Since 2006, Philippine–Spanish Friendship Day has been simultaneously celebrated and organised in different locations of Spain such as
Madrid, Barcelona,
Palencia and
Almonte in
Huelva. In Madrid, several institutions such as the Philippine Embassy and the Asociación Cultural Galeón de Manila celebrate this Friendship Day since 2009. Today, many titles of nobility were named after Philippine areas. These were created for Spaniards with the exception of the Mayorazgo de Mariquina which was created for the Tuasons. Among them are: • The Marquessate of Camarines (
Marquesado de Camarines) (1872) was created for Manuel Alvarez de Estrada by
Amadeo I. • The Countship of the Conquest of the
Batanes Islands (
Condado de la Conquista de las Islas Batanes) (1789) was created by
Charles IV for
Jose Basco y Vargas, a governor-general of the Philippines. • The
Countship of Manila (
Condado de Manila) (1848) was created by
Isabella II for Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa, a Spanish army officer who served as the Governor-General of the Philippines in the 19th century. • The Countship of
Albay (
Condado de Albay) (1898) was created for
Pedro de Govantes y Azcárraga and now held by Pilar Beatriz Arizaga de Govantes, whose husband was the once powerful economic advisor of Spain and
Caixabank. The Govantes River that flows by
Vigan--- also known as
Ciudad Real de la Villa Fernandina--- prior to it reaching the sea, was named after one of his ancestors. • The Viscountcy of
Mindanao (
Vizcondado de Mindanao) and the Countship of
Jolo (
Condado de Jolo) --- both titles held by the Malcampo family and headed by Cristina Osorio Malcampo, the 8th
Duchess of San Lorenzo de Valhermoso • The
Mayorazgo (
Majorat) of
Marikina (
Mayorazgo de Mariquina) was held by the
Chinese-Filipino Tuason family, now headed by Severo Tuason. Also, many
Filipinos held Spanish titles by marriage such as: • Victoria Gonzalez y Quirino, granddaughter of former Philippine President
Elpidio Quirino was married to Manuel Alvarez de Toledo, 5th
Duke of Zaragoza. Her daughters with the Duke, Victoria, Maria and Lucia, also hold titles. • Isabela Gonzalez y Ferrer viuda de Ynchausti, was Marchioness of Viademonte and matriarch of the once powerful and entrepreneurial Ynchausti clan. •
Isabel Preysler descended from the Marquesses of
Altamira and the Marquesses of
Las Salinas. She is the mother of
Enrique Iglesias and who was once Marchioness of
Griñón. Her daughter, Tamara Isabel Falco y Presyler, succeeded her father to inherit the title of Marquess of Griñón. • Sylvia Landahl y Hagedorn was married to Alvaro Moreno, the 8th
Count of Los Andes and 13th Marquess of
La Eliseda. • Margarita
Zobel de Ayala was Countess of Peracamps (her husband Antonio Melian descended from General
Juan Van Halen of
Barcelona and was owner of
El Hogar Filipino and its
headquarters in
Binondo/
Santa Cruz Manila area). Her direct descendant is the current count, now based in
Peru, Pedro Melian y Ugarte. There are Filipinos who are descended or are related to noble families in Spain such as: • Don Pedro Govantes was a politician just like his uncle, the Prime Minister of Spain
Marcelo de Azcárraga y Palmero of
Cuba and
Escolta,
Manila, whose very own mother Maria Versosa Palmero Lizarrabal of
Albay was related to the Count of
Lizarraga.
Calle Azcarraga also known as
Paseo de Azcarraga was once the name of
Quiapo's major thoroughfare, Claro M. Recto Boulevard. His wife's family, the Fesser-Diago, owned all the sugar rail lines around Havana (
El Ferrocaril de la Bahia de la Habana /
Las Lineas de La Regla y Matanzas)), and stored more than a third of Cuba's legendary sugar (
Almacenes de Azucar de La Habana), plus lots of
azucareras and a gigantic bank,
Banco y Casa de Seguros de Fesser. Their daughter, Margarita de Trenor, was the first Marqchioness of Turia, a title still held by his direct descendant, Don Tomas Trenor, of
Valencia, the present Marquess. A son of Prime Minister Azcarraga, Carlos, was active in Spanish politics. Both the Govantes and Azcarraga families descended from Maria Versosa Palmero Lizarrabal of
Albay. Another relative, Felipe Maria de Govantes, was a writer and historian like Don Pedro. • A Zobel descendant, Jaime Juan Urquijo y Zobel de Ayala, is a grandson of Juan Urquijo Chacon and related to the
Marquess of Urquijo. The Urquijo family once owned
Banco Urquijo and held high positions in
Tabacalera. • The immensely patriotic, military and entrepreneurial Pardo de Tavera family was perhaps the most powerful Filipino-Spanish family as their ancestor
Juan Pardo de Tavera was Inquisitor General of Spain and the right hand of his Majesty King
Philip II of Spain himself. They were descended from Guiomar Pardo de Tavera, the
Marchioness of Malagón and
Countess of El Alcazar de Toledo, titles now held by the Dukes of
Medinaceli, because the Loinaz-Pardo de Taveras, while senior in the line of succession, refused to succeed as they did not want to lose their Filipino citizenship being very prominent supporters of the
Philippine Revolution almost 150 years ago, before the Philippines and Spain enacted dual citizenship treaties that are enforced today. The current
Queen of Spain Letizia's maternal grandmother Enriqueta Rodriguez Figarredo's father was born in the
Philippines, and while being of unmixed Spanish extraction, is also considered a
Filipino for having been born in
Manila during the time when the term
Filipino referred exclusively to Spaniards born in the archipelago; hence,
insulares. ==Celebration in other countries==