We
owe the
Philippines two sociological phenomena in our country:
Isabel Preysler
(71) and
San Miguel beers.
In 1890, the former Spanish colony was the object of desire for a group of
clever dreamy entrepreneurs
to embark on the adventure of creating the
first brewing company in Southeast Asia.
Enrique María Barretto de Ycaza y Esteban worked at the Banco Español Filipino and was already 40 years old when he decided to
invest his money
and that of other partners in the purchase of
an old convent of
Augustinian Recollect friars that they converted into the San Miguel brewery.
To carry out that dream, Enrique María processed
a royal grant to the court of Alfonso XIII
that allowed him to
own the company
for 20 years.
Although he equipped her with it, he created the most popular and delicious 'blonde', it is rumored that some of those brewing ingredients were devised by religious
for medicinal purposes.
Romina Belluscio was the image of the brand in 2013.GTRES
After hard work, the name chosen for the drink was
San Miguel because the inauguration
was scheduled for September 29, 1890, the feast of the archangel, and because the building was located in
the neighborhood of the same name
in Manila.
However, a strong storm postponed that special day to October 4.
At the beginning the company had
70 workers
and after the entry of capital from some of the great names of the island's elite (Tuasón y Patiño, Róxas y Castro or Legarda y Tuasón) the
beer empire began to take shape.
Above all, thanks to the appointment of Pedro Pablo Róxas and Castro as manager.
In 1895
the first prize arrived,
Barretto and Róxas had just left the business, and in 1903 they decided
to expand to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guam.
The high point began with the entry into the company of Andrés Soriano Róxas in 1910, of which he became president and who became the
richest man in the country
thanks also to his work in Philippine Air Lines, in which the father de Isabel Preysler was executive director.
In addition, he was related to another Hispanic-Filipino family,
the Zóbels,
another of the great fortunes that always appears in the Asian
Forbes
list and that in Spain are well known for being the
promoters of Sotogrande.
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Oddly enough, despite its Spanish origins, the beer did not
reach our country until 1954
, when several tons of Asian yeast arrived on several ships after a 45-day journey.
The large power plant and distributor settled in
Lleida
.
For 60 years, the different types of beer (Special, 0.0, Indian Pale Ale) have captured significant
market share worldwide.
In 2000 Mahou acquired the company.
A few days ago, San Miguel sent a statement in which it transmitted that they had just been
awarded another 25 quality medals
, which, added to the previous ones, in 2022 they have already achieved 30 (10 gold medals, 16 silver and 4 of bronze).
During the two years of the pandemic, Mahou San Miguel helped the hotel industry with 380 million euros.
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