Kidlat Club

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 Luna, 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.