Rizal’s frugal dinners

In November 1884 Rizal received a letter from his elder brother Paciano filled with news from home that included an update on the family and how their house in Calamba almost burned to the ground:

“At midnight in the month of September [1884] our mother woke us up saying that there was fire in the pantry. I rose up and saw in fact that the fire from the hanging settee was already licking the roof. It was not difficult for us to put it out, so much so that the neighbors did not know about it. The fire came from the Bengal light that could not be lighted on the day of San Juan and was stored there, and it seems that it burned spontaneously as the pyrotechnics here affirm, because at that time everybody was sleeping. If the house had been burnt and also the warehouse nearby, the fiesta could not be more complete.

“In your letter you say that you want to take graduate work in medicine in German schools. I’m very agreeable to this, but our critical situation will not permit an increase in your allowance. If we were not going through these bad times, the initiative would come from here.”

The excerpts should prove that contrary to popular belief, Rizal was not rolling in money like Janet Napoles or some of his contemporaries. Rizal’s family was prosperous enough to send the bright son to study in Europe, but money was not always enough, nor did it get to him on time. In Rizal’s correspondence we find many references to his allowance, how it is to be sent to him, and how he can get the best exchange rate. Early on, Rizal always updated his elder brother on his plans so that funds could be made available, and his allowance was dependent on the international price of sugar as well as the crop yield in Laguna.

Rizal’s reply to Paciano is insignificant in the context of the larger picture that is Philippine history, but as I was going over my notes this week the text jumped out in the context of the trail of death and destruction left by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Central Philippines. Rizal commented on the fire by suggesting that the people of Calamba change a bit in the way they do things. The cause of the fire was a firecracker that did not go off when it was lit, and then was brought home and stored. How and why this dud eventually lit up is a mystery, but Rizal asked his brother whether money spent for firecrackers and fiestas could be put to better use:

“You told me about the fire there at home. This fire starting from pyrotechnics has led me to a rather remote idea that we ought to think little by little of changing our customs, making them more practical. You, for instance, with your prestige among the people [of Calamba], ought to begin to instill in their minds the idea of abandoning festivals and other things that produce no immediate utility, such as Thanksgiving Masses and other things of the sort. The money that goes to certain coffers doesn’t circulate, and money that doesn’t circulate brings about the impoverishment of the country. Furthermore, over there we are being exploited in every sense of the word, and we ought to be tired of that now. Now that I think of the money that is spent on a feast, that should be used for the benefit of the people, and would yield very much more profit.”

With the outpouring of sympathy and financial assistance from around the world, one does wonder how donated money should be spent to rebuild lives in the typhoon-devastated areas. Aside from an expression of thanks, shouldn’t an accounting be made to donors, so they can be updated on how their help had changed lives? Rizal always made an accounting of his allowance. One can see the figures in his diaries, and one can see how it was spent in letters to his family.

From Spain Rizal moved on to Germany as planned, and specialized in the treatment of eye diseases. In one long letter to his family he describes student life there:

“Now I lead an entirely different life from what I had lately. I eat outside. The house with service costs me 28 marks—his is seven pesos, each mark being worth two reales fuertes. Breakfast served at the house costs me 40 pfennigs; I lunch at the restaurant; for two reales and 18 cuartos: They give me soup, three dishes, dessert, and wine, besides potatoes, salad, cabbage and other vegetables, for it must be noted that German cooking is all full of vegetables and many things mixed together. At night I buy two small rolls that cost three cuartos, cheese, fruits, and a piece of sausage or butter. All in all, the heating, light, laundry, room, and food cost me some 30 pesos a month or a little less. Add to these expenses the cleaning, etc., so that for 40 pesos one can live well in Germany, if one doesn’t have to buy clothes and to travel from time to time.”

Sometimes all he had in his room for dinner was tea, bread and butter, which led to the deterioration of his health. At one point Rizal was self-medicating and thought he had tuberculosis, until a friend checked him and told him otherwise.

During bad times like these, it is good to remember the heroes under their monuments, and realize that adversity made them great. Disasters can, depending on ourselves, be either misfortune or opportunity.

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