Lipa's Famous Families

Criselda Olaguivel -Katigbak in their Lipa Home furnished with the best from Europe

The late nineteenth century (1886-1889) was Lipa’s glorious era when, for a short period of time, the town became the center of coffee cultivation in the world.  Lipeños were known for intermarrying among themselves, not so much to keep wealth within the family, but because parents did not want to marry people who were not from the town’s social circle. There is a very high incidence of marrying relatives even first cousins, particularly among the Solis, Katigbak, Luz, Roxas, Kalaw, and Dimayuga clans. Intermarriages continued, as in the case of Armando Kalaw Katigbak (son of Felino Macarandang Katigbak and Socorro Katigbak Kalaw) marrying Josefa Lourdes Dorotea Katigbak Katigbak (daughter of Primo Africa Katigbak and Maria Carolina Roxas Katigbak).

Teodoro M. Kalaw , in his Aide-de-Camp to Freedom, described the first class families of Lipa (the Aguileras, Solis, Katigbak, Africa, and Luz) as “inaccesible like the stars“. Such appellation was given because of their snobbish and aristocratic attitude . These clans prided themselves with their Spanish Ancestry, spoke and wrote in  the Castillian Language.

THE AGUILERA CLAN

The Aguileras are of  Spanish descent. They descended from Don Juan Gavino Aguilera, a Spaniard, and Doña Prudencia Amada de Esguerra, a Manileña. From Malate, this family went to Lipa in 1858 to personally run their hacienda in Batangas. They had two daughters: Romana Aguilera y Esguerra – the second wife of Don Catalino Dimayuga y Reyes and Rufina Aguilera y Esguerra – a spinster. Their only son, Don Gregorio Esguerra Aguilera was a government tax collector who married  Maria Luz Solis. The union bore Gregorio Solis Aguilera, (1869-1921) who studied in Spain with his first cousin,  Lauro Solis Dimayuga, and second cousin, Dr. Baldomero Luz Roxas. While in Spain, they became friends with Dr. Jose Rizal and formed part of  the group called Los Indios Bravos.  When Gregorio Solis Aguilera came back to the Philippines,  he actively involved himself in the revolution and later became a member and signatory of the Malolos Congress.

To discourage Lipeños from aiding General Malvar during the Philippine- American War, Americans imprisoned Gregorio and around seven hundred townsfolk, accusing them of hiding fifty rifles, a ploy for justifying arbitrary arrest. Wealthy men were forced by the Americans to work in the streets to humiliate them. Those who owned summerhouses in Balete were each given a can of kerosene, forced to march the ten kilometer distance to the barrio, and ordered to set fire to their own houses. Prisoners were only released after they surrendered fifty rifles, which their families had to buy in the black market. Don Gregorio (president municipal, 1902-1903 and Batangas governor, 1904-1907), married his first cousin Doña Rosenda Solis Katigbak. They had no children.

THE SOLIS CLAN

Don Celestino Solis

Don Celestino Solis founded the Solis clan, the most aristocratic family in Lipa, if not the whole province. He was considered the richest man in Lipa in his time (gobernadorcillo, 1843, 1848 , 1860-1861). He married thrice. His first wife was Doña Patricia  Luz de San Miguel (sister of Don Jose Luz de San Miguel), then her second wife was Doña Jacoba Metra de San Miguel (sister of Doña Gertrudes Metra de San Miguel), and the third wife’s name was Doña Guillerma Manguiat y Maralit (eldest sister of Maria Manguiat, mother of the nationalist -Teodoro M. Kalaw). Both Celestino and his son’s children were mostly girls, so the Solis Family name is almost extinct in Lipa today.

Doña Patricia’s eldest daughter, Doña Justa Solis, married Don Norberto Calao Catigbac. Their daughter was Segunda, with whom Jose Rizal was romantically linked. Another daughter, Maria, married the Spanish mestizo, Don Gregorio Aguilera y Esguerra. Their union bore Gregorio Aguilera Solis and Maria Paz Aguilera Solis.

The second wife, Doña Jacoba had several daughters: Salvadora, Filomena, Marcelina, Catalina, Germana, and one son, Bernardo.

Doña Jacoba’s eldest, Doña Salvadora Solis married Don Torribio Catigbac (Presidente Municipal, 1901-1902), considered to be the coffee king of Lipa. She loved diamonds and was one of the few women in Lipa whose slippers were encrusted with precious gems called “zapatillas”. For grand bailes, very fine, long golden pins with dangling, diamond-studded pendants decorated the embroidered piña sleeves of her traje de mestiza blouse, turning her every movement into a shimmering display as she danced her way around the ballroom floor. Even her fan was adorned with diamonds to catch and throw back sparkling light with every movement of her hand.

