Roxas

Gerardo Roxas = Gerardo Manuel de Leon Roxas ?
Gerardo Roxas, Jr. (October 21, 1960-April 3, 1993) ^[1]
Manuel Roxas + Juanita McIlvain
- Manuel M. Roxas, Jr. ^[2]
- Ms. McIlvain Roxas + Mr. Moran => Maria Margarita Moran-Floirendo
Manuel Roxas II

Further, another scion of the Roxas family was Margarita Roxas, whose marriage to Antonio de Ayala produced Trinidad de Ayala (later Trinidad de Ayala de Zobel). Trinidad later married Jacobo Zobel y Zangróniz and started the legendary Zobel de Ayala family.
Margarita Roxas de Ayala was born in San Miguel, Manila. When her father Domingo Roxas died in 1843, Margarita, her two brothers, and her father's business partner Antonio de Ayala ...[2]

Relation

The Roxas Clan of Capiz is actually descended from the Roxas Clan of Manila. Don Salvador Araneta said: “To find the relation of the Roxases to President Manuel Acuna Roxas, we have to go back to the father of Mariano [ as stated, the common ancestor of the Roxases mentioned, who was Juan Pablo Roxas, who had four sons: Mariano, Marcelino, Raymundo { who became a priest }, and Caetano ]. President Roxas comes from this branch. President Roxas’ father, Gerardo Roxas, was murdered by a ‘”guardia civil”‘ in Capiz, and his grandfather Antonio [ who had the same name as his granduncle ], was a descendant of Caetano. We do know that Margarita Roxas de Ayala placed Antonio as administrator of her nipa palm hacienda in Capiz in the 1850s.”

Mariano Roxas -> Antonio Roxas y Ureta (brother of Domingo) -> Juan Pablo Roxas -> Caetano Roxas -> Antonio Roxas -> Gerardo Roxas -> Manuel Roxas -> Gerardo Roxas

Name

Spanish naming customs

[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Jacobo Zobel (y) Zangróniz = Jacobo Zobel Zangróniz
[given name] [father's surname] de [husband's surname]
- Trinidad de Ayala de Zobel
[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Enrique Zobel (y) de Ayala = Enrique Zobel de Ayala

...later

[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo (or) Fernando Zobel y Montojo = Fernando M. Zobel = Fernando M. Zobel de Ayala

http://www.artfact.com/artist/zobel-fernando-66trxs38yw

References

External links

toto gonzalez said,

September 24, 2006 at 4:57 am

sdvsdvc:

melda Ongs*ako C*juangco is older than Madam* *melda Rom*aldez M*rcos. Madam* M*rcos turned 77 last July. So Mrs. C*juangco must be in her early 80s.

It has always been the story that prosperous Chinese Families are socially sidelined until they become very, very, very rich to the point that they simply cannot be ignored. But ironically enough, the richest Filipino families have traditionally always been of “Sangley” Chinese ancestry: the Tuasons [ "Son Tua" ], the Paternos [ "Ming Mong Lo" ], the Limjaps [ "Ling Hap" ], the Gregorio Aranetas of Manila [ Soriano "Dy Ching" of Molo, Iloilo ], the Lopezes of Iloilo, the Cojuangcos [ the Chichiocos and the Cojuangcos "Co Yu Hwan" ], the Madrigals [ Don Vicente Madrigal was of genuine Spanish ancestry; "Ming Mong Lo" through Dona Susana Paterno ], the J. Amado Aranetas of Cubao, et. al.. And the pattern is repeated throughout all Philippine provincial towns…

The strongest case in point is the uberrich Roxas-de Ayala-Zobel-Soriano Clan. The official history and genealogy of the Roxas-de Ayala-Zobel-Soriano Clan states that the early Roxas ancestors were Spaniards from Spain, and sometimes from Mexico. But according to prominent historians, some of those early Roxas ancestors could have been “Sangley” Chinese, and that those Spanish progenitors could have predictably and inevitably intermarried into prosperous ”Sangley” Chinese bloodlines…

