Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 3):
October 6, 1896
Dr. Jose P. Rizal was temporarily detained by Spanish authorities on October 6, 1896 in Montjuic Castle (Castell de Montjuïc in the local Catalan language), Barcelona.
He arrived in Barcelona on October 3, 1896 and was on heavy guard on board the steamer Isla de Panay. Rizal was on his way to Cuba on a volunteer medical mission. He was later deported to Manila and was executed on December 30, 1896.
To commemorate his 150th birth anniversary, a room in the military fortress Montjuic Castle where he was once imprisoned is now a place which honors his name and memory – the “Sala Jose Rizal" room. The Barcelona City Government represented by Vice Mayor Ignasi Cardelus, with Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos C. Salinas, together with the Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona, Consul General Eduardo A. de Vega, and Rizal descendant Noelle Sy-Quia unveiled the marker of Dr. Jose Rizal at the "Sala Jose Rizal" in 2011.
Also present were Vice President of Ferrer i Guardia Foundation Oriol Illa and Filipino community leaders Fr. Avelino Sapida, president of Kalipi (Kapulungan ng mga Lider Pinoy sa Barcelona), and Sr. Paulita Astillero, Director of Centro Filipino, among others.
Ambassador Salinas stated that this event was truly a singular honor for the Filipino nation. Montjuic Castle which once represented Dr. Rizal’s loss of freedom, would be from now on, a place honoring his memory and libertarian ideals.
He thanked the Barcelona City Government for this distinguished recognition, as well as the Filipino community in Barcelona for supporting the Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona in the realization of this meaningful project.
"Sala Jose Rizal" room is at Sala 17. A plaque bears his portrait, a sample page of El Filibusterismo and the cover of the newspaper La Solidaridad dated 1889.
(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved
Photo credit: philembassymadrid.com
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