Manuel José de Frutos y Huerta (31 de January 1811–1873) was a Spaniard trader and founding father of Paniora clan in New Zealand.

Biography

Born Valverde del Majano in

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

, he arrived to New Zealand around 1833 and lived much of his life as a trader among the

Māori people Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...

; he is described possessing: pale skin,

red hair Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of northern Europe, Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals Zygosity#Homozy ...

, and green eyes. He retired to Tikapa on the Waiapu River. He was married to five Ngāti Porou women, and has thousands of living descendants.

Legacy

The 2014 play "Paniora" by Briar Grace-Smith was inspired by his legacy."Theatre and dance meet in magical tale of Maori and Spanish culture"
Dionne Christian, Mar 22, 2014, NZ Herald

References

External links

*
Otros documentales - El clan español de Nueva Zelanda
' . Documentary hosted by

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

. 1811 births 1873 deaths New Zealand traders People from Segovia Spanish emigrants to New Zealand {{NewZealand-bio-stub