Araneta family

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; he 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 into the 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 an 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 is conflicting information drawn from translations of various documents pertaining to him. Don Jose Araneta had several sons, two of those, Mathias and Vicente both surnamed Araneta Y Sta. Ana would leave Zamboanga while the others stayed behind. Mathias would settle in Iloilo, while his brother,Vicente would settle in Bago, Negros Occidental starting the prominent Negros branch of the family. He is buried in the old Catholic cemetery of Bago 19th century and the Philippine Revolution In 1823, Buenaventura Araneta, son of Mathias Araneta, became the gobernadorcillo (alcalde naturales) in Molo, Iloilo. He became the first member of the family to enter politics. 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 Imperial Spanish forces in that island. This would lead to the establishment of the Cantonal Republic of Negros. He would serve as the secretary of war of the short-lived government, which was later absorbed into the American-controlled military government of the Philippines. A statue of him stands in the Bago public plaza. Marciano Soriano Araneta (1866–1940) and Anastacio Soriano Araneta (1870–1898) also participated in combat against the Imperial Spanish forces in Negros and captured the Spanish garrison in Mangkas (now La Carlota City, Negros Occidental). Other members of the family were involved in the revolution elsewhere. Pablo Soriano Araneta (1864–1943) was the commanding general of the Panay Revolutionary Forces and chief of the expeditionary forces of the Federal Republic of the Visayas (centered on Iloilo City). 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. 20th Century to Present Era 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, Negros Occidental. 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 the Philippine Commonwealth 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 City. Its landmark structure, the Smart Araneta Coliseum, was the world's largest indoor stadium. It still remains one of the largest in Asia. Meanwhile, Amado's son, Jorge L. Araneta, replaced him as the head of the Araneta Group. == The Araneta Group ==