Manuel Carrillo Tablas - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas was a philanthropist and served as mayor of Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. He was a descendant from the Carrillo family

House of Carrillo

The House of Carrillo is a Spanish noble house that traces its origins from the ancient Kingdom of Castile. There are several branches that exist such as Carrillo de Albornoz, Carrillo de Mendoza, Carrillo de Figueroa, Carrillo de Toledo and Carrillo Tablas among others. There are also several...

, a Spanish noble house. He served as the mayor several times (1866–1867, 1871-1871, 1877-1877, 1892–1894, and 1899–1900).

Early life

Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas was born into one of the Grandes families of Spain. He was born in Cuba while his parents were in route from Spain to New Spain (Mexico). When he reached the age of adulthood he replaced "de Albornoz" in the family name to his mother's maiden name of "Tablas." He then married Rosa Iturriaga from Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico where he would establish a new dynasty and make his own fortune. From Cuba he settled in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico.

Career

Don Manuel Tablas managed to acquire more than half the properties in the city of Orizaba, Veracruz. He had two ranches (Palas y San Isidro en Ixhuatlancillo)both which extended from the borders of the city (Cerritos) to the base of the Pico de Orizaba. He also had lands in Córdoba and Puebla. He was also a very charitable man. During his life he funded in large measure the building and transportation of the famous Palacio de Hierro (Iron Palace) designed by Societé Anonymé des Forges D´Aiseau, Bélgica (Belgium) and which served as City Hall for most of the 20th century. The initial loan he made to the city for the project (60 thousand pesos in silver - the equivalent of 180,000 U.S. Dollars at the time) was never repaid due to his untimely death at the turn of the century; neither was the loan he made to transport the palace from the shipyard to its present location. He also donated the Casa de la Manzana de Bendriñana to extend "Parque Castillo" and the land for the main market "Mercado Melchor Ocampo.".

Don Manuel helped to contribute to Orizaba's recognition as a major city in the Province. When Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota visited the city for the first time in 1864 under much pomp, the emperor and empress stayed in the house of Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas known as "La Estrella" and later as "La Eureka." He had another mansion where Don Francisco Y Madero stayed as a guest as well.

After the fall of the second Mexican Empire, Don Manuel was present when the Mexican Republic was reestablished in Orizaba. He then sought to make Orizaba a city of culture and progress both as Mayor and as a prominent resident. In 1892 Orizaba boasted being the city that housed 10 of the countries 665 newspapers. During the time of the Presidency of Porfirio Diaz

Porfirio Díaz

José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...

, Orizaba was considered the most educated city in the Mexican Province.

Death

On New Year's Eve 1899 Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas died. His son Don Manuel Carrillo Iturriaga (who would served as Political Chief of the Canton of Orizaba during the early 1900s), would take up the helm as the head of the family. Don Manuel Carrillo Iturriaga married Doña María Limón (from San Luis Potosí) and both lived in Orizaba, Veracruz.
Don Manuel Carrillo Iturriaga would also serve in the Mexican Congress as a Diputado during the rewriting of the Mexican Constitution in 1917.

Because Don Manuel died without a will, the government of Mexico seized much of his possessions, leaving his children to battle the courts to retain what they could of their fathers vast wealth. At the time of Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas death, families of status and wealth were buried in private lots on their ranch. Looters disturbed the remains of Don Manuel searching for jewels and left Don Manuel's remains unearthed. His Son Don Manuel Carrillo Iturriaga brought the remains to his families Hacienda known as "El Molino de la Alianza." Upon the death of Don Manuel Carrillo Iturriaga, his daughter Doña Guadalupe Carrillo viuda de Ortega buried both her father and grandfather in the city's cemetery, in the family plot. The renown musician and Maestro Armando Ortega

Maestro Armando Ortega

Maestro Armando Manuel Aurelio Ortega Carrillo was Director of Coro de la Escuela Secundaria y de Bachilleres de Orizaba . His great grandfather was the philanthropist Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas, who served as mayor of Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico many times...

is also buried in the same family plot.

Early life

Career

Death

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