A Literary Walking Tour in Madrid: Part 2 (And Birthday Post!) 😉

Welcome Back to the continuation of my literary tour of Rizal’s Madrid where I spent this summer traversing and retracing the footsteps of patriot Jose Rizal who had spent some years living in Madrid where he wrote his novel, attended various cultural events and raised awareness of the plight of Filipinos back in the Philippines.

Herewith, I continue to share highlights of the tour along with some preliminary (brainstorming!) notes to include in scenes that I wish to incorporate in my longtime novel-in-progress (without revealing spoilers!) 😊

 

Calle Gran Via (formerly C/. San Miguel 7, 1º)

A letter dated Sept. 11, 1883 to his parents in the Philippines stated Rizal lived here in this pension, paying a daily rent of four pesetas a day.  His rent excluded the cost of kerosene which he had to buy himself so he could read and study at night. Perhaps because the living conditions weren’t ideal, Rizal had to seek another boarding house with a Filipino student.

 

Personal writing notes: I envision a scene showing Rizal struggling to write and read in the evenings feeling frustrated that the kerosene lamp he was using caused him to maybe miss a few meals or not afford nights out with friends. I could see the light go out in the middle of his writing poetry and a letter to Leonor prompting him to finally look for another place to live.

 

Calle del Barquillo 34, 4º

Just a hop and a skip away from his previous residence, this Gran Vía lodging had also been temporary according to this same correspondence to his parents, he asked that all future letters be forwarded to this address.  Living with Rizal was Esteban Villanueva who came to Madrid to study law but later became an established painter.  The tour pamphlet states that many Filipinos had taken up the arts since a number of them pursued these as careers: Luna, Hidalgo, Melecio Figueroa, an engraver and Villanueva.    

Rizal at that point was in dire financial straits. In his diary, he mentioned his high grades in medicine, his victory in Greek contests and exams in Historia Universal but said he had to pawn Saturnina’s ring given to him, to pay for his exams.  Once Rizal had endured a whole day without a meal. Fortunately, the Paternos had asked him to deliver one of the main speeches at a banquet, a toast to Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo who had just won first and second prizes (for the Spoliarium and Virgenes Cristianas Expuesta al Populacho),  respectively, at the art competition sponsored by the Exposicion de Bellas Artes in Madrid.  He wrote his notes in code in his diary which were later decoded by Miguel Unamuno, his Spanish friend, upon the request of Wenceslao Retana.

 

Personal writing notes: While David and I explored Rizal’s former stomping grounds, we quickly realized that most, if not all, of Rizal’s residences were pretty much in the same area, a fact that prompted David and I to dub Rizal’s living experience in Madrid as “apartment hopping” as all the places he lived at were within walking distance to each other. Still, we didn’t visit all his residences in order at the same time as hunger and heat took over, halting our tour until cooler climes prevailed. From all that was stated above about this place, I’m thinking of combining Rizal’s experiences in these two residences into one scene though at the time of this writing, I haven’t yet decided how to do that. My options are: to have Rizal recount the experiences in a memory/flashback or to have him simply tell Jeneviere (my protagonist from the present time. I know, it’s a hint of what’s to come but it’s not like I spilled more details to spoil the reading experience). And it’s also worth noting that ever since David mentioned to me about Miguel Unamuno before my trip back to Madrid, I toyed with the idea of linking this Spanish author to Rizal as they were indeed contemporaries of this time period. Turns out, history had already done me a favor by revealing that indeed these two great authors were friends, proof that while there had been tensions between Spain and the Philippines, two men from these opposing countries still shared a fondness and passion for literature and that their friendship transcended these hostile boundaries. 😊  

 

Calle Pizarro 15 (formerly C/. Pizarro 13 , 2º Dcha.)

Rizal wrote a letter to his family, on Aug. 29, 1884 regarding his living with classmates Ceferino de Leon and Julio Llorente at this place very close to the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras at c/ Bernardo where he was to finish his philosophy and letters degree in a year. At this time he wrote to his family why sugar prices had fallen—Cuba and Puerto Rico, as well as the colonies of Great Britain, had replaced the Philippines as the new sources of U.S. imports, the biggest at that time. But by far, the most notable fact was it was here where Rizal quietly started his novel Noli Me Tangere.

 

Personal writing notes: I feel that by far, everything I’d experienced and seen and felt during this tour of Rizal’s old stomping ground were leading up to this moment: the place where Rizal’s famed Noli Me Tangere was conceived (but not born as that moment would come in a different place much later). Every site David and I visited, we tried to imagine what it was like during the time he lived here: the sights, the sounds, the smells. In many ways, the Madrid at the time of Rizal’s residence was more or less no different the Madrid today. Here, in this residence is where I envision writing a scene where Rizal pens his novel with great hope and promise for a better future for his country and people.

 

Calle Cedaceros 11, piso principal

Rizal mentioned in a letter to his family that in this residence, perhaps Rizal’s last in Madrid, he only spent 15 days here, from Oct 1 to 15, 1885 with roommates sharing the place with Ceferino de Leon and Eduardo de Lete.  He informed his parents of his eventual move to Paris and Berlin to study ophthalmology under the best professors at that time.  His mother’s eyesight had worsened and Rizal counted on the best ophthalmological education possible to treat her when would return to the Philippines, a matter his brother Paciano had been concerned about leading him to urge Rizal to stay in Hong Kong instead since it would be the safe option and closer to home.  Rizal earned himself as reputation as an anti-friar intellectual which had become public because of his speech at the Hotel Ingles at the banquet to honor Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.  According to Paciano, returning to the Philippines would be a death sentence since a lot of Spaniards were awaiting to punish him for claiming that the Indios could be even better than the colonial masters if given the chance to develop themselves.

