried counting the steps before but i gave up, how about you, were you successful? So how many steps?

kilometer zero

I’d been remiss for not posting this famous manila landmark, so I’m just presenting you now... Jose Rizal’s monument. As most of you know this monument is located at the heart of manila, at Rizal Park to be exact. The park was called Bagumbayan (new town) before then became Luneta (as what i still call this place) then named Rizal Park as a tribute to the national hero. The monument also serves as the point of origin or kilometer zero to all other cities in the Philippines.

It has been a must before to have your photo taken in front of this monument, i guess it still remains true with tourists, local or not. And it is almost protocol for visiting dignitaries to lay a wreath at the monument. This monument also serves as mausoleum that houses Jose Rizal's remains. And i think this is the only monument that is guarded 24/7 by soldiers. We used to shout and do antics just to grab those soldiers' attention to see if they would at least move a fraction but still haven't succeeded to this date.