9In commemoration of the 150th year birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Municipal Tourism Council of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo is having an ongoing exhibit featuring the life, works and loves of our national hero.
“We came up with the exhibit as our own little way of participating in the nationwide celebration and to show the Santa Barbaranhons' humble way of honouring Rizal” says Irene Magallon, Municipal Tourism officer.
“We came up with the exhibit as our own little way of participating in the nationwide celebration and to show the Santa Barbaranhons' humble way of honouring Rizal” says Irene Magallon, Municipal Tourism officer.
Photo from Hon. Demy Sonza's Facebook accountA simple ceremony, attended by town officials and employees led by Vice Mayor Rema Somo, representatives from the academe, historian Eugene Jamerlan and the media, opened the exhibit weeks ago. Guest of Honor and Board Member Demy Sonza led the ribbon cutting ceremony at the 2nd level of the Sta. Barbara Centennial Museum that unveiled the Rizaliana exhibit.
CONNECTION
“We put Rizal on a pedestal that we possibly cannot connect with him because he is a hero” informs Ms. Maricon Paguntalan, in-house tour guide for the Sta. Barbara Centennial Museum. “His deeds seem very far from what we can do and his life very different from ours.”
“The exhibit presents Rizal first and foremost, as an ordinary person like us, so can all relate and connect with him” she continues. “Our objective is for the visitors, especially the pupils & students to get to know more about our hero, appreciate him as a real person and value what he did for us to attain the freedom that we enjoy today.”
The museum visitors will have a good review of the family of Rizal, his works as an artist, a sculptor, a poet, a writer, propagandist and a lot more that led the way of him becoming our national hero. “Best of all, visitors get a chance to have their photos taken with our very own “Jose Rizal”.”LIFE AND WORKS
Visitors will be ushered in by the story of "Rizal, the Moth and the Lamp" – representing his youth. “One will get to know him better as a son, a brother and as part of one big family” Paguntalan informs.
His life as a student and after school – including travels and works to his artworks, comic stories and funny sketches, which students really love, follows. It shows the “lighter” side of our national hero as he is involved in the arts.His propagandist days are also depicted with photos showing him together with Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo among others. His works from La Solidaridad to Noli and El Fili and until he was executed in Bagumbayan are also shown in the exhibit.
Further on, Ilonggos can truly appreciate his Mi Ultimo Adios as it is translated to Hiligaynon.A VERSATILE GENIUS
“Did you know that Rizal acted as a character in one of Juan Luna’s paintings and acted in school dramas?” Paguntalan asked. “Or he could hit a target 20 meters away? And he has travelled around the world, three times.” These and a lot more are revealed in a tribute to the many faces and facets of Rizal’s life.
Different portraits of him are exhibited as well as his “Many Sided Personality” from being an ambassador of goodwill, lover of truth, and nationalist to his being a linguist, philosopher, scientist and poet.He was also an agriculturist, archaeologist, botanist and historian on top of being a fencer, chess player, sharp shooter. Jobs he actually took include being a cartographer, laboratory worker, proof reader, sanitary engineer, sculptor, rural reconstruction worker, ophthalmic surgeon and physician – having cured himself from tuberculosis.
THE LOVES OF RIZAL
“In one corner, we also feature his loves, including his filial love, his mother, Teodora Alonso and his patriotic love – for the Inang Bayan” Paguntalan shows. Among the more familiar are Leonor Rivera, Josephine Bracken and Segunda Katigbak (his first love), we all learned in school.
Nellie Bousted, Osei San and Suzanne Jacoby“There are stories and trivia along the tour which will make this part more interesting” shares Paguntalan. “Like that of O Sei San, a Japanese Samurai’s daughter that Rizal almost married if not for his patriotic mission.”
Segunda Katigbak, Consuelo Ortiga and Leonor ValenzuelaA love affair as if in our times was that with Nellie Bousted. But it failed as she wants him to be converted to the Protestant faith and while her mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. Then there’s Leonor Valenzuela whom he wrote love letters with invisible ink – deciphered over the warmth of a lamp or candle. Completing this part of Rizal’s life are Gertrude Beckett, Suzanne Jacoby and Consuelo Ortiga.
Gertrude Beckett, Josephine Bracken and Leonor Rivera
Gertrude Beckett, Josephine Bracken and Leonor RiveraSAYING GOODBYE
And one doesn’t leave the exhibit without having to pose in the "tableau" depicting Jose Rizal writing the lines “Adios, Patria adorada ….” complete with the lamp replica where he hid the finished work.
“Rizal’s life is so inspiring that it humbles us all and we hope to bring back the memories of him through this exhibit” finishes Paguntalan. “And if students/visitors will be asked about their national hero, they can tell a lot. And they can tell with pride, why Jose Rizal is our national hero!”
The exhibit runs until December 30, 2011 for a very minimal entrance fee. It is open from 9-11 am and 2-4 pm during weekdays. For group visits, please make arrangements with the Santa Barbara Tourism Office at 523-9955 or 523-8000 or send email to sb100museum@gmail.com.
An edited version of this post appeared on the The News Today on August 29, 2011