José Rizal came from a well-off family in Calamba, Laguna. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, was a prosperous farmer from Biñan, Laguna, known for his hard work and respected reputation in the community. His mother, Teodora Alonso Realonda, was highly educated and played a major role in nurturing Rizal’s early love for learning—she was his first teacher, guiding his intellectual and moral growth.