Germana Solis and Dr. Jose Lozada

Doña Germana Solis married Don Jose Aguilera Lozada (Fourth Batangas Governor, 1907-1908), one of Lipa’s first doctors. His profession assured him of wealth and privilege. Their house in Lipa was famous for its stairway with gilt bronze balusters. When the Luna brothers came to Lipa in the 1890s to solicit contributions for the nationalist cause, the Lozada couple housed them in a nipa-shingled guesthouse set in an orchard at the back of the main house. The walls were of woven sawali and the floors of split bamboo, but the bahay kubo was luxuriously appointed with crystal chandeliers, gilded mirrors, Persian carpets, and blackamoors. The following day, the guests were awakened for breakfast by string orchestra! In gratitude for the financial contribution and hospitality, the Lunas gifted their hosts with a fine pair of large, gilded Satsuma vases, which still exist today.

Doña Consuelo Solis Lozada de Lardizabal

The Lozadas had only one child, Consuelo Solis Lozada, who married Don Reynaldo Medina Lardizabal, son of the first Filipino governor of Marinduque, Don Martin Lardizabal. Doña Consuelo and Don Reynaldo had two sons, Reynaldo Jr. and Jose. Jose was active in performing arts. He was the artistic director of the Bayanihan Dance Troupe and was with the Cultural Center of the Philippines during the Marcos era.

Doña Marcelina Solis married Don Juan Olaguivel, son of Don Nicolas de Olaguivel y Esnal and Doña Teresa de Tagle of Cebu. Don Juan’s son, named Nicolas, (named after his grandfather) married his first cousin, Doña Salustia Africa Solis. After the coffee boom, he engaged in sugar farming with disastrous results. He bought machinery on borrowed money, but no one knew how to maintain the machines. Consequently, they were as good as junk and the cane harvest could not be processed. Aside from that, rinder pest killed practically all carabaos and cattle in the country, so the harvest could not be brought to other mills. To top it off, sugar prices collapsed with the discovery of beef sugar. Shortly before World War II, he engaged in abaca trading, buying hemp from Bicol and selling it to sinamay weavers and rope-makers of Batangas. But naval blockages from 1914 to 1918 prevented the export of abaca, resulting in a glut. Local prices plummeted.

Faced with business reverses, Don Nicolas disposed of many of his wife’s treasured objects to save mortgaged lands. Jewels, rosaries, and missals made of precious materials were sold to pay off debts. In spite of everything, his wife remained the richest woman in Lipa. During the Commonwealth era, she was a member of Quezon’s kitchen cabinet.

Their only son Eleno Olaguivel was an opera singer who performed in Rigoletto and other operas in pre-war Metropolitan Theater. He later became a secular priest. Heleno’s sister, Criselda Olaguivel, married Alberto Luz Katigbak, whose mother, Conchita Tolentino Luz, was the half sister of Manuel Metra Luz, the husband of Segunda Solis Katigbak. Alberto was a career diplomat. He was ambassador to the Vatican and protocol officer of Foreign Affairs. One of his sons is “shoesmith” Mario Olaguivel Katigbak, now the distributor of Bulgari in Manila. Gilda, his eldest daughter married Ramon Benedicto.

Don Celestino Solis’s only son, Don Bernardo Solis y Metra (gobernadorcillo, 1881-1882, 1894-1895), married Doña Guillerma Africa y Macarandang. They maintained a European lifestyle and reportedly dined off golden plates and cutlery on special occasions. He insisted that all meals be served formally. Diners were serenaded by a pianist and a soprano in residence. Siesta followed lunch. All were lulled to sleep by a pianist who only stopped playing when his patrons fell asleep.

The Patrician and Aristocratic Solis Clan of Lipa

In 1880, Bernardo went to see the Paris Exposition, for which the Eiffel tower was built. There, he went on a shopping spree, buying furniture, gilded mirrors, bronzes, statuary, porcelain, silver, and other luxury items. He even bought an entire mirrored wall of the Brazillian Pavilion on which the story of coffee was painted in reverse. They say he had to charter a ship to bring home all his purchases.

In Paris, he told his wife to wear her biggest diamonds to the opera. They were so huge that they made her uncomfortable. Midway through the performance, she started removing them, one piece at a time, until all her jewels were resting on her lap.

After returning to Lipa, while arranging their French purchases, Guillerma slipped on the highly polished floor. The next day, Bernardo ordered Persian carpets for the entire house, beginning from the bottom of the staircase to the bedrooms above.

