Juan Araneta
Revolutionary Leader and Pioneering Farmer
(1852 - 1924)
Juan Araneta is a revolutionary leader and patriot who is one of the key figures of Negros Occidental's Al Cinco de Noviembre. He is also a sugar farmer who pioneered the development of sugar industry in Negros. He is instrumental in the development of agriculture in the Philippines.
Birth and Early Years
On July 13, 1852, Juan Anacleto Torres Araneta was born in Molo, Iloilo (now a district of Iloilo City). His mother, Agueda Villanueva Torres, was 23 years old when he was born, and his father, Romualdo Marcial Cabungsol Araneta, was 29 years old at the time and a direct male-line descendant of José de Araneta y Guyol.
Juan has a brother, Eusebio, who moved to Iloilo, and sisters, Magdalena and Pedro Sarmiento, who were important figures in Juan Anacleto's life; Maria Rosario and Remegio Salas; and Maria Consolacion and Fedirico Matti, who was one of the first Bago mayors.
Later on, the Araneta-Torres family relocated to Negros and made it their permanent home.
Pedro Sarmiento, his brother-in-law, took him to Manila when he was 19 years old, and he enrolled in the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He had a lot of promise in school and was recognized for his efforts with distinction medals. He received a perito mercantil degree upon graduation, which is the same as a bachelor's degree in commerce today. José Alejandrino, Apolinario Mabini, Cayetano Arellano, and José Rizal were among of his schoolmates.
Like his father before him, he was elected Capitan del Pueblo upon his return to Molo. However, the province's friars had grown wary of him, and the only thing keeping the Spanish government from summarily eliminating him was the great admiration and respect of the residents of Bago and the other towns in the province of Negros Occidental.
Life as a Farmer
After his wife passed away in 1891, Juan traveled to Europe with his friend Don Claudio Reina. He got to meet a lot of the Filipino leaders who were then residing in Madrid, London, and Paris. He marveled at the independence and the progress of industrialization there. The Swiss cantonal system of government really intrigued him. He became a believer in the potential of machines as catalysts for advancement after witnessing the industrial machinery used by European farmers. This led to even greater hostility from the Spanish government when he returned. He consequently lost the farm that his parents had left him and his sisters. He was forced to relocate his family to the Mount Kanlaon slopes, where they began farming once more. He brought a lot of devices to his Dinapalan hacienda.
His use of a telescope to remotely monitor his workers on the expansive hacienda is one well-known story. The general populace began to believe that he possessed magical abilities, but in fact, he could simply view their behavior via the telescope.
Tan Juan was an agricultural inventor of his era who experimented with cultivating rice, abaca, and coffee in addition to sugarcane, diversifying the agricultural output in Negros Occidental.
Tan Juan, as he was affectionately known, also brought foreign agricultural equipment to Bago, which facilitated the cultivation of rice, abaca, and coffee.
He presented what he observed to the village of Bago after applying what he had learned in Europe to his land.
Tan Juan is largely responsible for the agricultural prosperity of Bago, which is currently regarded as the rice granary of Negros Occidental and a developing coffee haven.
Conflict with the Spanish Authorities
He became aware of the use of modern agricultural equipment and tools during his trips in Europe. He had a sugar mill erected at his Dinapalan hacienda after importing it from England. He occasionally purchased farm equipment such as an abaca baler, a rice thresher, and better models of plows.
But this penchant for contemporary farming implements proved to be his downfall. The boatloads of material being unloaded close to his Lumangub property raised suspicions among the Spanish authorities. In January 1897, he was taken into custody and taken to Concordia. Later, he was taken to Himamaylan and then to Ilog, the province's capital at the time. According to his diary, there were plans to organize the province's revolutionary forces while he was incarcerated. Annotations indicated that he communicated with other provincial leaders. In October 1897, he was ultimately taken to Bacolod and set free.
The Negros Revolution
The initial phase of the revolution was sweeping across the provinces as he worked to build his farm. Spanish authorities throughout the archipelago were alarmed and increased their vigilance by detaining anyone they believed would rebel against them. Despite his reputation as a liberal thinker, Araneta was not exempt from their lists. He was taken into custody on January 9, 1897, and remained incarcerated until March 8, 1897.
After being released from prison, he joined Aniceto Lacson, Leandro Locsin, and Nicolas Golez to form revolutionary forces in Negros. Lacson led the North command, while Araneta led the South.
A messenger from Talisay reported that the revolutionaries and the cazadores were already fighting on November 5, 1898 (Cinco de Noviembre). The revolutionary forces in Bago began their march toward Bacolod at around 1:00 in the afternoon. They only owned three weapons: a shotgun, a Mauser rifle, and a Remington rifle. The leader of the rebel troops, General Araneta, instructed his men to chop pagong, or nipa stems, and to carry them like weapons. The password was to be utod (brother) in Hiligaynon in case they got in touch.
Araneta declared the Republic of Negros and raised the Filipino flag in Bago Town that same day. Araneta led his troops into Bacolod at around 1:00 in the afternoon of the next day, with the majority of them carrying farming implements and woods that appeared to be rifles from a distance, along with a few firearms (a Remington, a Mauser, and a shotgun). As they marched from the northern side to Bacolod, the Lacson faction followed suit.
When the rebels marched near Bacolod, the Spanish authorities believed they wanted to give up their weapons. To their surprise, the rebels suggested that the Spaniards surrender to prevent bloodshed. The Spaniards agreed without hesitation. Spanish reinforcements from Iloilo didn't arrive until Bacolod was already in rebel control.
The Spanish friars and Colonel Isidro de Castro, the Spanish Gobernador Politico-Militar of Negros, observed the rebel troops marching on Bacolod from opposing directions while looking fully armed from the belfry of the Bacolod Cathedral. Alarmed, Colonel de Castro dispatched Manuel Fernandez Yuson and Jose de Luzurriaga to negotiate the surrender of the Spanish civil guards and soldiers, only to discover later that they had been duped by the rebels' resourcefulness.
By utilizing bamboo mats painted to simulate cannons, they cleverly bluffed Spanish forces into surrendering, opening the door for a republican government led by the Negrenses.
On November 6, 1898, Don Isidro Castro, the Spanish governor of Negros Island, gave himself up to soldiers led by Juan Araneta and Aniceto Lacson at Bacolod.
On November 7, 1898, a cantonal system of governance was established in Bacolod, with Aniceto Lacson serving as president and General Juan Araneta as secretary of war. However, when the Americans landed in Negros on December 28, 1898, this administration was overthrown. Araneta advised the administration to surrender after observing the American forces' superior equipment. His allies fiercely fought and denounced his request, but eventually gave in. America's occupation of Negros was hence peaceful. By the time American military rule was instituted in the nation, the cantonal government had been permitted to continue until it was eventually abolished.
The Republic of Negros
General Aniceto Lacson established a cantonal system of governance in Bacolod, with General Juan Araneta as the Secretary of War and General Aniceto Lacson as President. He advised the cantonal government to surrender to the American forces upon their arrival in Iloilo. His comrades-in-arms strongly objected to this and mocked it. But in the end, his plan was accepted, and the Americans took Negros without facing any resistance.
Personal Life
A total of twenty-five children were born to Juan Araneta. Cristeta Sarmiento, his first wife, passed away in 1891, leaving him and their nine children.
He has thirteen children with Natalia Salsalida y Bobeda, his second spouse.
He has three more children from his two other relationships.
Cristeta Sarmiento, with whom he had nine children:
Elisa Araneta y Sarmiento
Romualdo Araneta y Sarmiento
Félix Araneta y Sarmiento
Gertrudes Araneta y Sarmiento
Jaime Carlos Araneta y Sarmiento
Jorge León Araneta y Sarmiento
José Araneta y Sarmiento
Luisa Flavia Araneta y Sarmiento
Ramón Araneta y Sarmiento
Natalia Salsalida, with whom he had thirteen children:
Agüeda María Feliciana Araneta y Salsalida
Romualdo Marcial Araneta y Salsalida
Crestita Pascuala Araneta y Salsalida
Teresa Bonifacia Araneta y Salsalida
Guillermo Hillarión Araneta y Salsalida
Ana Justina Araneta y Salsalida
María Ricarda 'Rica' Araneta y Salsalida
Patrocinio Dominga Araneta y Salsalida
Teodoro Antonio Araneta y Salsalida
Silvia Agustina Araneta y Salsalida
Woodrow Cecilio Araneta y Salsalida
Felipe Alberto Araneta y Salsalida
Félix Alberto Araneta y Salsalida
Celestina Díaz, with whom he had a son:
Emilio Araneta y Díaz
Juanita Camellarosa, with whom he two daughters:
Trinidad Araneta y Camellarosa
Rufina Araneta y Camellarosa
Unusual Charm and Supernatural Story
Since Juan Anacleto is recognized for having a strong charisma (or "dungan" in the local dialect), Aguinaldo's belief in him is not out of the ordinary. Ordinary people believe that he is friends with the sota, a mythical monster that is half-black and half-white and represents both good and evil, and that he consorts with the spirits that reside in Mount Kanlaon. According to the folklore, he can see far and wide and his horse can fly. One of the most powerful "anting-anting" (talismans) is embedded in him. It is said that he battles his fiercest foe in the sky, and their battles resemble thunder.
Later Years and Death
He served as one of the commissioners for the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, where he displayed more than a thousand rice varieties, as well as samples of cocoa, beans, abaca, and numerous other crops from Negros and Panay. Due to the outstanding quality of all these shows, he received both gold and silver medallions. For the enjoyment of his big family, he also created Buenos Aires Mountain Resort. Maria A. Matti, his daughter, subsequently received this property from him.
He stayed up to date on the latest advancements in crops or agricultural tools and implements. He planted trees that were not native to Negros and attempted to raise a variety of crops on his land. He was one of the founding members of the Ma-ao Sugar Central in Bago. To support the new business, he lent the corporation the titles to his properties. Later, the province's first American sugar factory was established by the Sugar Central. He convinced his tenants to cultivate sugarcane on huge tracts of land. Tan Juan also had a key role in the establishment of the Bago Baptist Church.
The City of Bago has a museum and a monument in his honor today. Araneta did not live long enough to witness the growth of the agricultural and business he had previously diversified into. He left behind a big family consisting of 25 children and several grand and great grandkids when he passed away on October 3, 1924.
General Juan Anacleto Torres Araneta, better known as the mastermind behind the November 5, 1898, march from the town of Bago (now a city) to the San Sebastian Cathedral, loved the soil just as much as his nation. His love of farming gave his idyllic life a surprising splash of color.
Tan Juan is recognized for his services to agriculture and for motivating the following generation of farmers, in addition to making a lasting impression on Negros history by defeating the Spaniards in 1898.
Sources
WikiTree Biography of Juan Anacleto T. Torres -https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Araneta-61
On 100th death anniversary, Juan Araneta honored as both revolutionary and farming hero by Ambo Delilan on Rappler - https://www.rappler.com/philippines/visayas/centennial-death-anniversary-tan-juan-araneta-honored-revolutionary-farming-hero/
The life and legend of Gen. Juan T. Araneta, Sunstar.com.ph - https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/the-life-and-legend-of-gen-juan-t-araneta
