Ang sapaterong aleman | notes from the author

A Few Notes from the Author

Sincere thanks to Howie Severino, my broadcast journalist friend, who was my fellow delegate to the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. When he visited the former residence of Dr. Jose Rizal in the town of Wilhelmsfeld near Heidelberg, Germany, he met the couple Rudiger and Monica Reibold, who turned out to be descendants of a well-known shoemaker in that area. They narrated that that their great-grandfather was Dr. Rizal's shoemaker when the latter lived in the home of Pastor Karl Ullmer in Wilhelmsfeld back in 1886. They added that these days, whenever Filipino guests visit the monument of Dr. Rizal in the park dedicated to him—which stands near their place—they remember their great-grandfather's stories about his Filipino customer who was later on proclaimed the “National Hero of the Philippines.”

When Howie Severino challenged me to write a children's story about Dr. Rizal's relationship with the German shoemaker, I thought of exploring the implied moments that might have taken place between the two, with the worn-out and tattered shoes at the very heart of the narrative. This story is a historical fiction—a work of imagination set within history. It takes place in a real time and place—Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, in 1886—and involves a person who played a significant role in our nation's history: Dr. Jose Rizal, who was known by the nickname, “Pepe.”

It is said that it was there in Wilhelmsfeld that he completed the remaining chapters of his novel Noli Me Tangere before it was published in Berlin. It was also there that Dr. Rizal wrote his poem A Las Flores de Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg), in which he addresses the wildflowers along the Neckar River out of his profound longing for his family, friends, and the Motherland.

My gratitude also goes to Ambeth Ocampo, historian and Rizal scholar, for guiding several of our fellow Filipinos during their visit to Rizal's monument in Wilhelmsfeld and to the places where Dr. Rizal lived in Germany. He also served as my consultant on several details mentioned in the story: that Dr. Rizal's shoes had laces; that they were made of leather, not rubber or cloth; and that Dr. Rizal truly walked the long distance to and from Heidelberg from the house where he lived in Wilhelmsfeld, which is why the soles of his shoes were always worn out. When I asked Ocampo what kind of flowers Dr. Rizal referred to in A Las Flores de Heidelberg, he replied that they were simply wildflowers that grew and bloomed along the banks of the Neckar River—flowers without names.

Come, let us witness this historical fiction about a fellow physician and writer who loved his country deeply.

I salute the life of Gat Jose Rizal (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896).

Luis P. Gatmaitan M.D