Jose Rizal and Leonor Rivera

The love story of Jose Rizal and Leonor Rivera is one of today’s drama series. Leonor Rivera is Rizal’s long-time girlfriend. She waited for our national hero. Leonor’s love for Rizal cannot be questioned despite that she married another man. Leonor was practically constrained to forget Rizal and marry another man because of her false belief that Rizal already abandoned her. Unknown to Leonor, her mother Silvestre Bauzon devised a scheme to ensure that Rizal’s letters will not reach her daughter. It is said that with the help of some unscrupulous employees at the post office, Leonor’s mother was successful in ending the correspondence between the two lovers. The exchange of letters between Rizal and Leonor was intercepted by Leonor’s mother. This is a plot common in love stories where the parents are against their daughter’s boyfriend. 

Rizal and Leonor’s love story is perhaps the first documented LDR (long-distance relationship) in Philippine history. Their love story has been told and retold for generations. Thanks to the Rizal law or Republic Act No. 1425, Rizal and Leonor’s love story will never be forgotten. The suffering endured by Rizal and Leonor brought about by existing circumstances at that time is exceptionally unbearable. Just imagine how long each one has to wait just to receive a letter from one other. Imagine how difficult it was for Rizal and Leonor not to receive a long-awaited letter without any clue as to why your beloved is no longer writing. At that time, there is no internet. Letters take weeks or months to arrive. This may be the reason why letters are kept and valued at that time.

Leonor valued Rizal’s letters. She considered Rizal’s letter as her priceless possession. To Leonor, Rizal’s letters are a treasure to be protected. Leonor may have read Rizal’s letter a thousand times. She may have already memorized Rizal’s promise of forever. Leonor may have taken it to heart and truly believed Rizal’s promise that someday they will be together again. But history has shown that nothing in Rizal’s promises will come to reality. The sweet promises written by Rizal will be eternally forgotten because Leonor will burn his letters. Aside from Rizal himself, only Leonor can say what was written in those letters. However, since these are letters between two lovers separated by distance, we can assume that these letters contain promises and sweet nothings. 

Nothing in this world remains a secret. Despite the sinister effort of Mrs. Bauzon to conceal Rizal’s letter from Leonor, one of Rizal’s letters eventually did reach Leonor. Leonor found out that Rizal still loves her. But, it is already too late because she is bound to marry British Engineer Charles Henry Kipping. Imagine the pain and suffering felt by Leonor Rivera at this time! All along she thought that Rizal had already forgotten her only to find out that her mother has been intercepting Rizal’s letters. 

Leonor ended up marrying Kipping. The heartbroken Rizal returned to the Philippines and was exiled to Dapitan. It was in Dapitan where Rizal received the news from her sisters that Leonor passed away. The grief Rizal felt at this time was unbearable. Leonor Rivera is Rizal’s true love and sweetheart for more than a decade. Being in exile is already a very difficult kind of life. Being informed about the death of a one true love not only add to the hurt but is tragic and painful beyond description. Leonor was still young. Both Rizal and Leonor at that time were still young. Leonor Rivera died on August 1893 when she was only 26 years old. When Rizal learned about Leonor’s passing, he was about 32 years old in Dapitan.

To forget or at the very least alleviate the pain felt by Rizal upon learning what happened to Leonor Rivera, Rizal made himself busy by engaging in worthwhile projects in Dapitan. Rizal was exiled to Dapitan from 1892 to 1896. While in Dapitan, Rizal practiced as a physician and an eye doctor, built a waterworks system, created a relief map of Mindanao, discovered new species of animals, and established a school among others. The four years Rizal stayed in Dapitan transformed the province from being unknown to a historical landmark. 

But perhaps to further forget Leonor and the tragic ending of their love story, Rizal played chess in Dapitan. Rizal is not only a physician, engineer, educator, businessman, scientist, inventor and artist in Dapitan - Rizal is also a chess player. Rizal played chess in Dapitan. Maybe whenever he touched the Queen - the most powerful piece in chess - Rizal remembers Leonor Rivera. 

The tragic end of Rizal and Leonor’s love story is intriguing. Their love story in itself is full of dramatic events, different characters, surprises, mystery and suspense.  Jose Rizal and Leonor Rivera weaved a love story that usually happens in romantic novels and movies.  It is a “you and me against the world” kind of love story. But despite the sad ending, it is through their love story that we can have an idea of how life was during Rizal’s time.