Revisiting the house of Rizal

By Marjorie Gorospe

CALAMBA CITY, LAGUNA— Calamba holds its place in our history as the hometown of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

To preserve the home of it’s greatest son, the National Historical Institute and the city government turned the original house of Rizal’s family — referred to by locals as “bahay na bato”– into a shrine which they aptly called, Rizal’s shrine. It draws thousands of Filipinos from all over the country who wish to learn about the life and ways of Rizal.

I can’t remember when I last visited this place, but I know that its walls were painted white then. Now, they’ve painted it in green and columnist Ambeth Ocampo, author of the article, “Rizal Without Overcoat” explained why.

According to Ocampo, Rizal’s surname was originally written as “Risal”, chosen from the “Catalogo alfabetico de apellidos”. It was derived from the Spanish word “racial” which means a green field ready for harvest. Thus, painting the house green was meant to honor the memory of the Rizal family and their way of life.

This generated a lot of reaction — mostly against it — from different groups and organizations. Nevertheless, like many other issues, the controversy eventually died down and the house’s color was retained to green.

Back then, I didn’t have much interest visiting the place. It was probably because my grandparents would often bring us there. But now that I’ve grown older, and I would say, wiser, I have developed much more appreciation of the historic landmark. I now envy locals who can take pride in saying that a national hero once lived in their place.

The home of Rizal now rests as a museum which houses the family’s possessions. Its Spanish-inspired interior can be traced clearly from their furniture to the dining tables, to the beds, lamps and windows. Their kitchen utensils are mostly made of wood and claypot. Another famous attraction in the area, especially among kids who go there on field trips, is a wishing well found in the backyard. Outside, you can also see the nipa-hut which served as Pepe’s (young Rizal) playhouse. Beside it is a small statue of Pepe.

Beside the house is a separate building where NHI placed Rizal’s personal stuff like the toothbrush holder he made when he was a kid and some clothes he used to wear.

The original house was destroyed during World War II but was restored under the supervision of National Artist Juan Nakpil through President Elpidio Quirino’s Executive Order No. 145. No entrance fee is needed to tour the museum.

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