Retracing the first footsteps of Dr. Jose Rizal in Spain
Personnel of Barcelona PCG and members of the Filipino community attending the program of the 125th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal. (Barcelona PCG photo)
BARCELONA, 31 December 2021 – In commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal on 30 December 2021, Philippine Consul General to Barcelona Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro led commemorative activities that reflected on the life of the Philippine national hero.
The program commenced at the Consulate with a message by Consul General Lazaro pondering on the life of Rizal and its importance in Philippine history. This was followed by a reading of the El Amor Patrio, an essay written by Jose Rizal in Barcelona and first published by the Diariong Tagalog in August 1882 and later reprinted by La Solidaridad in October 1890.
Consulate General personnel then ventured out into the La Raval district and retraced the footsteps of Dr. Jose Rizal in Barcelona.
Plaza Catalunya was the first leg of the historical tour. It was in this area where Dr. Rizal was welcomed by his fellow Filipinos, some of whom were his former classmates from Ateneo. They met in a coffee shop in the plaza in what will be the beginning of his numerous fellowships with Filipino liberals in Spain.
The second building which is of historical significance to Dr. Rizal is located at Plaça de Bonsuccés. This is where La Solidaridad held office, which ironically is in the neighborhood where most members of the Filipino community reside. This was the site of many memorable meetings where the Triumvirate of the Propaganda Movement composed of Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Graciano Lopez Jaena and other members of the La Solidaridad brainstormed to advance peaceful political revolutionary movement against Spain.
The last leg ang highlight of the commemoration tour ended with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal marker located at Hotel España, formerly known as Fonda de España. The hotel, which was then a boarding house was where Jose Rizal stayed when he arrived in Barcelona on 16 June 1882. A tour of the Hotel España showing the areas where Rizal spent his time in the hotel was also conducted by Cultural Officer Bernardo Bagalay and a representative of the hotel.
An NHCP documentary, Jose Rizal: Landas ng Paglaya was shown in the consular section area of the Consulate to the appreciation of the general public. END
Cultural Officer Bernardo Bagalay reading the literary work of Dr. Jose Rizal, El Amor Patrio. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Consul General Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro and Cultural Officer Bernardo Bagalay in front of the La Solidaridad marker. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Consul General leading the wreath-laying ceremony in front of the Rizal Marker located at the Hotel España, formerly known as Fonda de España. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Jose Rizal marker stating that he stayed at Fonda de Espana when he arrived in Barcelona in 1882. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Consul General Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro with Consulate personnel and members of the Filipino community at the Hotel España. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Consul General Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro looking at the rooms at Hotel España where Jose Rizal stayed. (Barcelona PCG photo)
Cultural Officer Bernardo Bagalay with Filipino consular applicants watching the documentary Jose Rizal: Landas ng Paglaya. (Barcelona PCG photo)