According to Don Salvador Araneta: “”The origin of the Roxas family in the Philippines is shrouded with the mist of time. Among the thousands of Spaniards who emigrated to the new world in the first century after the discovery of the Philippines we find the name of Francisco de Rojas [ spelled with a "j" instead of an "x" after the Spanish pronunciation of that name ], “son of Pedro de Rojas and Ines Martinez,” a native of Granada who sailed for the Indies in 1527… On June 23, 1695, records in the Archives of the Indies at Seville revealed that Antonio Fernandez de Roxas landed in Manila as the third pilot of the galleon ‘San Jose’ from Acapulco… He had been born in the Canary Islands… He was given an encomienda in Palawan and became governor general of the Palao or Pelew islands in 1715… Pedro Rojas, an ‘oidor’ or justice in the Royal Audiencia who in 1586 denounced to King Philip II of Spain that “nothing else has wrought such ruin in this country as the trading and trafficking [ in the galleon trade ] of those who govern it.” It has not been possible to determine which of these three Rojases was the early ancestor of those who bear that family name in the Philippines.”

“In a sketch made by the late Enrique P. Brias Roxas of his family tree, he stated that Mariano Maximo Roxas, his grandfather, was “born in Mexico of Spanish parents.” However, records at San Juan de Letran College where Maximo studied from the earliest grade, show that he was born in Taguig, now in Rizal province on Laguna de Bay. Mariano’s father was Juan Pablo Roxas who, according to a sketch of the family tree drawn by another member, was “un Vizcaino” or a Basque. In the latter case, this group of Rojases were not related to either the man from Granada, the man from Seville, or the ‘oidor’ mentioned earlier.”

Don Salvador Araneta continued: “What is clear and definite is that the members of the Roxas family mentioned in the chronicles of Don Felix have a common ancestor in his great grandparents Mariano Roxas and Ana Maria de Ureta, who had three sons, according to one family tree, and five, according to another. In both family trees, Antonio and Domingo are included; Antonio, the progenitor of the “poor branch,” as classified by Don Felix himself, to which he belonged; and Domingo, the progenitor of the “rich branch.” Antonio married Lucina Arroyo and had fifteen children; and according to Don Felix, twelve of them sat together at one table and lived together in the paternal home at San Vicente Street in front of Chino Velasco’s Bazaar. To this branch belonged my grandmother, Dona Rosa, a cousin of Don Felix, and Dona Lucina, a sister of Don Felix, married to Don Enrique Brias Roxas. Mentioned in these chronicles are the other Roxases of this branch, all of them first cousins.”

“The founder of this branch, Domingo, died in Fort Santiago in 1843 for his libertarian ideas. He was the father of Jose Bonifacio, who enlarged his inheritance by buying the Hacienda Makati; of Margarita who married Antonio de Ayala of Alava, Spain, and became the most prominent businesswoman of her generation; and Mariano, who was instrumental in the establishment of the first school of Fine Arts in the islands. Jose Bonifacio’s only son was Pedro Pablo Roxas who married his first cousin, Carmen Ayala. The younger sister of the latter, Trinidad, married Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz, an enterprising businessman who was the son of Jacobo Zobel Hinsch, a pharmacist from Hamburg, Germany, who emigrated to Manila earlier and married a wealthy Spanish - Filipino woman named Ana Maria Zangroniz y Arrieta. Trinidad’s son, Enrique Zobel, married Consuelo, the daughter of Pedro Pablo Roxas. These marriages between cousins consolidated the family fortune into the present vast Roxas - Ayala - Zobel family holdings.”

“… let me clarify that the spouses Don Pedro Roxas and Carmen Ayala were the parents of Antonio, Consuelo [ married to Enrique Zobel ], and Margarita [ married to Eduardo Soriano ]. They are the grandparents of the late Don Andres Soriano, the present Roxases [ Antonio and Eduardo ], and the Zobels [ Jacobo, Alfonso, who died a few years ago, and Mercedes, married to Joseph McMicking, the builder of fantastic modern Makati ]. And they are the great grandparents of Enrique Zobel [ son of Jacobo ], now the head of all the Ayala interests, and Jaime Zobel [ son of Alfonso ], the president of the Cultural Center, and Jose and Andres Soriano, the present chief executives of San Miguel Corporation.”"

Don Domingo Roxas had three children: Don Jose Bonifacio, Dona Margarita, and Don Mariano. He became very rich. But because of his liberal ideas, he was incarcerated in Fort Santiago and died in 1843.

