Teodora Alonso Realonda

Teodora Alonso Realonda y Quintos (November 9, 1827 – August 16, 1911) was a wealthy woman in the Spanish colonial Philippines. She was best known as the mother of the Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal. Realonda was born in Santa Cruz, Manila. She was also known for being a disciplinarian and hard-working mother. Her medical condition inspired Rizal to take up medicine. Teodora Alonso was the second child of Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a municipal captain in Biñan, Laguna, and Brijida de Quintos. Her family had adopted additional surname Realonda in 1849, after Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes (though they already had Spanish names). Teodora's ancestry included Chinese, Japanese, and Tagalog. Her lineage can be traced to the affluent Florentina family of Chinese mestizo families originating in Baliuag, Bulacan. She also had Spanish ancestry from both of her parents. Her maternal grandmother, Regina Ochoa, had mixed Spanish, Chinese, Pangasinan and Tagalog blood. Teodora Alonso was also a representative in the Spanish Courts and a pious Catholic, being a Knight of the Order of Isabella. Quintos was an educated woman, who became a housewife, devoted to caring for her family's needs. Her family adopted “Realonda” after General Governor Narciso Clavería issued a decree in 1849. Realonda came from a financially able family and studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa in Manila, just like her mother who was well-bred and had an educational background in the subjects of mathematics and literature. Teodora married Francisco Mercado, a native of Biñan, Laguna, on June 28, 1848, when she was 20 years old. The couple resided in Laguna, particularly in Calamba and built a business from agriculture. She was an industrious and educated woman, managing the family's farm and finances. Teodora used her knowledge to grow the rice, corn, and sugarcane that sustained the family's well-to-do lifestyle.