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XXXI International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences Oslo, Norway 2014

Under the distinguished patronage of His Majesty King Harald V

From Mexico to the world: The legacy and tradition of the Gallardo family in tequila and charreria

Rodrigo-Alonso Lopez-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones (Mexico)

XXXI International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences Oslo 2014 Rodrigo Lopez-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones (Mexico): From Mexico to the world: The legacy and tradition of the Gallardo family in tequila and charreria

Countries that participated Norway Finland Canada Denmark Netherlands USA Russia Belgium Scotland England Austria Spain Germany Czech Republic France Mexico Lithuania Slovenia

Acknowledgements: Juan Beckmann Vidal Hector Fernandez Rousselon Carolina Gonzalez Rubio de Plascencia His Excellency Ambassador Luis Javier Campuzano Pi単a Kaare Seeberg Sidselrud Carsten Berg Hogenhoff Bente Clausen

Design of this booklet by: Ricardo-Antonio Lopez-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones

Akershus Fortress, Oslo

With the presence of His Excellency the Mexican Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway

1.His Excellency Ambassador Luis Javier Campuzano Pi単a 2.Kaare Seeberg Sidselrud 3.Rodrigo-Alonso Lopez-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones 4.Ricardo-Antonio Lopez-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones

Akershus Fortress, Oslo

From Mexico to the world: The legacy and tradition of the Gallardo family in tequila and charrería. Paper presented at the 31st Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, Oslo, August 16th 2014 by: Rodrigo-Alonso López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones His Excellency Don Luis Javier Campuzano Piña, Mexican Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway; members of the Organizing Committee; Ladies and Gentleman; dear colleagues and friends: THIS is my first visit to your beautiful country. And I had a wonderful welcome, beginning with an equally wonderful sight from the seat of the airplane—when first looking out of the window into Norway, I was greeted not only by one, but by two rainbows that shined in the distance that evening, while the plane was approaching Oslo. And I've been loving Oslo: all its smiling people with huge sense of humor, a friendliness that makes you feel at home. I am sure that this won't be my last visit and that I will be seeing you again in the future.

Norway has also a special closeness for me in a personal way because of a family connection: an ancestor in England, in times of the Industrial Revolution, invented an educational system that was first used in England, and then—because of it's success, it spread around the world. One of the countries that embraced such system was Norway, it was used here for about 50 years, from 1800 to 1850. So for example, yesterday we had the honour of visiting the Oslo School Museum, guided by the best historian: Bente Clausen (who is also joining us today). We especially enjoyed our visit and felt also honoured because such museum is closed during Summer time, so it was opened only for my brother Ricardo and me. Before I start, let me ask you if any of you had the chance to visit Mexico? Well, this country is located in North America. Its borders since the old days of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and those borders that Mexico has today, are depicted in the Table I. As you all read in the title of my lecture, I am talking about the legacy and tradition of a family which is linked with tequila and charrería—I hope at the end of this talk, you'll know a little bit more about Mexico, and you'll enjoy this brief sketch about this family that has been involved with two of the three features that distinguish Mexico in the world today. Through this activities Mexico's local economy growth since the second half of the 18th Century until nowadays: while tequila is an agribusiness that in 2013 exported 165.7 million liters worldwide, charrería is a cattle rising business that in the same year, generated 167.3 million dollars in exports (see Table II).

