Jose Rizal

Here's an interesting Rizal story you don't hear everyday. When my former company asked me to go to Germany, I was told that I'm staying in Walldorf. Too bad I said, I wish it was Heidelberg (also in the southwestern part). Jose Rizal studied and lived here. Heidelberg is about 20 to 30 minutes r...

Jose Rizal (1861-1896), fondly remembered as the founding father of the modern Philippines, was one luminary who formed favourable impressions of Singapore. In May 1882, Rizal left the then Spanish colony of the Philippines on his way to Spains for further studies in medicine. As a keen 21 year o...

From Japan, Rizal boarded a ship that took him across the pacific to San Francisco. His boarding ticket was first class. Not that many Asians during his time could afford such accommodation. In fact, in that same ship, Chinese immigrants that boarded in Hong Kong sat in crowded quarters below. In...

Thanks to these heritage conscious Germans I could see the same town as Rizal left it. It was the same Heidelberg he fell in love with - the same town where he wrote his "Las Flores de Heidelberg". Same place where he watched those bloody fencing duels. Same place where he studied ophthalmology. ...

Having visited Rizal’s reconstructed house in Calambâ recently (biking all the way there from Muntinglupà!), I became interested again in the circumstances that led to his execution. I reread “The Trial of Rizal” (a book almost forgotten today) and saw some interesting facts that are often glosse...