Yes, we’re aware that the word ‘rizz’ has different connotations for different generations. This is for our Gen Z readers out there.
We know now that based on documentations and reports, Jose Rizal was a so-called “heartthrob” during his heyday, what with the number of lovers he had before settling down with Josephine Bracken. But a Filipino historian just showed us another glimpse of just how our “national hero” was an attractive piece of work.
Ambeth R. Ocampo, a famed Filipino public historian, posted a picture of Jose Rizal in his youth that he captioned, “RIZAL’S SHIRTLESS SELFIE”. As of writing, the post now has 5.3k reacts, 131 comments, and 1.4k shares.
In his post, Ambeth R. Ocampo detailed that the national hero, in his youth, had drew himself a selfie. The drawing of the selfie, he said, was “reproduced in Austin Craig’s 1913 book “Life, lineage, and labors of Jose Rizal”, and was believed to “have been lost or destroyed during the 1945 Battle for Manila”.
He ended his post saying that, “If Rizal had a smartphone, he would not have drawn this, and [he] would have no career.”
If we take a closer look at the drawing, this would’ve been quite the scandal during the colonial times—where both men and women were conservative and kept their private matters, well, private.
But if we take this kind of photo now in the times we’re living in, it would’ve been quite the sensation. Like, Jose Rizal? Full time writer/activist, part time influencer/OnlyFans content creator? We don’t know.
All we know is that, Jose Rizal would’ve made for a good ‘thirst trapper’ if he lived in our generation.
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