Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz—Araneta (; born 30 September 1943) is a Filipino politician, writer, director, and beauty queen who won

Miss International 1964 Miss International 1964, the 5th Miss International pageant, was held on August 14, 1964 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, United States. 40 contestants competed in this pageant. Gemma Cruz from the Philippines was c ...

, becoming the first Filipino and Asian to win the title. She received an "Outstanding Manileña" and a "Golden Heart" Presidential decoration from the former Philippine President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...

Heritage

Araneta's paternal great-grandmother was Doña Maria Mercado, the sister of the Philippines' national hero,

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...

. Her mother is writer and journalist

Carmen Guerrero Nakpil ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

, and her maternal uncle is writer and diplomat

León María Guerrero III León María Ignacio Agapito Guerrero y Francisco, GCrM KGCR (March 24, 1915 – June 24, 1982), better known simply as Leon Ma. Guerrero III, was a Filipino diplomat and novelist, and was one of the foremost Filipino nationalists of his era. ...

Rise to fame

She earned the right to represent the country at Miss International 1964 contest by winning the Miss Philippines 1964 pageant, sponsored by the City of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. She donated the US$10,000 prize money to the Manila Boys Town and Girls Home, a home for indigent and out of school youth in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

. This led the Congress to pass a resolution to exempt her from paying taxes.

Career

Araneta first entered public service in 1968 when President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

appointed her Director of the National Museum. She was concurrently a member of the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...

. She was appointed Secretary of Tourism by President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

, a position she held from 30 June 1998 to 20 January 2001. She resumed her writing career in 2001 and has now a bi-weekly column editorial section in the ''

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

''. In 2003, she was elected director/trustee and president of the Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines and was re-elected in February 2006. On 16 May 2005, Araneta started hosting a daily radio programme, ''Krus Na Daan'' (

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

for "Crossroads") on DZRJ 810 and a weekly television show, ''Only Gemma!'' on Rajah Broadcasting Network. To date, Araneta has authored and co-authored seven books on Philippine history and other related topics, namely: * ''Makisig, the Little Hero of Mactan'' * ''Hanoi Diary: Beauty and Fashion for the Filipina'' (co-author) * ''Sentimiento: Fiction and Nostagia'' * ''Katha at Salamisim'' * ''El Galeón de Manila: Un Mar de Historias'' (co-author) * ''Stones of Faith'' * ''Rizal's True Love'' In April 2010, Araneta was named as one of the members of the Board of Regents of the

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (from 'University of the City of Manila', abbreviated as PLM) is a city-government-funded local university situated inside the historic walled area of Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It was established on ...

Personal life

Araneta is married to Antonio "Tonypet" Araneta and they have two children, Fatimah and Leon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz-Araneta, Gemma 1943 births Living people Miss International winners Araneta family Writers from Manila Secretaries of Tourism of the Philippines Miss International 1964 delegates Filipino beauty pageant winners 20th-century Filipino historians Estrada administration cabinet members Gemma Manila Bulletin people Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines Filipino women historians