Don Jose Bonifacio Roxas [ o 1814 - + 8 June 1888 ] married Dona Juana de Castro [ o 1807 - + 15 July 1888 ] and had one son, Don Pedro Pablo “Perico” Roxas y Castro [ + 4 February 1912 ].

Don Domingo Roxas’ only daughter, Dona Margarita [ o 1815 - + 1869 ], continued to “mejorar la rasa” improve the race by marrying the Spaniard Don Antonio de Ayala [ + 15 February 1876 ], whose family was originally from Alavar, Spain. They had three daughters: Dona Camila de Ayala [ y Roxas ] de Zarate, Dona Carmen de Ayala [ y Roxas ] de Roxas, and Dona Trinidad de Ayala [ y Roxas ] de Zobel. Don Juan Valentin de Ayala had settled in the Philippines in 1795.

Jacob Zobel Hinsch was a pharmacist from Hamburg, Germany. He emigrated to Manila and married a wealthy Spanish - Filipino lady, Dona Ana Maria Zangroniz y Arrieta. Their son, Don Jacobo Zobel y Zangroniz [ + 1896 ], married Dona Trinidad de Ayala y Roxas [ + 1918 ], a younger daughter of Don Antonio de Ayala and Dona Margarita Roxas. Their son, Don Enrique Zobel y de Ayala, married his first cousin on the de Ayala side and second cousin on the Roxas side, Dona Consuelo Roxas y de Ayala, a younger daughter of the first cousins Don Pedro Pablo Roxas y Castro and Dona Carmen de Ayala y Roxas.

The elder daughter of Don Antonio de Ayala and Dona Margarita Roxas, Dona Carmen de Ayala y Roxas [ + 1930 ], married her maternal first cousin Don Pedro Pablo Roxas y Castro, the only son of Don Jose Bonifacio Roxas and Dona Juana de Castro. The eldest daughter of the first cousins Don Pedro Pablo Roxas y Castro and Dona Carmen de Ayala y Roxas, Dona Margarita Roxas y de Ayala, married the Spanish Engineer Don Eduardo Soriano [ + 1912 ].

Don Jose Bonifacio Roxas and Dona Margarita Roxas de Ayala were siblings. Don Pedro Pablo Roxas y Castro and the sisters Dona Carmen and Dona Trinidad de Ayala y Roxas were first cousins. Dona Carmen de Ayala [ y Roxas ] de Roxas and Dona Trinidad de Ayala [ y Roxas ] de Zobel were sisters, both daughters of Don Antonio de Ayala and Dona Margarita Roxas. Don Enrique Zobel y de Ayala and his [ first ] wife Dona Consuelo Roxas y de Ayala were first cousins on the de Ayala side and second cousins on the Roxas side. Dona Margarita Roxas [ y de Ayala ] de Soriano and Dona Consuelo Roxas [ y de Ayala ] de Zobel were sisters, both daughters of the first cousins Don Pedro Pablo Roxas y Castro and Dona Carmen de Ayala y Roxas. It was Inbreeding on a Grand Scale.

Don Enrique Zobel y de Ayala and his de Ayala first cousin and Roxas second cousin Dona Consuelo Roxas y de Ayala had three children: Jacobo, Alfonso, and Mercedes, surnamed Zobel y Roxas. After Dona Consuelo died from a cholera epidemic [ + 1908 ], Don Enrique married Dona Fermina Montojo y Torrontegui, the daughter of Spanish Admiral Patricio Montojo, and had four more children: Matilde, Consuelo, Gloria, and Fernando, surnamed Zobel y Montojo.

[ The use of "y" [ "and" ] in nomenclature is a tedious Filipino tradition. In Spain, the maternal surname is simply mentioned after the paternal surname without the “y.” Thus, their names would simply be: Don Pedro Pablo Roxas Castro, Dona Carmen de Ayala Roxas { de Roxas }, Dona Trinidad de Ayala Roxas { de Zobel }, Dona Margarita Roxas de Ayala { de Soriano }, Dona Consuelo Roxas de Ayala { de Zobel }, Don Enrique Zobel de Ayala { the son of Don Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz and Dona Trinidad de Ayala Roxas; not the contemporary Don Enrique “Enzo” Zobel Olgado }… The “de Ayala” are an aristocratic Spanish family; thus, the prefix “de.” ]

According to the new book, “Anos del Premio Zobel,” written by Ateneo de Manila University Professor Lourdes C. Brillantes, their Zobel ancestors in Hamburg, Germany were — surprisingly enough — not Jews. Their early Zobel ancestors were from Denmark and their descendants migrated to Hamburg, Germany. Three generations of early Zobels were baptized, married, and buried in Protestant churches in Hamburg.

