-Rizal led a Spartan life in Madrid.

He knew that he came to spain to

study and prepare himself for service to his fatherland.
Accordiingly, he rigidly budgeted his money and time. He lived
frugally, spending his money on food, clothing, lodging, and books.
-He spent his leisure time reading and writing at his boarding
house, attending the reunions of Filipino students at the house of
the Paterno Brothers (Antonio, Maximino, and Pedro), and
practicing fending and shooting at the gymnasium
-On Saturday evenings, he visited the home of Don Pablo Ortiga y
Rey who lived with his son (Rafael) and daughter (Consuelo). Don
Pablo had been city mayor of manila during the administration of
the liberal governor general Carlos Ma. De la Torre (1869-1871) and
was later promoted vice-president of the Council of the Philippines
in the Ministry of Colonies (Ultramar)
ROMANCE WITH CONSUELO ORTIGA Y PEREZ
-Rizal being a young man in a foreign country, far from his natal
land, was attracted by Consuelo’s beauty and vivacity. He even
composed a lovely poem on August 22, 1883 dedicated to her. In
this poem titled A La Señorita C. O. y P. (To Miss C. O. y P.) he
expressed his admiration for her. He found solace and joy in her
company.
He suddenly backed out for two reasons:
1. he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera
2. his friend and co-worker in the Propaganda Movement, Eduardo
de Lete was madly in love with consuelo and he had no wish to
break their friendship because of a pretty girl.

“ They Ask Me For Verses”

Upon the requests of the members of this society, he wrote a poem
entitled “Me Piden Versos” which he personally declaimed during
the New Year’s Eve reception of the Madrid Filipinos held in the
evening of December 31, 1882.

Rizal as lover of books

-Rizal economized his living expenses, and with the money he
saved, he purchased books from a second-hand book store owned
by a certain Señor Roses. He was able to buid a fair-sized private
library.
-he was deeply affected by the Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Eugene Sue’s The Wandering Jew. These two books aroused his
sympathy for the oppressed and unfortunate people.
Rizal’s first visit to Paris (1883)
-During his first summer vacation in madrid, rizal went to paris,
sojourning in this gay capital of france from june 17 to august 20
1883. At first he was billeted at the Hotel de Paris on 3 Rue de
Rennes in the Latin Quarter, where it was cheaper to live.
-Unlike ordinary tourists, whose main interest in visiting foreign
countries is to see the beautiful sights, to enjoy themselves in
night clubs and theatres, and to shop for souvenir items, rizal
improved his mind by observing, closely the french way of life and
spending many hours at the museums, notably the world-famous-
Louvre; the botanical gardens, especially the Luxembourg; the
libraries and art galleries; and the hospitals including the Laennec
Hospital where he observed Dr. Nicaise treating his patients and
the Lariboisiere Hospital where he observed the examination of
different diseases of women.
Rizal as Mason
-in spain rizal came as close contact with prominent spanish
liberal and republican spaniards, who were mostly masons.
Including miguel morayta, statesman, professor, historian and
writer, Francisco Pi y Margal, journalist, statesman, and former
president of the short-lives first spanish republic; manuel becerra,
minister of ultramar (colonies); emilio Junoy, journalist and
member of the spanish cortes and juan ruiz zorilla, parliamentarian
and head of the republican progressive party in madrid.
-in due time, in march 1883 he joined the masonic lidge called
ACACIA in madrid. His reason for becoming a mason was to secure
freemansonry’s aid in his fight against the friars in the Philippines.
-later he transferred to lodge solidaridad (madrid), where he
became a master mason on november 15, 1890. Still later, on
february 15, 1892 he was awarded the diploma as master mason by
Le grand Orient de France in paris.
Financial worries
-due to hard times in calamba, the monthly allowances of rizal in
madrid were late in arrival and there were times they never arrived,
causing much suffering to him. At one time, paciano was forced to
sell his younger brother’s pony in order to send money to madrid.
-a touching incident in rizal’s life in madrid occurred on june 24,
1884. Because he was broke, he was unable to take breakfast that
day. With an empty stomach, he attended his class at the university,
participated in the contest in greek language and won the gold
medal. In the evening of the same day he was able to eat dinner, for
he was a guest speaker in a banquet held in honor of juan luna and
felix resurrecion hidalgo at Restaurant Ingles, Madrid.
Rizal salute to Luna and Hidalgo
- the banquet on the evening of june 25, 1884 was sponsored by the
filipino community to celebrate the double victory of the filipino
artist in the national exposition of arts in madrid. Luna’s spoliarium
winning the first prize, and hidalgo’s christian virgins exposed to
populace, second prize. It was attended by prominent spanish
artists, newspapermen and men-of-letters,statesmen and filipinos.
- he saluted luna and hidalgo as the two glories of spain and the
philippines, whose artistic achievements transcended
geographical frontiers and racial origins, for genius is universal –
“genius knows no country, genius sprouts everywhere, genius is
like light, air, the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space,
like life, like God.” He also assailed with refined sarcasm the
bigotry and blindness of certain unworthy spaniards.