Araneta family

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The Aranetas are influential Filipino family that originated from Gipuzkoa, the Basque region of northern Spain. The name is derived from the Basque word "aran" meaning valley, with the suffix "eta" denoting a "place of" (dweller in the valley).

Origins

In 1723, during the Galleon Trade, two brothers named Baltazar de Araneta and Don Jose de Araneta arrived in Manila aboard the Spanish Fleet,"La Sacra Familia". They came from the Basque region of Spain by way of Acapulco, Mexico. However, this was not conclusive as some members of the family disputed that the two are not brothers. Don Jose de Araneta must have been born in Gipuzkoa, but not Baltazar de Araneta, who was born in Mexico.

Baltazar served as a regidor of the cabildo and secretary of the Charitable Fraternity of the Misericordia in Manila. He was married to Manuela de Aguirre and he died in Manila in 1750. One line of the Araneta family is descended from him.

In 1725, Don Jose joined the first Spanish expedition forces to Mindanao. A passage quoted from the book (Islas Filipinas: Mindanao Vol.11), by Benito Francia and Julian Gonzales Parrado, which was translated in Chabacano dialect by Datu Michael Mastura, establishes two facts: First, Don Jose de Araneta served the Spanish Politico-Military Government of Mindanao based at Zamboanga City. Second, he served as interpreter between the Spanish colonial government and the Sultan of Maguindanao, together with Placido Alberto de Saavedra. Another passage in the document revealed that in 1746, Don Jose Araneta was executed in Sulugan, Mindanao, nowadays known as Anuling in Cotabato, Philippines. However, there are conflicting information drawn from translations of various documents pertaining to him.

Before the turn of the century, two of Don Jose's sons, Mathias Araneta and Vicente Araneta left Zamboanga province for Iloilo. They settled in Parian [Molo]. Don Jose's other son Benito, followed them afterwards. Years later, Vicente Araneta with his family moved and established their residence in the province of Negros Occidental starting the Negros branch of the family.

In 1823, Buenaventura Araneta son of Mathias Araneta became the Gobernadorcillo (Alcalde Naturales) in Molo, Iloilo. He married Isabel Theresa Estrella. They had four children: Hermenegildo, Antonio, Pantaleon and Aniceta. Hermenegildo married Petrona Estanislao (Militante) y Locsin of Iloilo. They had nine children, one of them was Felix who married Paz Soriano y Ditching (daughter of Don Anselmo Soriano y Flores and Maria Ditching of Binondo, Manila) and they had seventeen children, namely Leopoldo, Angel, Isabel, Pablo, Marciano, Gregorio, Anastacio, Maria, Filomena, Rosario, Lina, Jose, Concepcion, Candelaria, Encarnacion, Felicito and Remedios.

19th century and the Philippine revolution

Buenaventura Araneta became the Gobernadorcillo (Alcalde Naturales) of Iloilo, becoming the first member of the family to enter political life.

In the latter part of the century, a kinsman of his on the Negros side; Juan Araneta was the architect of the Negros Revolution that defeated the Spanish forces in that island. This would lead to the creation of the Cantonal Republic of Negros. He would serve as Secretary of War of the short lived government which were later absorbed into the American controlled military government of the Philippines. A statue of him stands in the Bago City public plaza.

Other members of the family were involved in the revolution elsewhere.

Pablo Araneta y Soriano (1864–1943) Commanding General of the Panay Revolutionary Forces and Chief of the expeditionary forces of the Federal Republic of the Visayas, encountered several fierce battles in San Miguel, Pavia and in the outskirt of Jaro, more notably the battle of Oton to Arevalo. Along with General Angel Corteza and General Leandro Fullon of Antique, who fired the first shot, they crushed the Spanish Garrisons.

Marciano Araneta y Soriano (1866–1940) and Anastacio Araneta y Soriano [1870 -1898] participated in combat against the Spanish forces and captured the Spanish Garrison in Mangkas (now La Carlota City, Negros Occidental)

The eminent Gregorio Soriano Araneta (1869–1930), legal luminary, businessman, nationalist and patriot, served his country and people under three regimes. He was elected a member of the National Assembly representing Iloilo. In 1898, he was appointed by General Emilio Aguinaldo as Secretary General and delegate to the Malolos Republic. Gregorio Araneta became the Secretary of Justice of the Philippine Republic on September 26, 1898.