But how does one explain the name Jacob Zobel Hinsch, actually Yakob Sobel [ according to the Spanish Registry ], which is so obviously Jewish?

It must be the interesting mixture of bloodlines of The Family that make them such excellent businessmen.

The Roxas Clan of Capiz is actually descended from the Roxas Clan of Manila. Don Salvador Araneta said: “To find the relation of the Roxases to President Manuel Acuna Roxas, we have to go back to the father of Mariano [ as stated, the common ancestor of the Roxases mentioned, who was Juan Pablo Roxas, who had four sons: Mariano, Marcelino, Raymundo { who became a priest }, and Caetano ]. President Roxas comes from this branch. President Roxas’ father, Gerardo Roxas, was murdered by a ‘”guardia civil”‘ in Capiz, and his grandfather Antonio [ who had the same name as his granduncle ], was a descendant of Caetano. We do know that Margarita Roxas de Ayala placed Antonio as administrator of her nipa palm hacienda in Capiz in the 1850s.”

These days, we have the phenomenally rich Sys, Tans, Gokongweis, Yuchengcos, Tius, Que Pes, Ques, Yaps, et. al.. And, unlike their predecessors in times past, they are now at the very center of Philippine High Society.

Yes, Gr*tchen Bar*etto is a niece of Glenda Bar*etto — the owner of “Via Mare” — through her husband, who is of Spanish mestizo descent. I know Glenda Bar*etto personally because we also have interests in the Food Business.

For me, the great Filipina pianist Cecil* Buencam*no L*cad is one of the greatest cultural accomplishments of the M*rcos Regime in general and of Madam* *melda Rom*aldez M*rcos in particular.

I so enjoyed the F*del R*mos Presidency!!! Business was Very Good and One could do Everything Else!!! I always tell him that everytime I see Him… When-oh-when can We have that again???!!!

Toto Gonzalez

Zobel de Ayala

Zobel de Ayala family

The early Ayalas (Basques)

Don Juan Valentín de Ayala was the 1st Ayala to come to the Philippines on the galleon, Fernando de Magallanes, in 1795.

Don Juan Manuel de Ayala, a captain in the Royal Navy of Spain, and recognized as the prime explorer of the San Francisco Bay in California .

Don Antonio de Ayala, the son of Don Raimundo (1776) and Doña María Lorenza Ortíz de Urbina, migrated to Manila when his uncle the Monsignor José Seguí was the archbishop. He went to work with the commercial establishment of Don Domingo Roxas.

Don Antonio de Ayala married Doña Margarita Roxas de Ayala in 1844. This consolidated the foundations of the Ayala bussiness empire, known as Casa Ayala y Compañía (Casa Roxas).

The Ayala family originated from the 11th century from Álava , Spain . They were descendants of Juan Larrazábal de Ayala who married with María López.

Álava had 3 political divisions: La Rioja, Los Valles and the Altiplanicie. Los Valles is composed of 3 haciendas belonging to the Velascos, the Márquezes and the Ayalas.

The Ayala surname was founded by the prince of the Kingdom of Aragón , Don Vela, son of King Sancho Ramírez de Aragón.

The Zóbels

Johann Andreas Zóbel was a native of Denmark and Germany (no boundaries between those 2 countries before). He established the 1st chemical laboratory in Manila in 1834.

Jacobo Zóbel y Hinsch, was born in Hamburg , but choose to become a Spanish national in 1849, upon returning to the Philippines . He married Ana Zangróniz Arrieta from Navarra , Spain , who was a daughter of a judge in the Real Audiencia de Manila.

Don Jacobo Zóbel y Zangróniz was the 1st Zóbel to become a Filipino being born in Manila (1842). He was a talented man because he was a numismatic, archeologist, paleologist, historian, writer and polygot. He knew 11 languages: Arabic, Etruscan, Caldeo, French, English, German, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Russian, and Spanish. Also, he was a close friend of the famous Hans Christian Andersen. He was asked by Andersen to translate his stories in Spanish.