Doña Salustia Africa Solis

Don Bernardo and Doña Guillerma’s children include: Leonor Teresa, Juana Amanda, Salustia Guillerma, Pia Adelina, Emilia, Maria Germana, Maria Rosario, Maximo Bernardo, and Casimiro Jose. , Amanda, married Herminio de Silva; she inherited her father’s gold set, which survived World War II. Salustia married her first cousin, Nicolas Solis Olaguivel.  Salustia’s hair was so long that it literally swept the floor. Everyday, after her morning bath, her tresses were spread out over the pasamano of her bedroom to dry. Inside her etui made of carved ivory was fitted a sewing kit – scissors, thimble, needle-case, and spools – all of solid gold. She wrote her letters with a golden feather flecked with diamonds. She was so sentimental that when her mother died, the only thing she wanted was her mother’s favorite piña handkerchief.

Doña Filomena Solis married Don Catalino Dimayuga y Reyes. Their son, Lauro Solis Dimayuga, was entrusted as teenager to Jose Rizal who personally supervised his studies in Madrid. One of the indios bravos, Lauro was chosen to challenge to a duel Wenceslao Retano, who had written disparaging remarks against Filipinos. For this, Dimayuga earned the sobriquet “The Fearless Batangueño”. Active in the propaganda movement, he was twenty-two years old when he was arrested by the Spaniards upon discovery of the Katipunan. He was imprisoned in the Batangas provincial jail and subsequently executed without trial.

Doña Maria Rosario, the youngest daughter, married Don Jose Lopez y Castelo of Balayan.  Don Maximo Bernardo  married heiress, Leandra Espinoza of Sariaya, Tayabas. As a custom, the wedding had to be held in the bride’s hometown. Sariaya was known for livestock and rustlers. In order to encourage the Lipenos to attend the festivities, the fiancee’s family said, “Come to Sariaya, and you will see our streets filled with carabaos.” To this, the Lipeños countered, “Come to Lipa, and you will see our streets paved with silver!” Bernardo Jr. contributed to the Lipa newspaper Columnas Volantes and to the leading Manila Spanish broadsheet, La Vanguardia. Bernardo Jr. and Leandra had two children, all named after their favorite operas by Wagner and St.Saens:  Samson, and Dalila.

Samson wanted to become a Jesuit, but his mother refused to let him, which she later regretted. Drafted when the Japenese invaded, his mother asked Mrs. Quezon to have him recalled from Bataan, but Samson refused to leave his post. Brought up like a prince, he could not cope with the rigors of the battlefield and he perished in Bataan. Had he lived, he might have wedded his long-time sweetheart, Gliceria Dimaano Rustia, who eventually married Bienvenido Tantoco of Malolos, with whom she founded Rustan’s. Dalila married Dr. Cayetano Oca, brother of assassinated labor leader Roberto Oca. Their son, Brother Bernard Oca, F.S.C. is currently president of La Salle Greenhills. Bernardo and Guillerma’s youngest son, Casimiro Jose, married Miguela Subol, daughter of one of their katiwalas.

Doña Catalina Solis y Metra who was the second wife of Don Gregorio Aguilera y Esguerra, owned the largest house in Lipa, with a vast dining room that could seat eighty guests. Dinners were always the talk of the town as the entire table service, including the plates and huge-sized platters were of solid silver. The cutlery was said to have been made of solid gold. All her children died young so she bequeathed her mansion to the Church, to be used as a diocesan residence. The house was destroyed during the American bombing of Lipa.

THE KATIGBAK CLAN

Don Mariano Solis Katigbak

The large Katigbak clan is so prolific that their names have become synonymous with Lipa. The family started with the marriage of Don Juan Catigbac and Doña Nicolaza Concepcion. They had a child whom they named Tomas. Don Tomas Catigbac married Doña Juana Masongsong and their union bore 8 children: Eustaquia, Pasqual, Agustin, Juliana, Magdalena, Micaela, Josef, and Felipe.

Don Pasqual M. Catigbac married twice. His son (from the second wife, Doña Andrea Manguiat), Don Exequiel Manguiat Catigbac,  married Doña Aniceta delos Reyes y Maralit, daughter of the famous Lipa gobernadorcillo, Don Gallo delos Reyes. (Don Gallo spearheaded the widespread cultivation of coffee in the town.)

Their son Don Bernardino delos Reyes Catigbac married Doña Rosela Metra Mayo. The marriage bore Don Gregorio Mayo Katigbak, a revolucionario and a well known politician. He became Batangas’ delegate during the First Philippine Legislature in 1907-1909. With his strong desire to provide education to the youth, he led the establishment of the Instituto Rizal in 1899 which produced Lipa’s great men of caliber. Later on, his son, Dr. Jose Maria Braceros Katigbak (Presidente Municipal 1945-1946), carried on his father’s mission and thus founded the famous “The Mabini Academy” of Lipa.

