"The original Selfie king?" "J RIZZal?"

Did you know that Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero, ever took a selfie?

Ambeth R. Ocampo, a Filipino public historian, posted a self-portrait of Rizal on Facebook on Sunday(02/12/2023)

, depicting him in his teens and without a shirt.

"We all know Rizal in an overcoat. But in his youth, long before he became a National Hero, he took off his shirt, posed in front of a mirror, and drew a selfie," said Ocampo.

"If Rizal had a smartphone, he would not have drawn this, and Ambeth R. Ocampo would have no career," he jokingly said.

Ambeth Ocampo once again posted a 'Selfie' of the national hero on April 15; saying "Drawn in 1887, this was sent to Ferdinand Blumentritt ahead of their first meeting in the train station at Litomerice in the present Czech Republic. Rizal had ran out of photographs and drew himself, assuring Blumentritt that it was a faithful likeness, that he did not make himself look better than he is in person.

This selfie of Rizal at 26 years old is preserved in the Blumentritt papers in the State Archives at Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Almost all of Rizal's letters to Blumentritt were acquired by the Philippine Government before the war and are presently kept in the vault of the National Library in Manila."

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