The Zóbel de Ayala´s

Don Jacobo Zóbel y Zangróniz was arrested for 6 months for being a suspect of the Cavite Mutiny in 1872, and faced execution before the intervention of the Emperor of Germany. He married Trinidad de Ayala in San Miguel, Manila . She was a descendant of the Ayalas from Álava. She was the eldest daughter of Margarita Roxas de Ayala.

Casa Ayala y Compañía was formed in June 1877 with Pedro Pablo Roxas and Andrés Ortíz de Zárate.

Trivias

He introduced the 1st typewriter to Germany when he bought one at the World Fair in Philadelphia , in 1876.

Represented the Ayalas as a banking director of Banco Español Filipino.

The only agent of Eiffel Company, which constructed the Eiffel Tower , he built the 1st steel bridge in Asia and Manila .

Introduced the 1st bicycle in Manila .

Sons

Don Fernando Antonio Zóbel y de Ayala Don Enrique Zóbel y de Ayala

Don Enrique Zóbel (y) de Ayala

Developed the real estate Ayala y Compañía, with pharmaceutical bussiness with distillery and fishing trade. Started the life insurance companies like Filipinas Compañía de Seguros (1913)

He married his cousin at the age of 24 in the 16th October of 1901, Doña Consuelo Roxas de Ayala and bore 3 children: Jacobo, Alfonso and Mercedes. She died with cholera in 1907.

At the age of 33, he remarried to Doña Fermina Montojo y Torróntegui. She was the daughter of the Spanish Navy admiral, Don Patricio Montojo, who fought the Americans in Manila Bay . They had 4 children: Matilde, Consuelo, Gloria, and Fernando (Fernando M. Zobel).

Name

Spanish naming customs

[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Jacobo Zobel (y) Zangróniz = Jacobo Zobel Zangróniz
[given name] [father's surname] de [husband's surname]
- Trinidad de Ayala de Zobel
[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Enrique Zobel (y) de Ayala = Enrique Zobel de Ayala (Enrquesable ?)

...later

[given name] [paternal surname] [maternal surname]
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo (or) Fernando Zobel y Montojo = Fernando M. Zobel = Fernando M. Zobel de Ayala

http://www.artfact.com/artist/zobel-fernando-66trxs38yw

Links

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=425115&page=41

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/3001523634_b35e8a648b_o.jpg - Image

http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/ayalamemory/

http://firstfilipino.blogspot.com/2007/10/jaime-augusto-zobel-de-ayala-ii.html - Jaime Agusto Zobel (de Ayala) y Miranda

http://nagahistorynotes.blogspot.com/2008/04/margarita-roxas-de-ayala.html - Margarita Roxas de Ayala

Premio Zobel

http://www.inq7.net/lif/2001/jun/18/lif_6-1.htm

DOÑA Fermina Montojo

WHEN pax Americana came to the Philippines visionary businessman and philanthropist Enrique Zobel expressed his desire, "No quiero que el español muera en Filipinas. (I don’t want Spanish to die in the Philippines.)"

Perhaps because of his wish, Spanish is still alive. In 1929, the Premio Zobel was established to honor the best in Philippine letters in Spanish. It continues as the only prize in Asia that advocates Spanish language. Spanish continues to be assimilated to the vernacular: to date, there are some 2,000 words in Spanish that have been assimilated in the Filipino. Of course, this is a far cry from former times, especially in the first half of the 20th century, when this Romance language was the lingua franca of government and the elite.

Today the Premio Zobel is organized by the third generation, Georgina Padilla y Zobel and her brother Alejandro, and Nenuca Sinjuan, the secretary of Ricardo Padilla. The Padillas have been handling the Premio since 1985.

The history of modern Filipino literature in Spanish is practically told in the book, "Años del Premio Zobel (Premio Zobel Years)," written by Professor Lourdes Brillantes, a Hispanista and a Premio Zobel winner in 1998. The book was a project of the Spanish Embassy, initiated by then Ambassador Delfin Colomé, and the Fundacion Santiago for the Philippine Centennial.

