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<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-25/maria-rizal.avif" alt="Maria Rizal" loading="lazy" />
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(Maria Rizal)
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Early Life and Family Background
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Maria Mercado Rizal, often called "Biang" by her family, was born in June 1859 in Calamba, Laguna, into a family of thirteen, including her parents and ten siblings. The Rizals were a well-off family with their wealth rooted in agriculture as tenant-farmers of a Dominican-owned hacienda. Her father, Francisco Mercado, was a learned man who studied Latin and philosophy, while her mother, Teodora Alonso, was a cultured and educated woman known for her business acumen and literary talents. Maria grew up in a household that valued education, culture, and patriotism, which profoundly shaped her life and the lives of her siblings, including José Rizal, the seventh child and second son.
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As a child, Maria was part of a close-knit family living in a comfortable home in Calamba. The Rizals' affluence allowed their children access to education, a rarity for many Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era. Maria, like her siblings, was likely educated at home initially by their mother or private tutors before possibly attending a local school. The family's mixed heritage and intellectual environment fostered a sense of identity and resistance against colonial oppression, which would later influence José's revolutionary writings.
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Maria Rizal: The Brave Sister Who Stood by Jose Rizal