 

Personal writing notes: Knowing all of this, I feel compelled to show a (flashback) scene of Rizal (or a scene of Rizal recounting this experience) of reading his brother, Paciano’s letter with both concern for his mother—another main reason for his living and studying abroad—and for fear of his life should he return to the Philippines. He’ll recall experiencing anxiety stemming from all this as if anything were to happen to him, who would be the one to cure his beloved mother’s blindness? Was he willing to take the risk of going back home to the Philippines anyway? From a writerly standpoint, I think it’s been nothing short of amazing visiting these places Rizal had inhabited because I could almost feel his anxiety over not being able to cure his mother, and smell the fear of not being able to do what he believed he was put on this earth to do: make a difference in the lives of his fellow Filipinos.

Thank you for reading this part of my writing process as writing about this novel research experience has been giving me the opportunity to relive this exciting literary adventure! Please check back for the continuation of this series…

 

 

 

A Literary Walking Tour in Madrid

This spring/summer 2022, I had the trip of a lifetime! Well, I could say that about all of my trips but this one was super special for me as it was a personal writers’ retreat unlike any other. Because this one was specifically geared toward my writerly needs.

 Although I have about four to five different project pots simmering on the literary stove, I had long wanted to return to Madrid specifically for the purpose of gathering more material to finally finish my long-awaited piece of historical fiction I started in 2006 and continued to work on throughout my MFA program. It’s been a work-in-progress since that time and I thought I was finished with it, even had my fellow book club members read an early draft in 2010 (their choice to read it, not mine, Lol). But as I had been pecking at it since then, like a slow simmering stew, it never felt quite…done. I felt what it really needed was for me to return to Madrid to gather what I believed to be the missing pieces to this literary puzzle I’d been trying to finish all these years. So since my study abroad there in 2003, I had every intention to visit Madrid until the pandemic hit us and, of course, we all know how that affected us in our own lives.

 But then the opportunity finally came this year to return to a city I love just as much as I love Paris but in a more soulful, literary way. Today, I will be sharing the first of a series of posts dedicated to my whole “impromptu” and unforgettable writing retreat experience. What was serendipitous about this trip was that through my exploration of Madrid and the outskirts, I was able to fulfill my goal of researching, collecting ideas and material for not just my “ongoing” historical WIP, but also for my other WIPs. And now, without further ado, join me as I revisit a series of my literary adventures.

 

Rizal Literary Walking Tour Part One: Where Jose Rizal Lived

Courtesy of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid’s website, I stumbled upon a self-guided tour of the places Philippine hero Jose Rizal had lived, studied and wrote in Madrid. And to borrow some of the text from their tour guide, I will recount my idea/fact gathering adventure along with photos from this neighborhood.

 With the help of my good friend and best tour guide in the world, David, we began to amble along the streets of Del Barrio del Las Letras, a neighborhood known as the stomping grounds of such famous literary greats as Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega. Using the walking tour guide from the Philippine embassy, we traversed the streets and alleys of this literary district finding that within the years Rizal had lived here, he really only stayed in pretty much the same area even though it was evident he had been “apartment hopping.”

 I was so psyched being here in this neighborhood retracing the steps of Jose Rizal, one of the muses of my novel. Without going into too much detail, (I want it to be a surprise for when the book finally publishes!) I’m excited to share my creative process throughout this journey. 😊

 

Calle Amor de Dios, 13-15

In no particular order, David and I ventured out to Calle Amor de Dios, 13-15, which was Rizal’s first Madrid residence from Sept. 12, 1882 to May 1883. According to the guide, Rizal lead a spartan life since he had a limited allowance of only less than 50 pesos per month. Here, he lived with Vicente Gonzalez, an old friend from his days at the Ateneo de Manila, and likely chose the place since it was close to the university and atelier Rizal attended where he delved into the fine arts. The guide notes that this apartment’s piano and four huge mirrors created a lasting impression on Rizal.

Personal writing notes: When someone exited the heavy steel doors, David took the chance to enter the building with me on his heels…it was truly an adventure. We felt like two literary detectives out to solve a mystery! Mainly, we both wanted to know how the building looked from the inside even though we couldn’t get access into the actual apartment. So up we went the creaky, wooden stairs, trying to imagine Rizal coming back to his place after a night out and trudging up the same stairs over a hundred years ago.

Calle Fernandez y Gonzales 8, 3º-4 (formerly C/. de la Visitación)

Situated close to Plaza Santa Ana and right behind the Teatro Español, Rizal lived here from May to June 17, 1883 before he left for a Paris vacation.

Personal notes: I imagined Rizal attending a performance at the Teatro Español, taking in the arts scene in his neighborhood.

 

Calle Ventura de la Vega (formerly C/. Baño 15, piso principal or 1º)

Also the headquarters of Circulo Hispano Filipino (CHF), a forum for Filipino students to discuss Philippine political discussions, Rizal boarded here from Autumn 1883 to August 1884. CHF, which published a magazine financed by Juan Atayde, a Philippine-born Spaniard, also sponsored regular bailes to raise funds for the association. It was also here in this residence where Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the daughter of the residence’s owner, had caught Rizal’s attention. He gave her poems, musical pieces from Paris and guimaras, a type of Philippine textile.

Personal writing notes: This prompted me to envision writing a scene where my fictional Rizal character laments over his unrequited love for Consuelo and thought it best not to pursue her as he still had Leonor waiting for him back home.

Thank you for reading as writing this has been giving me the opportunity to relive this exciting literary adventure! Please check back for the continuation of this series…