José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda[7] (Spanish: [xoˈse riˈsal, -ˈθal], Tagalog: [hoˈse ɾiˈsal]; J – Decem) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a national hero of the Philippines. [8][9] An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer.