Aurora Quezon

Aurora Antonia Aragon Quezon (born Aurora Antonia Aragón y Molina; February 19, 1888 – April 28, 1949) was the wife of Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezon and the First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. Although she is recognized as the second First Lady of the Philippines, she was actually the first spouse of a Philippine president to be addressed as such, the honorific being unknown in the Philippines prior to Manuel Quezon's presidency. Much beloved by Filipinos, Quezon was known for involvement with humanitarian activities and served as the first chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross. Five years after her husband's death, she and her daughter María Aurora ("Baby") were assassinated while they were en route to Baler to open a hospital dedicated to President Quezon. The province of Aurora was named in her memory. Early life Aurora Aragón was born on February 19, 1888, to Pedro Aragón and Zenaida Molina in the town of Baler, then in the District of El Príncipe, a part of the province of Nueva Ecija (at that time, Baler was the capital of Nueva Ecija). Her mother was a Spanish mestiza born through a Spanish priest, Father Jose Urbina de Esparragosa, who arrived in Baler from Esparragosa de la Serena, Cáceres Province, Spain in 1847 serving as the town's parish priest. Her father is a native of Laguna. She is the youngest of the 4 sisters, her older sisters are Maria, called by her siblings Kaka Malaki, Emilia, referred to Kaka Munti, and Amparo, referred to as Kaka Nanis. During the Philippine Revolution, her father was imprisoned by the colonial authorities for being suspected as being a member of the Katipunan; he would die in captivity. Among her tutors during her youth was her mother's sister (aunt), María Dolores Molina, who was the mother of her first cousin and future husband Manuel Luis Quezon. After her father's imprisonment, she was taken in by her aunt María Dolores and uncle Lucio, and she lived for a time under the same roof as her future spouse. After Manuel's own parents had died, he would stay with the Aragón family whenever he was in Baler.