Now, let me ask: Which's your first thought when you hear the word “tequila”? Maybe, many of you—when thinking about “tequila”, will link the word with sunny days under a clear blue sky, white sand beaches and warm turquoise sea waves—all combined with a Margarita cocktail! Finally, I'm sure all of you have heared about the American cowboys... But, do you know about its origin and tradition? It can be traced through history to Mexican horsemanship since the early days of the former New Spain. Nowadays this tradition is kown as charrería. After Mexico's independence in 1821, two political systems debated the country's political life not only with the pen, but with the sword; ideas were faced in the battlefield; the American invasion of 1847 caused that Mexico lost half of its territory; then the French invasion of 1865 tried unsuccessfully to established an empire above the Equator with the purpose of create some balance to the growing American influence throughout all the continent—a dream that vanished few years later... Therefore, since the last quarter of the 19th Century the Mexican identity begin to be forged after many decades of many civil wars and two foreign invasions... Is precisely in such period when two names stand out in two business that later on, become part of Mexican identity: Lázaro Gallardo in tequila and Carlos Rincón-Gallardo in charrería (see Table III). Lázaro Gallardo y Arrieta, had a successful tequila business since 1839, he did his part to the spirits industry: he invented the scientific process known as “Seleccion Suave” (Smooth Selection), a process that combines different tequilas from different ages, selecting only the most smooth and aromatic ones, combining them, until obtain a unique flavour... Therefore, he is the first Maestro Tequilero (tequila Master Blender) and a pioneer in the tequila history.

Carlos Rincón-Gallardo y Romero de Terreros was the 4rd Marquis of Guadalupe-Gallardo, 3rd Duke of Regla Grandee of Spain, 7th Count of Regla, 9th Marquis of Villahermosa de Alfaro and of San Bartolome de Xala... Despite all his titles, he was the head of a prosperous family business that included cattle raising as its main activity; therefore, he, his brothers, father, grandfather and ancestors, were outstanding horsemen... As an enthusiastic horseman and author, he published seven books about charrería, then, he's a pioneer in the charrería history. Anyone can see that those pioneers had the Gallardo surname in a common, so there's an obvious question: Is there a relationship between those men? My interest in the Gallardo family started in early 90s, when I contributed with a Mexico City's based magazine that belonged to one of the most prestigious newspapers of such time: El Heraldo de Mexico. I published from 1991 to 1993 a series of 23 articles about the genealogy and heraldry of some of the most important families in Mexico, among those articles, I wrote about the Rincón-Gallardo and the GarciaDiego families... The Rincón-Gallardos had been linked with charrería since the 17th Century.

The García-Diegos were related to tequila business by the marriage of the aforementioned Lázaro Gallardo with Leocadia García-Diego in 1830. Then, I became very interested in find if this Lázaro Gallardo's family was related with the Rincón-Gallardos... Why? Because it would be so interesting to have charrería and tequila linked under two branches of the same family. The paper I'm presenting today is the result of an investigation that was shaped when opportunities came in hand, and through two periods of time: from 1998 to 2004, and from 2011 until the last Winter (see Table IV). Both the Majorat of Cienega de Mata and the Rincón-Gallardo family have been extensively studied by historians like the Mexicans: Ricardo Ortega y Pérez-Gallardo, Pablo Zayas Jarero, Ricardo LancasterJones y Verea, and Jesús Gómez Serrano; the French François Chevalier; the American Doris M. Ladd; the British David A. Brading; or the Spaniards: Ramón María Serrera Contreras and José Fernando Alcaide Aguilar. Therefore, my study will be more focused on the Gallardo branch that got involved in the tequila business, because no one has studied this branch in-extenso before me. Also, I'm presenting new information that will help to the history of the early days of the city of Irapuato; information that has been unpublished since now.

The Gallardo family's origins can be traced until the 16th Century in the village of San Juan del Puerto, Huelva, Andalusia (Spain). The New World focused the eyes of the Old World to the West, and soon a network of commerce through the entire globe's was established. This way, Francisco Martin Gallardo passed in the late 16th Century to New Spain, he stayed first in Mexico City, then, because of his marriage with Isabel Teresa de Rodas, he moved to Irapuato—a city located in the State of Guanajuato at the West of Mexico (See Table V). Fortune smiled to Francisco Martín Gallardo as he scored major gains in the Mines of Santa Fe de Guanajuato; he invested his profits in rural properties, forming the vast Hacienda de Tayagua: an agricultural and livestock unit which summed up a total of 99,469 hectares and whose domains covered the jurisdictions of the existing municipalities of Juchipila, Tlatenango and Jerez (Zacatecas). His father in law was Benito Martín: a Conquistador of Irapuato and the founder of a small church of Our Lady of Solitude; with the passage of time, this church is the current seat of the Irapuato Cathedral: a new Diocese created in 2004.

