Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal was one of the most travelled Filipino heroes.
He travelled in many countries for his own personal reasons. However, Rizal did not
seek the permission and blessings of his parents to go abroad because he knew they
would disprove it, especially his mother. Also, his girlfriend, Leonor Rivera, didn't know
much about his intentions to go abroad because Leonor, being a lady, young and
loving, couldn't keep a secret, according to him. At some point, his older brother, as well
as his uncle, Antonio Rivera, the Valenzuela family, and several others, readily
approved of his moving to Spain and his two sisters. Rizal’s departure was kept secret
to avoid detection by the Spanish authorities and the friars. He used the name, Jose
Mercado, a cousin from Binan. Before his secret departure, he wrote a farewell letter to
his beloved parents and to his girlfriend Leonor Rivera.
For the main reason of leaving the Philippines was to move to Spain's
Universidad Central de Madrid and to complete his course of medicine. Although,
Rizal’s own reason to study in Spain because he was disgusted with method of
instruction of the Dominican-owned University and the radical prejudice of Dominican
Professors against Filipino students. Also, Rizal has secret mission to study in Spain
and this was to observe keenly the life, cultures, languages, customs, industries,
commerce, governments and laws of European nations in order to prepare himself in
the mighty task of liberating his oppressed people from Spanish tyranny, this was
evident in his farewell letter which was delivered to his parents.
On the other hand, Rizal reached Barcelona on June 16, 1882. He thought of the
city as ugly, dirty little inns, inhospitable residents because he happened to stay upon
his arrival at a town’s most ugly side. Later on, he changed his bad impression and
found the city as great city with an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism and its people
were open-hearted, hospitable, and courageous. While he was in Barcelona, Rizal
received sad news about the cholera outbreak that ravaged Manila and the provinces
and about the chatty letter of Chengoy recounting the unhappiness of Leonor Rivera,
who was getting thinner due to the absence of a loved one. With that, his older brother
Paciano advised him to finish his medical course in Madrid. So, Rizal enrolled two
courses in Universidad Central de Madrid in two courses, which were the Medicine and