Gregorio also became a successful and prosperous lawyer in Manila and married Dona Carmen Zaragoza y Roxas, of the prominent Spanish mestizo Zaragoza and Roxas clans of Manila, and established the Araneta name in Manila Society for the first time.

After the end of the revolution and the creation of the Philippine commonwealth, members of the clan expanded their business and political interests. Juan Araneta went on to establish the Ma-ao Sugar (refinery) Central in his hometown of Bago City. Industrialist Jorge Araneta would later expand it, and later the barangay where the Central stood was named after him. Jorge was also a close friend of commonwealth Philippine President Manuel Quezon.

It was Jorge's son-in-law and distant relation, J Amado Araneta, who made the family into a household name. He established the real estate empire of commercial Cubao. His most prominent achievement is building the Araneta Center. It's landmark structure, the ARANETA COLISEUM, was the world's largest indoor stadium. It still remains one of the largest in Asia.

In politics Salvador Araneta, son of Gregorio Araneta become a Cabinet Secretary in the Philippine government. He was the founder of Araneta University and FEATI University. Later, his nephew Greggy Araneta married Irene Marcos, the daughter of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

Other members of the clan involved with Marcos was Rafael M. Salas, the son of Ernesto Araneta Salas of Bago City. He served as Marcos' Executive Secretary, due to political differences he left this position and later become Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, head of UNFPA. He would serve in this capacity for 17 years.

Many other members of the clan also serve in various political positions. Currently, the most well known example is Senator Mar Roxas, a grandson of J Amado Araneta. The most prominent is Philippine former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of Philippine former President Gloria Arroyo. He is a descendant of Jesusa Araneta Lacson de Arroyo of the Negros Branch of the family.

Notable members

In Politics

• Buenaventura Araneta - Gobernadorcillo (Alcalde Naturales) of Iloilo
• Juan Araneta - revolutionary, Secretary of War (Negros Republic)
• Gregorio S. Araneta - Secretary of the Malolos Congress
• Marciano Yulo Araneta - President Municipal (Mayor) of Bago City, Negros Occidental
• Salvador Araneta - Secretary of Economic Coordination under President Elpidio Quirino, Secretary of Agriculture under President Ramon Magsaysay
• Vicente Aurelio Araneta - head of a development related agency, ACCFA
• Gloria Araneta-Esteban - Vice-Governor, Negros Occidental,daughter of Lorenzo Araneta
• Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas - grandson of J.Amado Araneta and former President Manuel Roxas, Son of former Senator Gerry Roxas and Judy Araneta Roxas Trade Secretary, former Senator, 2010 Vice-Presidential candidate, current DOTC Secretary.
• Jose Miguel Arroyo - Husband of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo,grandson of Jesusa Araneta Lacson de Arroyo
• Rafael M. Salas - United Nations Under-Secretary General, Head UNFPA,son of Ernesto Araneta Salas.
• Ramón Torres - Labor Secretary, Senator, descendant of Irene L Araneta-Torres, author of 8 hour day law.
• José Yulo - Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, wartime Chief of Justice, Secretary of Justice, descendant of the Yulo-Araneta branch
• Manuel Torres - Mayor of Bago City,Negros Occidental nephew of Ramon Torres,descendant of Irene L. Araneta-Torres
• José Varela - Assemblyman, Negros Occidental, grandson of Antonio Araneta Varela
• Ramón D. Torres - Current Mayor of Bago City, Negros Occidental, nephew of Manuel Torres, descendant of Irene L. Araneta-Torres
• Arsenio Yulo - First Chairman of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (Philippines), descendant of the Yulo-Araneta branch
• Crispino Varela Ramos - son of Agaton Varela and Josefa De Los Dolores Araneta, Consejal from 1907 to 1911 (Bacolod Municipal Council)

