Remembering Luis Ma. Araneta and his era of elegance
Elegance and style were the bywords of Luis Ma. Araneta’s time; a stalwart of his era when elan and grace would go hand in hand. Extremely talented, cultured, and artistic, he was an architect by profession and the Makati Medical Center (built in 1969) still stands out as one of his more famous designs almost half a century later.
Luis was greatly influenced by his mother Carmen Zaragoza.
“She instilled in me a sense of beauty and appreciation for all things beautiful,” Luis said.
It was during his childhood that his collector’s instinct started with mundane items such as cigar rings, stamps, postcards, and matchbox covers. From there, the collection eventually grew to the best of Filipino masters (Lunas, Hidalgos, Amorsolos).
His massive religious collection of santos and other religious arts originated after World War ll when he tried to save ruined and devastated churches that had been bombed. In exchange for assisting in the repair, parish priests gifted him with various religious objects and through the years, the Luis Araneta collection grew to be the most important collection of religious art in the Philippines.
A founding member of the Bayanihan Folk Arts Association, Luis wholeheartedly supported Philippine arts, fashion, and culture. The first Karilagan fashion show was held at the 1960 Seattle World’s Fair with Luis at the helm. The word originated from “marilag” (alluring) and was coined by Nang Obieta Sevilla, the mother of then top fashion favorite Conchitina Sevilla Bernardo who, together with Bambi Lammoglia Harper, Joji Felix and top movie stars Amalia Fuentes and Barbara Perez, represented the best in Philippine fashion.
Conchitina reminisces, “Luis Araneta was my godfather. As ninongs go, there was always a gift at Christmas time. With Tito Luis, it was always something exquisite. I remember a beautiful crystal Rosenthal perfume decanter, and for my wedding, a sterling silver cutlery set. I still treasure them.”
During his recent centennary celebration at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Fr. Julian Manzanar officiated at the Mass and read an interesting homily written by Spain-based Fr. Blas dela Calle Sierra who not only had worked closely with Luis when he donated his massive religious collection that has been named “Pagrel” (after his children Patricia, Gregorio, and Elvira), but became the latter’s close personal friend, too. As Fr. Blas explained, “ Today, his children, together with the new generations of the Araneta family, are continuing the task of promoting the cause for truth and beauty that their father lived for. In their own way, they wished their father’s dream would come true — making Filipinos more aware and proud of their rich cultural heritage. We, the Agustinian friars, are very grateful for this donation and we will make all efforts to preserve his memory for the future generations to come.”
We considered ourselves lucky to be invited to view the collection immediately after the Mass and light refreshments in the cloisters. The beautifully laid-out religious collection showed how Catholicism came to our shores in 1565 with the arrival of the Agustinians as the first missionaries from mother Spain.
A fabulous party host, Pandot Ocampo, remembers, ”At that time, I was a young man and would often be included in Luis’ elegant dinner parties which were always black-tie affairs or wonderful costume parties in his Forbes Park home or that of his good friends Elvira Manahan and Chito Madrigal. This was the time when there was still no hotel catering service or private chefs available — everything was homecooked. Luis, Chito Madrigal, and Elvira would each buy the same porcelain plate patterns and silver cutlery service for 24 to 25 persons and whoever had a dinner party, they would send their plates and silver over to be used by the guests. The impeccable service would be done by their household staff who was taught to move seamlessly from course to course.”
Luis was also a stickler for authenticity. Felice Sta. Maria recounts, “Gilda Cordero Fernando had me write Heirlooms and Antiques, the first coffee table book on the topic, published in 1983. Luis was a must-meet to write a worthwhile manuscript.”
Anding Roces introduced me to Luis who gave me the usual tour of his home, pointing out the bone inlaid altar tables and religious sculpture. I was invited to several other lunches for our threesome, as well as weekly ones with priests delving into the history of their orders. At one of them, I happened to browse through Luis’s library and saw a Peacetime recipe book. Sheepishly, I asked Anding if he could convince Luis to loan it to me even for just one night. I could see the shock on the owner’s face.
In Spanish, Anding said, “Luis, lend it to her. She returns books and besides, no one else is interested in Philippine food history.” From then on, Luis and I even had our own twosome lunches.
Now, I am midway through my text for the first history book about Philippine colonial cuisine. Luis kept suggesting I work toward writing it. He felt it was an undervalued area for serious research. Amazing what an old recipe book can bring to a friendship.
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The Araneta family has lined up centenary activities that will include a series of talks from various renowned speakers, exhibits at the Ayala Museum and the Met Museum. For inquiries, email Aranetapropertiesinc@gmail.com.
For comments and ideas, email the author at jacinto.fa@gmail.com.
