This life-sized bronze bust of José Rizal is found with several other busts of International Leaders in Lake Eola's International Plaza and Bridge. I was unable to discover how these notables were selected other than 'someone' donated them.
This bust of José Rizal has him in a typical gentlemen's suit of the time period. The bust on on a polished stone plinth with many inscriptions. They read:
Physician, Poet, Novelist, Linguist,
Artist, Patriot, Architect of
Filipino unity and the soul
of the Philippines struggle for
freedom and independence
"There are no tyrants
where there are no slaves."
Presented to the City of Orlando
by the Filipino American Community
through the
Council for Filipino American
Organizations of Central Florida
January 13, 2001
Honorable Glenda E. Hood,
Mayor
"Patriotism will signify
at all times, love for justice,
liberty and dignity itself."
Rizal
"Redemption presupposes virtue;
virtue, sacrifice, and
sacrifice, love."
Rizal
Donors and member organizations are engraved at the bottom of the monument.
"José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by the National Heroes Committee. His execution day in 1896, now known as Rizal Day, is a national holiday in the Philippines. As a political figure, José Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio, which would start the Philippine Revolution against Spain, leading to the foundation of the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government peacefully through institutional reform rather than through violent revolution, although he would support "violent means" as a last resort. Rizal believed that the only justification for national liberation and self-government is the restoration of the dignity of the people, saying "Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?" The general consensus among Rizal scholars is that his execution by the Spanish government ignited the Philippine Revolution." (from (
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The complete biography of José Rizal may be found at (
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