In Business

• Jorge Araneta - Pre war-indusrialist
• J Amado Araneta - Business Tycoon, developer of the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City
• Luis Ma. Araneta was a familiar figure in local Architectural, Engineering and Construction circles.
• Ramon Araneta Yulo - Real Estate Baron of the Canlubang Estates, Laguna
• Jorge L. Araneta - President and CEO of the Araneta Group; son of J. Amado Araneta
• Benito Araneta - Businessman
• Gregorio Araneta II - Founder of Ace Compton Advertising
• Roberto S. Benedicto - Business Tycoon, Former Philippine Ambassador to Japan, Former President Philippine National Bank; son of Hortencia Araneta Salas

In Religion

• Francisco Araneta, SJ - Priest,was the first Filipino to serve as Rector-President of Ateneo de Manila University from 1959 to 1965.
• Francisco Araneta del Rosario - Philosopher, spiritual guru, main proponent of The Holy Matrix Theory.
• Jesús Y. Varela - Roman Catholic Bishop, grandson of Antonio Araneta Varela
• Rolando Ramos Dizon - Religious, President De La Salle University-Taft, Ched Commissioner, descendant of Josefa Araneta-Varela.

In Sports

• Manolet Araneta - Member, 1948 London Olympics, Basketball
• Ian Araneta - Member, Philippine Football team
• Allan Araneta - Gold Medalist, Philippine Fencing Team (Saber) 1995 SEA Games - Chang-Mai Thailand.

Others

• Judy Araneta-Roxas - Papal Awardee, vice chair of the Araneta Group, political activist, social development practitioner, widow of former Senator Gerry Roxas the son of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas.
• Gregorio Ma. ("Greggy") Araneta III - Entrepreneur, husband of Irene Marcos-Araneta the daughter of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos
• Louise Araneta-Marcos - lawyer, wife of politician Ferdinand Marcos Jr. son of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos
• Margarita A. Fores - daughter of Maria Lourdes "Baby" Araneta-Fores, granddaughter of J Amado Araneta. Celebrity chef and businesswoman extraordinaire in Manila. Owner of 10 Italian inspired restaurants including Cibo, Pepato, Café Bola and Pepato restaurants. Other businesses include Fiori di M and Casa di M, high-end floral and housewares design, respectively
• Bianca Araneta - Model, Great granddaughter of Gregorio Soriano Araneta.

Araneta Group

The Araneta Group holds the Araneta family's key businesses and investments. This includes Araneta Center, Inc. (ACI), the owner, developer and manager of the Araneta Center (Gateway Mall, Ali Mall, Farmers Plaza, Farmers Market and Aurora Tower) ^[1]; United Promotions, Inc. (Uniprom) manages the leisure and entertainment businesses (Araneta Coliseum, Fiesta Carnival, TicketNet and movie theaters); Philippine Pizza, Inc. (PPI), the exclusive franchisee of Pizza Hut in the Philippines; and Progressive Development Corporation (PDC), the management company of the Araneta Group. PDC also holds investments in Wenphil and Philippine Seven, local franchisees of Wendy’s and 7-Eleven. The Araneta Group also holds major stakes in Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Pageant (Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated or BPCI), Taco Bell Philippines and Dairy Queen Philippines. ^[2]

Other Businesses

The Luzon Brokerage Corporation (LBC Express) was started by Carlos "Linggoy" Araneta, its current CEO is Santiago Araneta, who also started Kaya F.C. and United Football League. Salvador Araneta started RFM Foods Corporation, which manufactures and distributes White King, Swift, Fiesta, Sunkist, and Unilever-licensed Selecta products. Jose S. Concepcion, Jr. is the current chairman of RFM. ^[3]

Sources

• Alfredo Saulo. (1991). "IV Bago: Bithplace of the Negros Republic". Jorge vargas Autobiography. University of the Philippine Press.. 
• Violeta Lopez-Gonzaga.. (1994). Land of Hope, Land of Want : A socio-economic history of Negros. Philippine National Historical Society... 
• Roland Oscar Araneta.. (2009). Familia Araneta... 

See also

References

• http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Don_Jose_de_Araneta
• http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,276764.0.html
• http://www.bagocity.gov.ph/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varela_Family

External links

• OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE ARANETA FAMILY
• Official Website of the City of Bago
• http://www.bacolodcity.gov.ph/pastoff.htm