While in US, a dapper Rizal wielded a yo-yo

CHICAGO – During his travels outside the Philippines in the 1800s, national hero Jose Rizal was often seen wearing expensive clothes and checking into high-end hotels in the United States. Wherever he went, Rizal always had in his pocket the Filipino toy "yo-yo." Dr. Virgilio Pilapil, founder and commander of the Lincolnland Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, spoke on July 7 of Rizal’s travels in the United States. Pilapil's lecture at the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, Illinois was part of a series of events marking the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal this year. Pilapil's lecture on “Rizal’s Travel to the USA: What’s the Big Deal" was co-sponsored by the Filipino American National Historical Society of the Midwest and the Philippine Consulate. Pilapil said in his travels, Rizal “stayed in first class hotels and was apparently a big spender. In those travels, he always played yo-yo before high-ranking people, telling them that Filipinos have their own unique culture." Pilapil said Governor-General Emilio Terrero told Rizal to leave the Philippines because his book, "Noli Me Tangere," was ‘heretical, impious and scandalous to the religious orders and injurious to the government and to the political order in the Philippines." "Noli Me Tangere" (The Social Cancer) was Rizal's first novel. It was first published in 1887 when Rizal was 26 years old. The novel spoke of the ills committed against Filipinos during the Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. Rizal's surprise for fellow ship passengers On February 3, 1888, Rizal left Manila for Europe via Hongkong, Japan, and the United States. He left Japan on February 28, 1888 aboard the SS Belgic. He arrived in San Francisco on April 18, 1888, and lodged at the Palace Hotel. He then took a transcontinental train to the US East Coast via Chicago and the Niagara Falls in Lake Ontario. He stayed at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York for a while and sailed to England aboard the SS City of Rome, arriving in Liverpool, England on May 24, 1888. Pilapil, a pediatrician by profession, said “While aboard the (SS) City of Rome, Rizal had a surprise. He had a yo-yo in his pocket... I have no doubt Rizal impressed his audience in the ship." "But this episode tells us even more about Rizal. He has humility. He is secure about himself. He has to be. Can you imagine a 27-year-old physician playing yo-yo before a likely group of senior citizens, professionals and the rich?" asked Pilapil. "He has to be also proud of his culture to be able to try to educate people with the basic toy of Filipino children. He must have planned for him to have a yo-yo in his pocket. He intended to have fun and he was good enough to share it with many. And that I think is the reason people liked him. He behaves with pride for who he is," Pilapil added. A polymath Rizal (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), was a Filipino polymath, patriot and advocate of reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period. His execution by the Spanish on December 30, 1896, a date commemorated annually as "Rizal Day," is believed to have sparked the Filipinos fight for freedom from the Spaniards. Rizal was born to a rich family in Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh of eleven children. He went to the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts, and later enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. He later studied at the Universidad Central de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, earning a Licentiate in Medicine. He also attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Art exhibit Aside from Pilapil's lecture, an exhibit is being held at the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago from July 7 to 16. The exhibit features Fran Alayu’s "Collection of Filipinos in Chicago celebrating Rizal Day" and the works of Filipino artist Fred de Asis on ancient Filipino Art, Kut-Kut and Baybayin. The Instituto Cervantes of Chicago is a public not-for-profit institution founded by the government of Spain in 1991 to promote the Spanish language and culture. It is now the largest international Spanish teaching organization, and has more than 70 centers in four continents. It was named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of the literary classic, Don Quixote. On July 14, the book “Remembering Rizal: Voices of the Diaspora" was launched at the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago. The book is a collection of writings and artworks about Rizal from contributors from all over the US and other countries. - VVP/HS, GMA News