Jose Rizal was a foodie and 3 other things you may or may not know about him

Because today is Jose Rizal’s birth anniversary, we thought we’d list things that you may or may not know about our national hero.

1. He had a third novel…that he wasn’t able to finish, that is. Historians refer to it as ‘Makamisa’ but according to Prof. Xiao Chua, it’s actually the title of the first chapter of the novel he was working on and was unable to finish. There are two drafts of this novel that are in the National Library.

2. He was a foodie. He loved so much food it reflected in his novels—remember the amount of symbolism he put in the tinola that was served to Padre Damaso? His usual breakfast is rice and dried fish, or tuyo, as we know (and love) it. Rizal often pairs this meal with thick hot chocolate aka tsokolate eh or chocolate espresso.

3. He grew up surrounded by 1,000 books. No wonder Rizal was a smartie. According to Prof. Chua, the Rizal family had 1,000 books in their Calamba home that Rizal loved to read.

4. Three insects were named after him. While locked up in Dapitan, Rizal would collect weird insects and bugs and send them to Germany for to be identified. He made three successful discoveries that were named after him: A flying lizard (Draco Rizali), a beetle (Apogonia Rizali), and a frog (Rhacophorus Rizali).—LA/KVD, GMA News