Don Josef M. Catigbac assumed office as gobernadorcillo in 1827. He married Doña Andrea Aguila Calao. They had seven children: Maria (married to Don Alejandro Altamirano) Cayetano, Norberto, Lino, Francisco, Mateo (Married to Petra Mendoza then to Dominga Gonzales), and Susana (married to Don Manuel Mayo).

Don Mateo Catigbac became Lipa gobernadorcillo in 1858.

Don Cayetano became gobernadorcillo in 1865. He married Doña Fausta Tapia who owned large tracts of undeveloped land, which were all cultivated by the time she died. They had four children: Torribio, Leoncia, Petra, and Maria. When Don Cayetano remarried, the children transferred their mother’s properties to their names.

Don Torribio (Presidente Municipal, 1901-1902), said to be the richest person in town during the coffee boom, married Doña Salvadora Solis y Metra. Of all their children, only Macaria Solis Catigbac had heirs. She married Don Perfecto Salas of Molo, Iloilo, a law partner of Rafael Palma. They had two sons and one daughter, Adela Catigbac Salas (now Adela Salas Gatlin). Adela’s mother and brothers horrifically died during the Second World War. Their estate was divided between her and a nephew. She was so rich that from just the proceeds of molasses – by-product of the sugar harvest – she could travel around the world annually. Don Toribio’s descendants are the only remaining family who use the hispanized “Catigbac ”  instead of the spelled Letter K which is now presently used by the “Katigbak” family. This was due to his  instruction never to Filipinize their surname and all his heirs should be proud of their Spanish lineage.

Don Mariano Solis Katigbak Clan

Don Norberto Catigbac (gobernadorcillo, 1862) married Doña Justa Solis y Luz, Don Celestino Solis eldest daughter. The land of Don Norberto Katigbak in Batangas spans “fifteen barrios”. From his two marriages, he had 20 children but only fifteen lived to mature age. Each one got 145 hectares of land as their inheritance. Their eldest son, Don Mariano Solis Katigbak (Capitan Municipal, 1896-1897), was Jose Rizal’s classmate at Ateneo. He married twice first with Doña Ysabel Ramirez Macarandang and when the latter died he married Doña Rosario Mercado Luz, half sister of Don Manuel Metra Luz, his brother in law.

Don Mariano’s eldest son, Jose Petronio M. Katigbak, graduated with a degree of Qualified Civil Engineer and certificate of Distinction in King’s College of the University of London in 1903. Petronio then obtained his BS in Engineering at the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University in June 1904. To practice his profession, he came back to the country and worked with the Bureau of Public Works as a Transitman in 1905, laying out the city of Baguio in a plan prepared by Architect Daniel Hudson Burnham, and in 1914, he became First Assistant City Engineer of Manila. Aside from his distinguished career, he was a visual artist and poet. The incessant strain of his work had undermined his health that at the young age of 36 he succumbed to a disease and died on May 16, 1916.  Such were his contributions that the Municipal Board of Manila, during his death, decided to name one of the principal streets, facing the New Luneta, Katigbak Boulevard (Katigbak Drive).

Doña Segunda Solis Katigbak

Doña Segunda Solis Katigbak was Jose Rizal’s first love interest and probably the best known of her clan. While studying at Colegio de la Concordia in Santa Ana, her classmate, Doña Olimpia Rizal, invited her to a party where she met Jose. Smitten, Rizal showered the fourteen-year-old lass with flowers, poems, and sketches. Hearing of his infatuation, Segunda’s disapproving parents hurriedly brought her back to Lipa, even tearing up her pencil portrait by Rizal. Subsequent letters from him were also destroyed. Aside from not being a Lipeño, his parents were mere inquilinos or lessors in the Dominican Hacienda de Calamba. At sixteen, Segunda was married off to Don Manuel Luz, a wealthy planter and close relative. Rizal never forgot her, visiting Segunda several times in Lipa. He even played chess with her husband and, when he lost said, “I not only lost the game, but my heart, as well.”

Don Leon Mendoza Katigbak ( Presidente Municipal 1916-1922), the son of Norberto from his second wife  Doña Macaria Latorre Mendoza  had two children with Doña Pacita Luz Roxas whose mother, Doña Alejandra Luz y Metra, was the eldest sister of Don Manuel Luz y Metra. Don Leon’s only daughter, Imelda Roxas Katigbak, married Aurelio Limjuco Dayrit of San Fernando, Pampanga. One of their daughters, Carmen (Menchu), married a nephew of Senator Ambrosio Padilla. She headed the National Commission for Culture and the Arts under Presidents Aquino and Ramos.Leon’s only son, Jose Roxas Katigbak, married Maria Kalaw, daughter of Teodoro M. Kalaw. They had four children: Marinella, Josefina (Pinky), Purisima, and Norberto. Marinella married Armand Fabella of Pagsanjan whose family owns Jose Rizal University in Manila.

