J. Amado Araneta

J. Amado Araneta
Died November 1985
New York City, United States
Nationality Filipino
Occupation Businessman
Known for Araneta Center

J. Amado Araneta was a Filipino businessman and prominent member of the Araneta family. He was initially involved in sugar plantations, but invested in commercial real estate following the Second World War. He is best known for the development of the Araneta Center area in Manila, and for his influence in the Philippines both before and after the Second World War. During the latter part of the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos, Araneta lived in exile in the United States.

Career

J. Amado Araneta was the son in law of industrialist Jorge Araneta.[1] With his business initially involvement in sugar plantations, J. Amado changed Filipino cultural awareness in the 1930s, when he purchased two American television stations and begun broadcasting local content for the first time.[2]

Following the Second World War, and the independence of the Philippines, Araneta began to diversify his holdings. He purchased three mills on the island of Negros and began to heavily invest in commercial real estate.[1] He was influential in the Philippine government, acting as an informal adviser to Manuel Roxas, then President of the Philippines. He encouraged Roxas to fund the construction of the Negros mills and restore them to the same order they were in prior to the war, and in the two year leadership prior to Roxas' death, the president favoured the sugar barons such as Araneta.[3] At the time, Araneta was acting as the main funding source for Roxas' Liberal Party.[4]

One of Araneta's most well known projects is the development of the area known as the Araneta Center in Manila, with the Araneta Coliseum at its heart. He purchased the land required in the 1952, which at the time contained a series of radio towers, with the idea that there would be a series of landmark buildings in the area.[5] He had identified the area as being at the crossroads of Cubao, where city people would pass daily but was underdeveloped. He began the construction of the Coliseum in 1957, with it completed in 1959 as the largest indoor stadium in the world.[6][7] It opened on 16 March 1970, hosting the boxing card featuring the main event bout between Gabriel Elorde and Harold Gomes.[7]

Following the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines and the paramilitary style rule of the new government under Ferdinand Marcos,[4] Araneta took himself and his family out of the country. He resided in New York City until his death.[8] While they were out of the country, the businesses in the Philipines were controlled remotely, but were on the decline under the new regime.[4]

Death and legacy

Araneta died in November 1985. His family took his body back to Manila, where it was buried some three months prior to the fall of the authority which had led to his political exile.[8] His children inherited his business, which was then chaired by his son, Jorge.[9]

His descendants have gone on to be successful in a variety of professions, with his granddaughter Margarita Forés being named the best female chef in Asia in 2016.[8][10] His grandson Mar Roxas, ran for President as the Liberal Party candidate at the Philippine presidential election, 2016, which he lost to Rodrigo Duterte.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Daniel, E. Valentine; Bernstein, Henry; Brass, Tom (1992). Plantations, Proletarians, and Peasants in Colonial Asia. London: F. Cass. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-71463-467-8.
  2. ↑ Rodell, Paul A. (2002). Culture and Customs of the Philippines. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-31336-117-3.
  3. ↑ Reyes, Rachel A.G. (15 February 2016). "Mar Roxas, his mother, his President ancestor and the Negros sugar industry". The Manila Times. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Navarro, Nelson J. (13 January 2013). "Cubao's brief shining moment". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "The story of the Araneta Center". The Philippine Star. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Success runs deep: The story of the Philippines' Araneta Family". Philippine Primer. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 Villanueva, Virgil S.; Pingol II, Agbayani P. (9 July 2015). "Cubao: A culture of transience". Business World. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Ang, Raymond (12 January 2016). "MARGARITA FORÉS: HER LOST YEARS AND UNLIKELY ASCENT TO ASIA'S BEST FEMALE CHEF". Rogue. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "#31: Jorge Araneta". Forbes. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Baltazar, Lori (8 September 2016). "Margarita Forés". Esquire. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Gacia, Myles A. (2016). Thirty Years Later... Catching Up with the Marcos-Era Crimes. MAG Publishing. ISBN 978-0-57817-560-7.
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