The book chronicles winners of this prestigious literary award, the history of the Spanish language in the Philippines and the story of the Zobel family, which Georgina says has close links with our history. Georgina has been studying the family tree by researching in the archives. The Zobels originally came from Denmark and migrated to Hamburg, Germany. Contrary to perception, the Zobels were not Jewish. Records showed that the three generations of Zobels were baptized, married and buried in Protestant churches in Hamburg.

The Zobels have been in the Philippines for nine generations.

Illustrious background

Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz, the first Filipino Zobel, married Trinidad [de Ayala y Roxas]. The book says the couple came from "dos familias de gran abolengo" or two illustrious families. Dona Trinidad’s family established Hacienda San Pedro and the Ayala group of companies.

The Ayalas came from Alavar, the Basque region in Spain. Juan Valentin de Ayala was the first to settle in the Philippines in 1795. Trinidad’s mother, Margarita Roxas de Ayala, was one of the founders of La Concordia College. Her forebear Domingo Roxas was a prominent businessman from Batangas.

Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz’s grandfather, Johann Andreas Zobel, opened the first chemical laboratory in the country and the first mining exploration company specializing in iron and copper in Bulacan and Baguio. Although his father Jacobo Zobel Hinsch was born in Hamburg, he became a Spanish citizen in Manila in 1849. He married Ana Zangroniz Arrieta, daughter of a Royal Audencia judge.

The son, Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz, was a man of many talents. He was a great businessman, a numismatic, an archaeologist, a writer and polyglot. He spoke 11 languages--Arabic, Etruscan, Chaldean, French, English, German, Italian, Swedish, Russian and naturally, Spanish. His brilliance was not unnoticed. He received medals and somebody wrote his biography. He was also mentioned in the Encyclopedia Espasa-Calpe in 1863. He also published his research and essays on ancient coins in Spanish and French.

Don Jacobo befriended writer Hans Christian Andersen and often wrote to him.

When he settled in Manila, he began his philanthropic work by nurturing local talents. His house became a meeting place for tertulias, intellectual and cultural gatherings.

Because he wanted to contribute the development of the city, he worked in the departments of health, agriculture, trade and industry.

Causes for the Filipinos

Don Jacobo became the Mayor of Manila and the most respected peninsular. He championed the causes of the Filipinos. He batted for Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes. He convinced the Spanish government to institute school system in the Philippines and was instrumental in the establishment of the Education Decree of 1863 aimed to promulgate Spanish. He also founded the first library in Spanish with materials, on agriculture and industry translated in Tagalog.

Because of his zeal and assertiveness, the Spanish authorities sometimes felt threatened and put him in jail. He was even charged as one of the suspects of the Cavite Mutiny for his German origin and his collection of imported hunting rifles. He was jailed for six months and was released with the help of the German government.

It wasn’t that Don Jacobo was not loyal to Spain. He was impatient with vacuous personalities and derided authority figures and even governor generals who did not match his intelligence.

Don Jacobo co-founded the Banco Espanol Filipino. He was also a distributor of iron that was supplied by the makers of the Eiffel Tower. From that iron business, he built the first modern bridge, the Ayala bridge, across the Pasig River. He also introduced bicycles in Manila. He also introduced the caballero or fire tree in the Philippines and had them planted in the main streets and the first tranvia or cable car.

Don Jacobo was passionate about his work. He was strong willed and resolute, he disliked the dolce far niente or lackadaisical attitude. He wanted to train the Filipinos in mechanics and he wanted them to advance their education so that they could be independent. He considered the Filipinas as astute women and the alma del hogar or the moving spirit in the family.

When Don Jacobo died of an intestinal disease at the age of 54, the Spanish ministry considered his passage a great loss.

His son Enrique was described as de tal palo, tal astilla or chip off the old block. Aside from expanding the Zobel de Ayala companies and supporting literature through the Premio Zobel, he was also a philanthropist.

Enrique studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and obtained a bachelor of arts degree at the Real Colegio de Alfonso XII in Spain. He took up advanced studies in Paris. While studying mining and engineering in Sorbonne he also studied painting under Louise Glieze. When he returned to the Philippines, he worked for the family business, Casa Ayala y Cia, which had been established by his great grandfather, Johann Andreas Zobel, in 1834.