Don Lino Catigbac became Lipa gobernadorcillo, 1867-1870 and married thrice. The names of her three wives were: Doña Eufemia Mendoza, and the sisters Doña Jacoba and Doña Vicenta Roxas.

THE LUZ CLAN

The Family of Doña Maria Metra Luz and Don Leon Mayo Librea

The Luz clan was descended from Don Tomas de San Miguel – Luz (Gobernadorcillo, 1807), a mestizo de sangley and his two marriages with Ysidra Maderazo and Juana Malabanan Inciong.

Don Tomas changed their surname from De San Miguel to Luz. This transition was in compliance to the decree issued by Gobernador General Don Narciso Claveria y Zaldua in 1849. (This was also applied by the Metra or Mitra Clan who also used the de San Miguel surname).

Tomas and Ysidra had a son named Lucas Luz (c.1799-1883) who became governadorcillo in 1833 and a daughter named Petronila who married Don Felipe Librea .

Don Lucas was married twice. First he married Florentina Latorre. Their children include: Pablo Luz (married to Micaela Mayo), Segunda Luz (married twice: Don Eulalio Mayo Malabanan and Don Pedro Advincula delos Reyes), Pedro Luz (married to Juana Maño), Baltazar Luz (married thrice: Cecilia Quizon, Petrona Dimaano and to Monica Mayo), Catalina Luz (married to Don Silvestre Reyes), Petra Luz (married to Don Mariano Lopez) and Margarita Luz (married to Don Macario Dimaano).

Don Pedro Latorre Luz is the great grandfather of Dominador “Dadong” Sangalang Luz who was mayor during the Japanese occupation (1944-1945). He married Carmen Ignacia Katigbak Katigbak.

When Florentina died, Don Lucas married Maria Asuncion Morete Mantuano, daughter of Don Francisco Mantuano (gobernadorcillo of 1784) who reportedly brought the first coffee seeds in Lipa.  Their son was Honorato Mantuano Luz, who married Ynocencia Maralit, who originally owned the land where Fernando Airbase is now located.  Their daughter, Gabina Maralit Luz (married to Patricio Recinto), against her will, forcibly bequeathed the land to the Japanese perpetrators to become the land field during  World War II.

But it was  Don José de San Miguel Luz (1820-1882), Don Tomas Luz’ son from his second wife Doña Juana Inciong (widow of Don Leon de Africa), who was considered the patriarch of most of the Luz descendants in Lipa. He had a succession of three wives namely: Doña Gertrudes Metra, Doña Filomena Mercado and Doña Antera Tolentino. José became a gobernadorcillo of Lipa in 1844 and again in 1854. He was a poet and agriculturist known for his advanced idea and foresight. The Luz Family were very wealthy and had passion for culture and the arts.  In fact, they have produced painters, sculptors, musicians, scholars, and writers in every generation.

Don Simeon Metra Luz

The best known of the clan is Don Simeon Metra Luz (Gobernadorcillo of Lipa, 1879-1880).  Capitan Simeon was the first “elected” Governor of Batangas in 1903-1904. He was described by his political enemies as muy americanista, for being the foremost supporter of the American government in the Philippines. Aside from being a famous politician, Don Simeon was popular for being an ardent admirer of beautiful young women. Already 70 then, he married his 16 year old fourth wife, Enriqueta Recio. There were three(3) children from his first marriage with Cristeta Magcawas namely Maria, Teofila and Emilio. When he married for the second time with Feliza Macarandang, two(2) sons came about.  They were Fernando and Dr.Simeon jr. From his third marriage with Teresa Rodelas bore (1) child named Blanca. Lastly,from his fourth marriage with Enriqueta Recio came forth Pacita, Cecilia and Clara and a son who died early in his childhood.

Eldest daughter of Don Jose and Gertrudes, Alejandra, fondly called Aling Andang, married Don Sixto Roxas (Gobernadorcillo of Lipa, 1867-1868). They had two famous sons – all in the field of science: Manuel Luz Roxas and Baldomero Luz Roxas. Manuel was a famous scientist; cited for his scientific contribution in agricultural chemistry. He was listed in the top ten men of science in 1950. On the other hand, Baldomero was a physician and surgeon. He was Dr. Jose Rizal’s intimate friend. Through him, Rizal was able to practice his profession in the country. Another famous descendant from the line of Alejandra is great-grandson, Arturo Roxas TangcoJr. He was the former minister of Agriculture in the country who solved the perennial shortage of rice and turned the country from an importer to a big exporter of this product. Such contribution gave him an international recognition as elected President of the World Food Council, a reputable honor for the country.

