VICTORY FOR VICTORIA! Candidate to the Manila Carnival 1922, Victoria was one of the long list of Ilongga beauties that competed for the beauty cup, which included Pura Villanueva, Lilia Lopez, Consuelo Acuna, among others. In 1922,
University of the Philippines took pride in announcing their chosen contestant to the annual carnival. She was no other than
Victoria Lopez y Ledesma, from
Iloilo. The
Ilongga beauty, born 6 March 1907, was born to parents,
hacendero Eusebio Lopez and
Ana Ledesma, both from powerful and affluent families from
Jaro.Victoria went to
Assumption Convent for her education and was active in school plays, music and dance recitals. She was also a popular member of the exclusive
Smiles Club and the
Kahirup social club.
She married
Atty. Salvador Araneta on 14 August 1927, the son of
Gregorio Araneta and
Carmen Zaragosa. Salvador was known for being a
“relentless advocate for the homeless, the unemployed and for the industrialization of the Philippines”. The couple made their home in
Mandaluyong, where they built the majestic
Villa Victoneta, designed by 3 architects –
Juan Arellano, Domingo Lerma and
Andres Luna de San Pedro. It was the site of many grand events, drawing dignitaries like
Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, Dennis Cardinal Dougherty, High Commissioner Paul V. McNnutt, Apostolic Delegate Guglielmo Piani, among others.
The couple had 4 children:
Carminia, Ana Marie, Maria Lina, Maria Victoria and
Regina. Victoria shared her husband’s deep involvement involved in advocacies and socio-civic causes. She set up a school for children living around the
Mandaluyong area. She was the leading light of
White Cross, a project which took care of children of parents afflicted with the dreaded TB. Her husband was wanted by Marcos during the Martial Law years, but by then, they had flown to
America and settled in
Canada, with the help of the Vatican.
Victoria passed away of cancer on 16 February 1988.
