Jose Rizal was a man of incredible intellectual power.
with amazing artistic talent as well.
He excelled at anything that he put his mind to - medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture, sociology.
the list seems nearly endless.
Thus, Rizal's martyrdom by the Spanish colonial authorities,
while he was still quite young, was a huge loss to the Philippines.
and to the world at large.
Today, the people of the Philippines honor him as their national hero.