| Araneta | |
| Region: | Western Visayas and Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Origin: | Spain |
| Members: | Juan Araneta Gregorio S. Araneta Salvador Araneta J. Amado Araneta Manuel A. Roxas II Jose Yulo Rafael M. Salas Jesús Y. Varela Liza Araneta-Marcos Isaac Araneta Lacson |
| Meaning: | "abundance of valleys" |
The Araneta family is a Filipino family that originated from Gipuzkoa, the Basque region of northern Spain. The name is derived from the Basque word aran meaning "valley",[1] with the suffix -eta meaning "abundance of", but also a locative term denoting place. In this case, the Araneta name means "the family that comes from the valley".
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.
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 (Melitante) 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.
Buenaventura Araneta was the first member of the family to enter political life when he became the Gobernadorcillo (Alcalde Naturales) of Iloilo.
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.
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 and his father's businesses.
In politics, Salvador Araneta, son of Gregorio Araneta become a Cabinet Secretary in the Philippine government. He was the founder of Araneta University (now De La Salle 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. 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, including Senator Mar Roxas, a grandson of J. Amado Araneta, and former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of Philippine former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He is a descendant of Jesusa Araneta Lacson de Arroyo, from the direct line of Gen. Aniceto Lacson and Rosario Araneta Lacson of the Negros branch of the family.
The Araneta family, particularly the descendants of Josefa Araneta,[2] also of the Negros branch, produced the largest numbers of the Catholic clergy. She married Gregorio Varela, and the line of their son Antonio Araneta-Varela has produced three nuns, two priests, and Bishop Jesus Varela. Meanwhile, their daughter, Dolores Araneta Varela, who married Agaton Ramos, had a grandson named Rolando Ramos Dizon, who became a La Sallian Catholic brother before becoming Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.
| Araneta Group | |
| Type: | Private & Diversified |
| Foundation: | Binondo, Manila |
| Founder: | J. Amado Araneta |
| Location City: | Gateway Tower, Araneta City, Quezon City |
| Location Country: | Philippines |
| Area Served: | Philippines |
| Key People: |
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| Industry: | Real estate Investment Leisure & Entertainment Restaurants Hospitality |
| Owner: | Araneta Family |
| Num Employees: | 12,000[13] |
| Subsid: | 5 |
The Araneta Group is a private and diversified company established owned by the Araneta Family since 1954 that holds the key businesses established by J. Amado Araneta. During Amado's leadership, he expanded the family's real estate businesses, farmlands, and sugar plantations. The company is currently owned by Amado's son, Jorge L. Araneta since 1970, and presently owns, operates and invests in Real Estate Development, Investments, Leisure & Entertainment, Fast Food Restaurant franchises, and Hospitality businesses.
The Araneta Group began its operations in 1908 as a diversified company, until the company's ownership was transferred to J. Amado Araneta, with interests in real estate and agriculture sectors, particularly in the sugar plantations industry. As the family's sugar plantations in Negros Island continue to grow during the country's recovery from World War 2, Amado purchased 4ha of land, located within Highway 54 (now EDSA), Aurora Boulevard, and P. Tuazon Boulevard, from the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1954, and purchased the remaining 31ha a year later. Amado merged his companies in 1954 and began his real estate developments in the area in 1956, as he sold a portion of the property to the Philippine National Bank, for the company to set up a branch within while maintaining ownership on the property's land, and later erected the first Aguinaldo Department Store beyond Manila, while relocating his company's offices to the area. In 1957, Amado launched one of his largest projects, the Araneta Coliseum and was completed in 1960.[14] Since then, Amado inaugurated many buildings in the complex, such as the Araneta Enterprise Building in 1956, the New Frontier Theater in 1967, and the Coliseum Farmers Market and Shopping Center in 1969.
As time grew by, Amado expanded his business until his retirement in 1970, when his son, Jorge L. Araneta took helm of his company and his businesses. Since then, the company expanded its interests and investments from real estate, agriculture, investments and entertainment to fast food restaurant franchises in the 1970s, after the purchase of franchising rights of Pizza Hut, and lodging sectors, after the grand opening of the Novotel Manila Araneta City in 2015.[15] Correspondingly, the company is regarded as one of the pioneers of the country's entertainment and leisure development sectors, and serves as one of the biggest private conglomerates in the country.[16]
Salvador Z. Araneta founded RFM Corporation, which began as a flour miller.
LBC Express, founded as the Luzon Brokerage Corporation, was founded by Carlos "Linggoy" Araneta. The company's current CEO is Miguel Angel A. Camahort.[17]
Ramon Araneta ventured into advertising through Ace Advertising Agency (AAA) (now known as Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, wholly owned by the France-based Publicis group through its Saatchi & Saatchi network of agencies).[18]
Joachim Araneta Durante, standing as the CEO of his own beach resort in Siargao Island and Hotel in Cebu City.