Of all the places where the statue of his likeness stands, national hero Dr. Jose Rizal would probably feel most at home in a setting that centers on education—one of the things he valued most when he was alive.
It is thus fitting that a life-sized bronze sculpture of the young Rizal is now the centerpiece of the sprawling University Town, which will soon rise on Daang Reyna in the Las Piñas City and Cavite areas.
Sculpted by Russian artist Gregory Pototsky, the statue was unveiled last June 25, a week after the commemoration of Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary.
The sculpture depicts Rizal as a young boy in a jubilant pose—his arms outstretched, his hands directed to the sky.
“It emphasizes the vibrancy of Rizal’s vision for the Filipino youth and the importance of education in the attainment of Rizal’s goals for the Philippines,” said former Rep. Cynthia Villar, the managing director of Villar Foundation, which is behind the University Town project.
According to the her, University Town encapsulates Rizal’s vision of a site which upholds the primacy of education as a tool for empowering the Filipino youth.
“That’s why we thought the monument would be a fitting landmark for University Town because Rizal was an advocate of education,” Villar explained.
“Rizal’s statue will serve as an inspiration to students at University. Our highly educated national hero placed great importance on learning and education. In his writings, he enjoined the Filipino youth to use education as a tool for success and the nation’s progress,” she added.
University Town will be developed as a masterplanned campus, a home to various schools, colleges and universities and specialized learning centers.
“We envision the educational institutions at University Town to produce future generations of leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, skilled professionals, decision-makers, movers and shakers,” said her husband, Sen. Manny Villar.
He said the foundation plans to forge partnerships, offer grants and affordable lease to encourage private education providers to locate at University Town.
“We’re looking at at least six schools to rise in the area. We will also have sports and recreational facilities, parks and other services and amenities needed by the students,” his wife added.
She said the key mission of the foundation is to give the youth easy access to education, saying it is important in developing them into becoming responsible, responsive, proactive and morally upright members of society.
The Villars said they were introduced by Russian officials to Pototsky during a visit to Moscow.
“He is known for installing his artworks all over the world,” Villar said of Pototsky, who has won numerous awards and has installed 65 monuments in at least 45 countries.
Lawyer Ramoncita Reyes, the great-granddaughter of Saturnina Rizal, the hero’s eldest sister, compared the statue to the University of the Philippines’ “Oblation” on its Diliman campus in Quezon City.
“While the Oblation man’s outstretched arms show openness to knowledge, my lolo Jose’s statue—with his arms raising upward—reminds me of being free; freedom from the shackles of ignorance, because ignorance enslaves us,” she told the crowd gathered during the event.
Pototsky, on the other hand, said his work depicts the national hero’s “flight to eternity.”
“If you look closely at my monument, (Rizal) is really flying. It’s his flight to freedom. I want it to be the symbol of the new Philippines—spreading its wings and flying to the future, just like Jose Rizal’s high hopes for your country’s future generations,” Pototsky said through an interpreter.
He said he hopes that his work would further enhance Rizal’s international appeal, making him like the Philippines’ “business card to the world.”
It took a year for Pototsky to finish the sculpture. Asked what were the challenges he encountered while making it, he said: “When you work on a great subject, there’s no difficulty.”
While the Villar Foundation spent for the materials used for the monument, Pototsky said he did not ask for anything for his work “because I want to spread the idea of kindness from Russia.”
He said he wants his monument to symbolize the friendship between the Philippines and Russia.
Pototsky, 57, is no stranger to the Philippines. His works in the country include a bronze sculpture of novelist Leo Tolstoy in Cebu province, writer Alexander Pushkin in Manila City Hall and a bronze plaque of President Elpidio Quirino in the Vigan Museum in Ilocos Sur province.
“I hope my work inspires many Filipino youths to dream, persevere and achieve whatever they want to be in the future, just like the young Rizal in my sculpture.”