Enrique established the first porcelain company in 1903 and later founded a glass factory. He consolidated his father’s businesses and expanded to other businesses such as pharmacy, distillery and insurance. He was a director in many firms that covered insurance, construction, sugar and banking.

He developed a plain of ricefields into the country’s most progressive business center, Makati. Aside from business, Don Enrique also supported the arts. A patron of Fernando Amorsolo, he sent the talent to school in Spain. In return for the scholarship, Amorsolo gave his son Fernando painting lessons. Fernando Zobel later on became one of the country’s finest modernists.

Preservation

The Americans started the English language in schools. Slowly Hollywood movies were coming in. Don Enrique had one obsession: to preserve the links between the Philippines and Spain through language and culture. He helped establish the National Museum and donated Spanish books to the University of the Philippines library.

He financed a school in Quiapo that offered Spanish language. He also completed the construction of the Metropolitan Theater, which was the home of operas and zarzuelas.

Don Enrique approved of Don Vicente Singson’s petition to establish a school in Ilocos that aimed to promote Spanish language and culture. When hero Diego Silang’s monument was erected, his inscription was dedicated in Spanish.

In 1920, the establishment of the Premio Zobel became the culmination of Don Enrique’s dream to promote Spanish language in the country.

"The illustrados such as Jose Rizal and famous poets such as Balmori, Bernabe and Zaragoza wrote in Spanish. If you read the words in another translation, even though it’s a good one, you lose the cadencia. My grandfather dreaded the fact that scholars wouldn’t read the original version. That’s why he founded the Premio," explains Georgina.

Don Enrique wrote columns and editorials in the business paper El Mercantil. Because of his insightful essays, he was given the Isabel la Catolica del Merito Civil.

In 1901, at the age of 24, Enrique married his cousin, Consuelo Roxas de Ayala. The marriage produced three children-Jacobo, Alfonso and Mercedes. Consuelo died of cholera in an epidemic.

At 33, the widower Fermina Montojo de Torrontegui, the niece of the Spanish admiral who lost the Philippines to the Americans. The union produced Matilde, Consuelo, Gloria and Fernando. Fermina was loved even by her stepchildren who considered her as their mother.

Mercedes married Col. Joseph McMicking, the chief intelligence officer of Gen. Douglas McArthur. McMicking developed Makati into the most affluent city in the country. Jacobo was a colonel and a hero in the Bataan Death March. He was the father of business leader Enrique Zobel (Enzo). Alfonso, a businessman, was the father of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chair of the Ayala Corp.

Matilde died of cancer. Consuelo married Gen. James Alger, the youngest four-star general in the Pentagon and son of philanthropist Horatio. She established a foundation that supports indigent Filipinos in Hawaii. Painter Fernando Zobel established the Museum of Abstract Art in Spain. Georgina’s mother Gloria married Ricardo Padilla who was born in San Sebastian, Spain and was a director in Tabacalera.

Consolidation

Every year Georgina and Ricardo return from Spain to organize this event. This year was made more special with the book launch. Already there have been requests for an English translation.

To qualify for the awards, the candidate must be fluent in Spanish and the material must be set in the Philippines. The works are judged by members of the Academia Filipina, an organization that promotes Spanish in the country. The awarding ceremonies were originally held at the Casino Español and were later moved to the Ayala-owned Hotel Intercontinental. The criteria have widened it scope. One need not produce a body of literature in Spanish. The Premio also acknowledges Filipinos who have championed the Spanish language such as Blas Ople.

"Anybody can be a candidate. The requisite is that one should be a Filipino," Georgina says.

Guillermo Gomez of the Academia Filipina, the body that judges the literary works, and longtime master of ceremonies of the Premio Zobel, says the book gives a bird’s eye view of Spanish literature and language in the Philippines. "It contains materials that other books don’t offer," he says. He adds that the book gives the most objective explanation of the secularization of parishes and the Zobel’s involvement in the intellectual revolution.

Roxas-Zobel-de Ayala-Soriano

Sarrat, Ilocos Norte 1983 - Response 8

toto gonzalez said,

September 24, 2006 at 4:57 am

sdvsdvc:

melda Ongs*ako C*juangco is older than Madam* *melda Rom*aldez M*rcos. Madam* M*rcos turned 77 last July. So Mrs. C*juangco must be in her early 80s.