Paris

Rizal went to Paris after his stay in London. Despite the social parties and the glittering lights of the city, he continued his fruitful artistic, literary, and patriotic labours. He lived in a little room, together with two other Filipinos- Capitan Justo Trinidad, former gobernadorcillo of Santa Ana, Manila and a refugee from Spanish tyranny, and Jose Albert, a young student from Manila.

In Paris, Rizal continued to be busy in his pursuits. He checked up his historial annotations on Morga's book. He wrote letters to his family in Calamba giving an interesting account of his life in Paris. Like any ordinary Filipino tourist in a foreign land, Rizal was fascinated by the Universal Expostion of Paris which opened on May 6, 1889. Rizal and his friends attended the opening ceremonies and saw the cutting of the ribbon by Pres. Sadi Cannot of the Third French Republic.

On May 19, 1889, Rizal organized his paisanos (compatriots) into a society called Kidlat Club. Among its members were, Antonio and Juan Luna,Gregorio Aguilera, Fernando Canon, Lauro Dimayuga, Julie Llorente, Guillermo Puatu and Baldomero Roxas.

Kidlat Club was founded by Rizal to bring together the young Filipinos in the French capital so that they could enjoy their sojourn in the city during the duration of the Universal Exposition.

Rizal and the members of the Kidlat Club were amazed to see the Buffalo Bull show which featured the American Indians. The red-skinned Indians were proud riding their sturdy ponies, elegantly dressed in their native attire and wearing their war feathers and paints.

Rizal was enchanted by the dignified and proud bearing of the American Indians. They are ashamed of their name. Let us be like them he said. Proud of the name Indio and make our Spanish enemies revise their conception of the term. Then he said, they shall be Indios Bravos. Thus was born a new society of Filipino patriots in Paris. It replaced the ephemeral Kidlat Club.

Another society founded by Rizal in Paris during the Universal Exposition of 1889 was the mysterious Sociedad R.D.L.M. Society. The letters R.D.L.M. are believed to be the initials of the socity 's secret name Redencion de los Malayos (Redemption of the Malays).

Only a few of Rizal's trusted friends became members of the RDLM, namely, Gregorio del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Baldomero Roxas, and Father Jose Maria Changco (Filipino priest). The aim of the secret society was the propagation of all useful knowledge - scientific, artistic, literary in the Philippines. And another aim was the redemption of the Malay race.

Rizal's outstanding achievement in Paris was the publication in 1890 of his annotated edition of Morga's Sucesos. The prologue was written by Professor Blumentritt, who censured Rizal's errors namely: 1) Rizal commits the error of many historians in appraising the events of the past in the light of present standards and 2) Rizal 's attacks on the church were unfair and unjustified because the abuses of the friars should not be construed to mean that Catholicism is bad. Rizal's annotated and published Morga's Sucesos was the best of the many histories of the Philippines written by early Spanish writers, being accurate in the narration of events,unbiased in judgement, and unmarred by childish fantasies.

Rizal dedicated his new edition of Morga to the Filipino people so that they would know of their glorious past.

In the fall of 1889 Rizal wrote another satirical work entitled Por Telefono as a reply to another slanderer, Fr. Salvador Font, who mastermind the banning of his Noli. Por Telofono was published in booklet form in Barcelona. This satirical pamphlet under the authorship of "Dimas Alang"( one of Rizal's pen-names) is a witty satire which ridicules Father Font. It describes in comical vein a telephone conversation between Father Font who was in Madrid and the father provincial of the San Agustin Convent in Manila.

In December 25, 1889, Rizal and Jose Albert scraped enough money to celebrate Christmas. Shortly after New Year, Rizal made a brief visit to London to check up his annotated edition of Morga Sucesos with the original copy in the British Musem and to see Gertrude Beckett for the last time.

By the middle of January 1890, he was back in Paris. He complained of a terrible headache but was not stricken with flu.

Must-haves for a New Year's Eve party would include:

1. A group of friends and family
2. a host or MC
3. Safe drivers
4. buddy system, especially if the party is at a public place
5. music
6. beverages
7. food
8. hats
9. party horns and noise makers
10. safe fireworks display

Departure point: Toronto, Canada

Destination point: Paris, France

Estimated flight duration: 7 hours, 29 minutes