Jose Rizal’s prison cell in Barcelona now a place of honor

A room in a military fortress in Spain where Philippine national hero José Rizal was once imprisoned by Spanish authorities is now a place which honors his name and memory – the “Sala José Rizal" room at the Montjuic Castle in Barcelona, Spain. The Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona reported the inauguration on Thursday in a statement posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website. Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos C. Salinas said in his address at the April 8 ceremony that the inauguration of the Sala José Rizal is especially significant since the Philippines is celebrating this year the 150th birth anniversary of the national hero. On Oct, 6, 1896, Dr. Rizal was imprisoned at the Montjuic Castle—“Castell de Montjuïc" in the local Catalan language—by Spanish authorities after his arrest as he was making his way to Cuba on a volunteer medical mission.
View Larger Map From the Montjuic Castle, he was subsequently brought to a ship bound for Manila, where Rizal faced trial and eventual martyrdom. Ambassador Salinas said that whereas before Montjuic Castle used to represent Rizal's loss of his freedom, the castle would now be a place honoring his memory and libertarian ideals. Salinas likewise noted that among the Spaniards who befriended and supported Rizal in Spain was the 19th-century Catalan statesman Francisco Pi y Margall, a president of the former Spanish Republic, and another highly respected figure among the people of Barcelona. He thanked the Barcelona city government and the local Filipino community, represented by Filipino parish priest Fr. Avelino Sapida, for supporting the Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona in realizing this project. Barcelona Vice Mayor Ignasi Cardelús extolled Dr. Rizal as one of many great promoters of personal freedom and free thinking, adding that “the rooms which used to imprison freedom fighters will from now on be used for leading world experts to speak of the peaceful resolution of conflict and disarmament." Outgoing Philippine Consul General to Barcelona Eduardo Jose A. de Vega later told reporters that the idea to highlight Barcelona's special historical connections with the Philippines, including the honoring of Dr. Rizal in his former place of imprisonment, was part of his original vision and goals when he initially assumed as Consul General in Barcelona in June 2008. De Vega thanked the Barcelona city government and local Filipino community leaders for their support in these undertakings. He also referred to last year's placing of the commemorative marker at the original local site of the publication of the La Solidaridad newspaper, and the donation of giant Philippine shells to the world-famous La Sagrada Familia church, and hoped that all this would serve as “a meaningful legacy as I end my mission in Barcelona in a few months." The honoring of Dr. Rizal in Montjuic Castle is part of a whole range of activities being undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs, including its Embassies and Consulates General around the world, on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of the Philippine national hero, who was born on June 19, 1861. The Montjuic Castle is a fortress atop a hill in Barcelona, which many years ago served as a military prison. – MRT/JV, GMA News