Don Manuel Metra Luz, older brother of Simeon, was one of the supporters of the revolucionarios who provided them with financial and material resources. He hid suspected revolucionarios in his vast properties and used his influence with the Spanish authorities to help those in trouble. He married Segunda Solís Katigbak and had nine children. The nine children are Cristeta, Manuel Jr., Arsenio, Flora, Paz, Julio, Justa, Valeriano, and Fernando. The daughter, Paz Katigbak Luz, recalled that his father’s passion was music. Such inclination was passed to the family that every evening, after dinner, the whole family would gather in the sala for a concert with everyone singing or performing on a different instrument.

Arsenio Katigbak Luz was a businessman and writer. He wrote for El Renacimiento and La Vanguardia; became the editor of El Ideal, and was appointed manager and editor of Philippines Herald in 1922. As a business executive, he managed the first Sweepstakes in 1933; and he happened to be the first Filipino president of the Rotary Club. He was the first director of Manila Hotel and the prestigious Manila Carnival. He married his cousin, Amparo Luz Katigbak. Their daughter, Amparito, was the soprano, Santuzza, in the long running Italian opera, Cavalleria Rusticana. She was a member of the famed Mossesgeld Chorale Ensemble.

Paz Katigbak Luz was married young to Don Pablo Dimayuga, the first pharmacist in Lipa. After her husband’s death, Paz was taken back by her mother Segunda, who housed her and her children in the old house (now Casa de Segunda).

Justa Ynes Katigbak Luz married her first cousin, Dr. Isabelo Macarandang Katigbak, one of the first Lipeños to graduate from the U.P. School of Medicine. Isabelo’s practice was so successful that his best friend and a relative, another doctor, stabbed him in the feat of professional jealousy, leaving Justa with two young sons: Edgardo and Alejandro. Edgardo was the sculptor in the family and did the bust of his grandfather, Manuel (now in the family memorabilia in Casa de Segunda). He was also with the group of sculptors that made the famous tableau of the Cry of Balintawak.

Valeriano Katigbak Luz worked for the Philippine Bureau of Commerce. He married, Rosario Dimayuga also from Lipa, the doyenne of Philippine Interior Designers who after her death was conferred several awards, the most distinguished being, the Lifetime Achievement for Interior Design. Valeriano’s children were: Vicenta, Alfredo, Remedios, and Arturo.

Eldest daughter, Vicenta Luz, married Carlos Cosculluela of Negros.  Their son, Rafael, became Negros Occidental Governor in 1998. Alfredo Luz, an architect trained under Frank Lloyd Wright in the U.S.A and a good friend of J. D. Rockefeller, designed: the regional World Health Organization (WHO) building, the Magsaysay Center, and the Los Baños International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) complex – all Rockefeller Philanthropic projects in the country. He married Carmen Montinola of Bacolod. Another daughter, Remedios, married Teodoro Baluyot of Pampanga. Youngest, Arturo Rogerio Luz, was declared National Artist for Visual Arts in 1979.

THE AFRICA CLAN

The Africas descended from Don Baltazar de Africa who was originally from Bauan and his wife, Doña Maria Mercado. Don Baltazar de Africa was Lipa’s gobernadorcillo in 1796. Their son was Don Leon Mercado de Africa who married Doña Juana Malabanan Inciong on June 11, 1798. Don Leon de Africa became Lipa gobernadorcillo in 1805. Their marriage bore Don Gallo Africa y Inciong who married Valentina Macarandang y de Torres daughter of Don Pablo Macarandang who was also from Bauan who later became gobernadorcillo of Lipa in 1829.

Don Gallo and Doña Valentina had four sons: Juan Africa, married to Manuela Reyes; Nasario Africa married to Saturnina  Katigbak, Lino Africa married twice (first to Maria Mayo Luz, second to Luisa Lescano); Fernando Africa married to Sabina Macasaet; and Benito Africa married to Tomasa Masonsong.

Don Timoteo Reyes Africa

Don Juan Africa and Doña Manuela Reyes children include: Julia, Eliseo, Timoteo, Delfin, Manuel and Sixto. Julia Africa was the second wife of Don Celestino Luz, son of Capitan Jose Luz. She died at the age of 43 after being assassinated. Don Eliseo Africa’s daughter, Teodula Kalaw Africa, discovered the production of Nata de Coco. Don Timoteo Africa married Justa Macasaet. Their sons were: Francisco M. Africa and Candido M. Africa.  Francisco was the first dean of the Institute of Arts and Sciences of the Far Eastern University and was an author of Filipino folk tales. Candido was a medical doctor who became internationally known for his research in the field of Parasitology.

