Araneta: A Love Affair with God and Country by Maria Lina A. Santiago (Out of Print)

This book is the story of Filipinos as seen through the lives of the Aranetas, the Zaragozas, the Lopo Lopezes, the Ledesmas and other individuals of the period from the 1800s to the 1970s. This is about their passion for freedom and their love of God and country. This is the story of Filipinas as she astonishingly endured the struggle with Spain, the betrayal of the united States, the ordeal of World War II and the early years of Philippine democracy. This is history as told in broad strokes intertwined with history as experienced in personal vignettes. This is a story of passion and romance, loyalty and betrayal, politics and family. There was the passion of Lola Ana for her Victoria to be baptized at a time in the history of Filipinas when families were divided between those who professed the faith and those who detested the faith. There were the romances of Victoria and Salvador, Pacita and Vincente, Tina and Raja. There was the loyalty of the Gregoria Araneta and his son Salvador to their ideals of integrity and sworn duties as advocates of Filipinization and social justice. Finally, the second time around, there was the chain of double-cross by America. This book chronicles the walk to freedom by Filipinas-a walk that is far from reaching its rightful destination. The love affair with God and country, as recounted in this book, is still after today, and the author hopes that this love affair continues with the torch now passed to the next generations of Filipinas.