Argao Families: The Sanchezes

SANCHEZ, m.n., one of the most common Spanish surnames in the world. Spanish patronymic last name that means "son (or descendant) of Sancho". Spanish form of the Late Latin name Sanctius, which was derived from the word sanctus meaning "saintly, holy". Alternatively, Sancho and Sanctius may have been taken from the Basque name Santxo.

It is one of the original 700 plus last names in Argao adopted during the 1849 Claveria decree. The Sanchez family was also one of the 16 hereditary principalia families of the town during the Spanish period and produced at least 11 cabezas de barangay. It also had one municipal councilor during the American period. A full history of the SANCHEZ family is available. Please contact the genealogist if interested. 

NOTE: When in parenthesis, the person did not have a surname during his/her lifetime.

EARLIEST TRACEABLE ANCESTOR(S):

(1) Anastacio (SANCHEZ), born around the first quarter of the 1700s. He married Javilla Maria and they had one child, Agustin Patricio (Sanchez), who married Maria Sidlacan Algones. They had the following children:

A. Eustaquio Patricio Sanchez m. Maria Tomasa Albandia - descendants carry the last name Sanchez.

B. Agustin Marcos Sanchez m. Maria Valeriana Banaren - descendants carry the last name Sanchez.

C. Maria Ynguila Sanchez m. Juan Ygnacio Algones - descendants carry the last name Algones.

D. Susana Victoriana Sanchez m. Silvestre Pajardo Remonde - descendants carry the last name Remonde.

(2) David Calisto (SANCHEZ), born in the middle of the 1700s. He is most likely a direct connection of #1 considering the similarities in the naming patterns of children. He married Cristina Hermosa and had one son, Agustin Patricio (Sanchez), born sometime in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

Agustin Patricio (Sanchez) married Colasita Maria and had the following children:

A. Agustin Antonio Sanchez m. Maria Feliciana Algones - descendants carry the last name Sanchez.

B. Miguel Patricio Sanchez m. Maria Susana Albandia - descendants carry the last name Sanchez.

C. Valeriano Sanchez m. Basilia Albarracin - descendants carry the last name Sanchez.

(3) Crisanta Tomasa (SANCHEZ), born late 1790s or early 1800s. She married Miguel Ygnacio (ALGONES) and had the five children. She was most likely from the family of Anastacio Sanchez (see #1) and her husband was also a close relative of Maria Ynguila Sanchez's husband (see #1, letter C). Her descendants carry the last names ALGONES, PANERIO, QUINTANILLA, and DURAN.

SANCHEZ Family Name Distribution in Argao (as of 2011)

(Click here to enlarge)

Luceros and Kintanars: Stories of Love and Kindness

After the death of my very dear friend Ted Gumila Villarimo, former Tourism Commissioner of Argao, the people I could count on the most, aside from my Lucero relatives, were the Kintanars, particularly the family of Tito Jun and Tita Lee Kintanar and two of their children, Karla Kintanar Fernandez (married to basketball legend Mon Fernandez) and columnist Han Kintanar. Growing up I always thought that the Luceros and the Kintanars were perpetual rivals; true, in many electoral contests we had our fair share of rivalry with this popular family, but after Ted's death I could only think of them as nothing but the dearest and nicest of people.

It shouldn't have surprised me that I have many cousins whose surname or middle name is Kintanar. There are many Lucero Kintanar and Kintanar Lucero families in Argao and Cebu City. Three to five intermarriages are common, especially in a small town where there are less than a thousand families. However, a careful look at the Lucero and the Kintanar family trees reveals an anomaly: that of more than 15 intermarriages between the two families.

As stated earlier, there has always been a rivalry between the two families. Although both families have documented family trees as early as the 1700s, it was only in the late 1880s when the first marriage between the two families occured. This was between Don Antonio Quintanar and Dona Casimira Lucero. A few years later Casimira's first cousin, Dona Fernanda Lucero, married Antonio's nephew, Don Rufo Quintanar. From then on the family continued to marry into each other's family from time to time:

• Don Leon Kintanar married Julia Villar after she lost her first husband, Leandro Lucero.
• Leandro's son, Carlos Lucero, married Candida Kintanar, daughter of Don Leon by his first wife Basilia Villacorte.
• Claro Cagigas married Marcelina Lucero.
• Agustin Kintanar married Pureza Lucero.
• Lourdes Kintanar married Pio Mariano Lucero.
• Guillermo Kintanar Campaner married Teopista Lucero.
• Jesus Lucero Kintanar married Rose Lucero.
• Nestoria Geverola (a Kintanar) married Valerio Saniel (a Lucero).
• Montana Cagigas (a Kintanar) married Bienvenido Saniel, Jr. (a Lucero)
• Simeon Lucero Kintanar married Socorro Villafuerte (a Lucero).
• Vicenta Amatong (a Kintanar) married Jesus Galeos (a Lucero).
• Wilfredo Fuentes (a Kintanar) married Cristina Lucero.
• Ethelbert Kintanar married Milagros Lucero.
• Paterno Kintanar, Jr. married Judy Matarlo (a Lucero).

The latest Lucero Kintanar marriage was between Clark Cagigas and Johnna Kuh Quintana. This is also the most unique of all the Lucero-Kintanar marriages. Clark's grandfather was Claro Kintanar Cagigas, who was married to a Lucero (not Clark's grandmother, though). Johnna's grandfather is Simeon Kintanar, himself a half Lucero. Johnna's grandmother, Socorro Villafuerte, is a Lucero from two lines of descent. This makes their family a product of two Kintanar lines and three Lucero lines.

Although there are clear signs of political marriages in the earlier unions, when learning the stories of these marriages one can glimpse very amazing acts of love and kindness. For instance, when Leandro Lucero died suddenly at a young age, leaving a wife and three children, his very good friend and fellow cabeza de barangay, Don Leon Kintanar, himself a widower, married Leandro's widow Julia. He took care of her young children and raised them as his own. In another case, Teopista Lucero, who was the daughter of a priest, carried this "sinful" stigma with her. Guillermo K. Campaner stepped into the role of prince charming and married her despite her priestly roots.

I take comfort in the fact that though these two prominent families in Argao may sometimes be at odds in politics, in the end the generations of friendship and love have remained. I am proud to say that I, too, share in the intricate and colorful interconnectedness of the Lucero and Kintanar families.

Lucero-Kintanar intermarriages

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Related posts:

1. Luceros: Lines and Legacy
2. The Kintanars: Kith and Kin