Using a pseudonym was not a quirk but a necessity for writers under late-Spanish colonial rule. Censorship, surveillance, and the risk of reprisals against family pushed reformists to mask their identities in print — and Freemasonry, where symbolic “names” were customary, reinforced the practice. Among Filipino propagandists in Spain, pen names became part signature, part shield, and part statement.
In José Rizal’s case, two pseudonyms are firmly documented in his own words and in the bylines of the reformist press: Laong Laan and Dimasalang.
“Laong Laan”: Ever Prepared
Literally “kept in reserve for a long time,” Laong Laan is often glossed as “ever prepared” — a fitting motto for a young writer determined to be ready for whatever the struggle demanded. The meaning itself is explained in Masonic sources (reflecting how deeply the habit of symbolic names ran in his world).
Rizal first used Laong Laan publicly in 1882 when he published his early patriotic essay “El Amor Patrio” (Love of Country) in Diariong Tagalog. It appeared in Spanish and in a Tagalog translation by Marcelo H. del Pilar; the byline was Laong Laan. This was the pseudonym that introduced his reformist voice to the Philippine reading public.
Eight years later, in a letter from Brussels to Del Pilar (11 June 1890), Rizal made the connection between identity and mission explicit: “Laong Laan is my true name.” The line survives in Tagalog (and in translation) and captures both his disposition and the deliberate self-fashioning that pen names allowed.
Beyond that first essay, Laong Laan also appears as a byline in La Solidaridad, the Barcelona/Madrid paper of the Propaganda Movement where Rizal contributed essays, allegories, and editorials. The paper’s own rosters remember him precisely with these pseudonyms.
Spelling note. You will see Laong Laan, Laon Laan, and the older accented Laóng-Láan in various publications and on Manila street signs and railway references; all point back to the same pseudonym.
“Dimasalang”: The Masonic name that crossed into print
Rizal’s second well-attested pseudonym is Dimasalang. Upon initiation into Spanish Masonry (Gran Oriente de España), he adopted “Dimasalang” as his symbolic Masonic name—hence he is sometimes remembered as Hermano Dimasalang in Masonic commemorations.
The word is Tagalog; many authors gloss it idiomatically as “untouchable” (literally, di-masalang: “not to be touched/defiled”), which suited a fraternity that valued moral, intellectual, and civic “invulnerability.” Whether or not one accepts that precise translation, there’s no dispute about usage: Rizal used “Dimasalang” both in Masonry and as a public byline, including in La Solidaridad alongside Laong Laan.
Why pen names mattered in the Propaganda movement
Rizal was hardly alone in his use of pseudonyms. La Solidaridad teems with alter egos:
- Plaridel (del Pilar)
- Diego Laura (López Jaena)
- Taga-Ilog (Antonio Luna)
- Naning/Kalipulako/Tikbalang (Mariano Ponce)
- And more
Pseudonyms let writers cultivate distinctive voices, keep authorities guessing, and signal shared ideals to readers across Spain and the Philippines. Seeing Laong Laan or Dimasalang on a masthead told sympathetic audiences exactly who — and what—they were getting.
Myths and misattributions
You will often encounter lists that add other names to Rizal —
“May Pag-asa,” “Agno,” “Calambeño,” and the like. A few points of caution:
- “May Pag-asa” (“There is hope”) is well-attested as Andrés Bonifacio’s Katipunan pseudonym, not Rizal’s. Some secondary or classroom summaries misassign it to Rizal; documentary proof for Rizal is thin, while Bonifacio’s use is clear.
- Names such as “Agno” or “Calambeño” sometimes appear in older or informal compilations, but the citations are often circular or anecdotal. Modern scholarship centers Rizal’s documented bylines — Laong Laan and Dimasalang — in both the Philippine and Spanish presses.
Where you’ll still see the names today
Manila itself remembers Rizal’s alter egos: Laong Laan Street and Dimasalang Street in Sampaloc/Santa Cruz were named for his pen names, a civic nod to how those signatures helped birth a national conversation about rights and reforms.
Quick reference: Rizal’s documented pseudonyms
- Laong Laan (“kept in reserve for a purpose for a long time”; “ever prepared”)
First known use: byline on “El Amor Patrio” in Diariong Tagalog (1882); also appears in La Solidaridad and in private correspondence (1890 letter: “Laong Laan is my true name”). - Dimasalang (Tagalog term often glossed “untouchable/inviolable”)
Origin of use: Rizal’s Masonic symbolic name under the Gran Oriente de España; also used as a public byline in La Solidaridad.