Don Lino Africa’s daughter, Constancia Luz Africa, was the first love interest of the “brain  of the revolution” - Apolinario Mabini when he studied in the school of Don Sebastian Virrey in Lipa. Don Lino was one of the revolucionarios who overthrew the Spaniards in Lipa.

The Africa Family

Don Gallo and Doña Valentina six daughters include:  Maria,  married to Don Marcelo Metra Mayo; Ygnacia , the second wife of Don Cayetano Catigbac; Guillerma, married Don Bernardo Metra Solis; Francisca, the second wife of Don Alejandro Altamirano (their son was Leopoldo who married Ysabel Solis Katigbak – niece of the first wife of Don Alejandro, Maria Calao Catigbac); Germana, a spinster; and Dorotea who married Fortunato Latorre.

Doña Dorotea Africa and Don Fortunato Latorre are the paternal ancestors of the Queen of Kundiman, Sylvia Latorre. 

Other prominent families include the Kalaw, Malabanan, Mayo, and Roxas clans who were known for their brains.

THE KALAW CLAN

The Kalaws are descended from Don Luis Calao  (gobernadorcillo, 1821), who married Yldefonsa Aguila. Their eldest daughter, Andrea Calao, married Don Josef Catigbac. Don Luis and Doña Yldefonsa’s son, Don Ramon, married Doña Romana Inciong; their son Don Valerio Kalaw was the last capitan municipal (1897-1898) under Spain and the first president municipal in 1903 under the U.S.

Teodoro M. Kalaw (seven years old)

Don Valerio’s eldest son was Teodoro Manguiat Kalaw, a brilliant lawyer and editor of El Renacimiento, a leading newspaper of those times which revealed the abuses of some of the officials in the American Colonial government. Dean Worcester filed a libel suit against him and won. Teodoro could have been jailed if not for the pardon given by incoming American governor general Francis Burton Harrison. Teodoro  was assemblyman (1909-1912) and director of the National Library until his death. He married the Ilongga Purificacion Garcia Villanueva, the first Manila Carnival Queen of 1908. Their children are Maria, Purita, Evelina, and Teodoro Jr.

Maria, Miss Philippines in 1931 and a senator (1962-

Maria Villanueva Kalaw – wife of Dr. Jose Roxas Katigbak

1967), married Dr.Jose Roxas Katigbak. Purita married Rafael Ledesma of Negros Occidental; their daughters were Rita, Consuelo, Ada, and Lourdes. The latter is single Rita, who headed the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and is married to Jaime Gonzalez of Pampanga. Consuelo, a former nun, after obtaining Vatican dispensation married Luis Jalandoni, former priest and spokesman of the Netherlands-based National Democratic Front. Ada married ambassador to the United Nations, Philip Mabilangan, son of Ambassador Felipe Mabilangan of Santo Tomas. Philip’s sister Maria Luisa, an aide of U.S. president Bill Clinton, married a Haley of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Evelina Kalaw married Ramon Katigbak, brother of Ambassador Alberto Katigbak. Their son, Ramon Jr., was a technocrat during the Marcos administration and a member of the president’s Economic Staff. Teodoro Kalaw, Jr. married Eva Estrada of Tarlac, who was a senator in the 1960s. Their daughter, Chingbee, formerly married to Ricardo Manotoc, Jr. is now married to Roberto Cuenca, whose family was originally from Cuenca, Batangas.

Valerio Kalaw’s eldest daughter, Rosario, married Dr.Manuel Luz Roxas, a famous agriculturist and son of Capitan Sixto Roxas and Doña Alejandra Luz.

Valerio’s second son, Maximo Kalaw, was a prolific writer and private secretary to Manuel L. Quezon when he was the resident commissioner in Washington. Maximo took up law and was the first Filipino to get a doctorate in Political Science. During the Commonwealth, he was elected to the Philippine Assembly and served two terms. Daughter Erlinda was a pre-war Miss Philippines. She married Potenciano Ilusorio, a businessman from Bulacan.

THE ROXAS CLAN

The Roxas clan is descended from Don Manuel Roxas (old name: Don Manuel de Rojas) and Doña Ygnacia Panganiban. Their son, Capitan Don Sixto Roxas y Panganiban (gobernadorcillo, 1867-1868; president municipal, 1903-1904), married Doña Alejandra Luz, the eldest sister of Don Manuel. Their daughter, Maria Paz Luz Roxas, married Don Leon Katigbak y Mendoza, the half brother of Doña Segunda Katigbak y Solis.

