Enrique Zóbel de Ayala facts for kids

Enrique Zóbel de Ayala (born October 9, 1877 – died February 17, 1943) was an important businessman and generous person. He was born in Spain but became a Filipino. He is known as the first leader of the famous Zóbel de Ayala family.

Early Life and Education

Enrique Zóbel was born in Madrid, Spain, on October 9, 1877. His parents were Jacobo Zóbel y Zangroniz and Trinidad de Ayala y Róxas. He had a twin brother named Alfonso, who sadly passed away when he was five years old. He also had other siblings named Fernando Antonio, Margarita, and Gloria.

He went to school at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the Philippines. Later, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Real Colegio Alfonso XII in El Escorial, Spain. He continued his studies in Paris, France, at Liceo de San Luis and the Collège Sainte-Barbe.

Enrique was very interested in engineering and mining. He took courses at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris from 1897 to 1901. While in Paris, he also studied painting, showing his love for the arts.

Family Life

Enrique Zóbel married his cousin, Consuelo Róxas de Ayala, in Manila on October 16, 1901. They had three children: Jacobo, Alfonso, and Mercedes. Sadly, Consuelo passed away from cholera on September 25, 1907, when she was only 30 years old. Her burial place is still in the old San Agustin Church in Intramuros.

Three years later, Enrique met Fermina Montojo de Torrontegui. She was the daughter of a Spanish admiral named Patricio Montojo. He was famous for leading the Spanish fleet against Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay. Enrique and Fermina married on November 12, 1911. They had four children: Matilde, Consuelo, Gloria, and the famous painter Fernando.

Business Ventures

Enrique Zóbel was a managing partner of Ayala y Compañia for many years, from 1901 to 1913 and again from 1920 until 1943.

In 1914, his children from his first marriage – Jacobo, Alfonso, and Mercedes – inherited a large piece of land called Hacienda San Pedro de Macati. This land was passed down from his aunt, Carmen Róxas de Ayala. The property had been in the family for a long time but was not developed.

In 1929, the ownership of this land was transferred to Ayala y Compañia. This property became the foundation of his family's future wealth. In the 1930s, parts of the land were developed, marking the company's first steps into real estate. In 1937, he offered 42 hectares of this land to be used for building Nielson Field, which was an important airport.

On June 21, 1924, the Ayala distillery, which made Ginebra San Miguel, was sold to La Tondeña Inc..

Besides his work with Ayala company, Enrique Zóbel started other businesses. In 1903, he founded La Porcelanica, which was the first modern ceramics factory in the Philippines. The next year, he started a glass factory with Eduardo Soriano. He also helped create Filipinas Compañía de Seguros in 1913. He was involved in insurance and finance, serving as vice president of Insular Life Assurance Company and a director of other financial companies like Philippine Guaranty Co. and Banco Español-Filipino.

Supporting Arts and Culture

Enrique Zóbel loved art and culture, just like his father. He studied in Europe, not only business but also the arts. His home in Ermita, Manila, was a popular place for artists and thinkers to gather. He gave his large collection of European literature books to the University of the Philippines library.

In 1929, he started the Premio Zóbel award. He wanted to help keep the Spanish language alive and important. He believed Spanish was a key part of Filipino heritage. His goal was to make sure "No quiero que el español muera en Filipinas" (I don't want Spanish to die in the Philippines). Today, his grandchildren, Georgina Padilla MacCrohon and Alejandro Padilla, manage this award.

With his brother Fernando Antonio, he helped start Casino Español de Manila. This was a social club for people of Spanish-Filipino heritage. He also created groups like Patronato Escolar Español and Asociación Pro-Idioma Hispano. These groups worked to strengthen the role of Spanish in schools. In 1924, he was a founding member of Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española. This group worked with the famous Real Academia de la Lengua Española in Spain.

He even became a Spanish-language publisher, bringing back the newspaper El Mercantil. He supported many artists by giving them scholarships. One of these artists was a young Fernando Amorsolo. In return, Amorsolo taught Enrique's son, Fernando, how to paint.

In 1930, Enrique helped fund the building of the Manila Metropolitan Theater. This is a famous Art Deco building designed by Juan Arellano. He became the treasurer for the theater company.

In 1936, he found many old Oriental pottery pieces on his property in Calatagan, Batangas. He reported this discovery to the National Museum. He then paid for the excavations to dig up and study these important artifacts.

In April 1939, General Franco appointed him as the acting consul for Spain in the Philippines. Spain recognized his many good deeds and cultural contributions. They awarded him important honors like La Gran Cruz Isabela la Católica and the Medalla del Mérito Civil.

Death

Enrique Zóbel passed away on February 17, 1943, in Manila. This was during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II.

See also

In Spanish: Enrique Zóbel de Ayala para niños