Don Sixto Panganiban Roxas’ granddaughter, Felicia Kalaw Roxas (daughter of Dr. Manuel Luz Roxas and Rosario Manguiat Kalaw), married Arturo Tanco from San Isidro, Nueva Ecija who was the head of National Rice Corporation (NARIC). Tanco’s eldest son is technocrat Arturo Roxas Tanco, Jr. who was President Marco’s Agriculture secretary.

Felicia’s brother, Financier Sixto Kalaw Roxas  was one of the founders of Bancom Development Corporation. He married the daughter of World War II heroine Josefa Llanes Escoda, Teresa “Bing” Escoda, who headed the Cultural Center of the Philippines under Presidents Aquino and Ramos.

Sixto’ s siblings: Don Urbano Roxas, Doña Jacoba Roxas and Doña Vicenta Roxas all married Katigbak descendants. Don Urbano married  Jacoba Mendoza Katigbak, daughter of Don Mateo Kalaw Katigbak (gobernadorcillo – 1858).  Doña Jacoba Roxas and Doña Vicenta Roxas, in succession, became the wives of Don Lino Kalaw Katigbak (gobernadorcillo – 1867-1870).

THE MAYO CLAN

Claro Mayo Recto

The Mayos, according to family tradition, are descended from (Don Antonio dela Cruz Mayo) Antony Mayo, a British Soldier who descended from the Royal Ancestry of Great Britain and Ireland.  He landed and chose to stay in Lipa during the short lived British Invasion of  Manila in 1762- 1764. During his stay, he married Doña Feliciana Casilag, a woman from the Tagalog nobility. They had one child Sebastian.

Don Sebastian Mayo, 1797 governadorcillo de Lipa, married Doña Maria Pantoja and had three children:  Cipriano Mayo, Genaro Mayo and one daughter Paterna Mayo.

Doña Paterna Mayo married the mestizo de sangley, Don Juan dela Peña Malabanan. They are the earliest known ancestors of most of the Malabanan’s in Lipa today. They valued education so much that they put up schools in Lipa. The sisters Tarcela  Malabanan  and Emilia Malabanan together with Dr. Jose Ma. Braceros Katigbak (husband of Tarcela and also a Malabanan descendant through his mother Doña Antonina Malabanan Braceros), grandchildren of Don Juan and  Doña Paterna, founded the Mabini Academy of Lipa in 1922.

Emilia Malabanan spoke the King’s English and taught it to the young Claro Mayo Recto.

Don Cipriano Mayo  was 1833 Governadorcillo de Lipa who married Doña Ygnacia Metra de San Miguel (daughter of Don Juan de San Miguel, gobernadorcillo , 1795 and Doña Placida delos Reyes). Their union bore Petronilo Mariano Mayo who became 1884 Governadorcillo de Lipa.

Don Genaro Mayo was 1850 Governadorcillo de Lipa and married Doña Vicentina delos Reyes (daughter of Don Valentino delos Reyes, Lipa gobernadorcillo, 1830-1831 and Micaela delos Santos). Their son  Don Eduardo Reyes Mayo became 1889-1890 Governadorcillo de Lipa.

Don Petronilo Mariano Mayo and Doña Petra Malabanan’s (daughter of Don Pedro Malabanan , Lipa gobernadorcillo, 1863-1864) eldest daughter is Doña Rufina Mayo who was married to Don Pablo Borbon, 1910-1916 Governor of Batangas. Their daughter Doña Remedios Mayo Borbon is the mother of his eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales. While Don Cipriano’s grand daughter Doña Micaela Mayo (daughter of Don Ariston Mayo and Doña YSabel Atienza) was married to Don Claro Recto, Sr. of Tiaong whose son is the famous nationalist statesman Don Claro M. Recto. And Don Cipriano’s great grandson Esteban Mayo became 1931-1934,1946-1947-1952, First Lipa City Mayor, whose son Atty. Vicente Mayo became the Governor of Batangas in 1988-1995.

Sources:

Angkan by Martin I. Tinio in Batangas Forged in Fire
The Lipa genealogies from the San Sebastian Cathedral registros parroquiales of 1778-1958, research by Renz Marion D. Katigbak
Personal interviews with Mrs. Salvacion (Lola Salve) Reyes Africa vda. de Vargas by Renz Marion D. Katigbak
Mariano Solis Katigbak Family Registry 1996 by Robert K. Katigbak
Mayo Clan, a genealogical research by Maricel Claudia Alabastro, grand daughter of Don Bernardino Katigbak and  Doña Rosela Mayo