Francisco Martin Gallardo and Isabel Teresa de Rodas had eight children, among them, we are interested in the two elder sons: Francisco and Nicolas. Both brothers were Captains and got married in time with two important ladies of the area; therefore, they consolidated their position among the local landlords. Captain Francisco Martin Gallardo y de Rodas will be the origin of the tequila branch of this family; while Captain Nicolas Gallardo y de Rodas will be the origin of the Rincón-Gallardo family and the charrería branch. The Gallardo tequila branch starts around 1650. Its main activity will be cattle rising—like the one of their Rincón-Gallardo cousins; most of their members went to study at the Guadalajara Seminar (the most important center of knowledge in Western Mexico in those days), obtaining the Bachelor in Arts degree. It will be in 1839 when the great-great-great-grandson of Captain Francisco Martin Gallardo y de Rodas, Lázaro Gallardo, started in the tequila business. He married with Leocadia Garcia-Diego y Enriquez del Castillo; among his children, besides the one that continued with the tequila business, three standed out: Aurelio Luis Gallardo y García-Diego: he was gifted with writing skills and aesthetic taste, influenced by the Romanticism literary movement of his time, he wrote numerous works; works that were recognized even by the famous Spanish poet Jose Zorrilla. Affiliated to the Liberal Party, was exiled to san Francisco California during the French occupation to Mexico, dying in Napa, Cal., at the age of 38.

Filiberto Gallardo y García-Diego: was attorney at law and contributed with his father and brother Luciano with the tequila business; he was famous for being a very prudent person and even when he received many invitations to participate in politics, he avoided them, remaining loyal to the ideal of Justice and Law. Captain Benjamin Gallardo y Garcia-Diego: he was the youngest among Lázaro Gallardo sons, following an idealism that touched the hearts of young people at those times, volunteered into the Conservative Army, being aide de camp of General Miguel Miramon. He took part in some of the most important battles during the Three Years War in Mexico, died with heroism when fulfilling a mission when 25 years old. Lázaro Gallardo's wife, Leocadia García-Diego y Enriquez del Castillo had two very important uncles: a the first Bishop of the Two Californias, and a hero from Mexico's Independence. Friar Francisco García-Diego y Moreno was his father's brother, he joined the Franciscan Order in his youth with the purpose of serve those in need, so he became a missionary and went to many poor villages in the states of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas and Coahuila in Mexico, as well as in the Provinces of the Californias: the Upper California (that belonged to Mexico on those days, and since 1847 is part of the American Union), and the Lower California. After 30 years of service as a missionary, Friar García-Diego was recognized in his social achievements when the Pope Gregory XVI appointed him as the first Bishop of the new Diocese of the Two Californias in 1840. Bishop García-Diego's established Mission Santa Barbara in the Upper California (nowadays California,USA) as the capital city of the new diocese and started a tour around it, activity that affected his health, dying in Mission Santa Barbara in 1846, a year before the Mexican American War happened, and such territory passed to the United States of America.

Aurelio Luis Gallardo y García-Diego

Captain Benjamin Gallardo y García-Diego

Filiberto Gallardo y García-Diego

Friar García-Diego was first cousin of General Pedro Moreno y Gonzalez de Hermosillo, whose extreme heroism in favour of Mexico's Independence was granted a place among the Nation's Heroes since 1823. Nowadays he is buried along with the founding fathers of Mexico like Miguel Hidalgo or Ignacio Allende, at the Independence Column—best known as “The Angel of Independence”. Four years ago in September 2010, during the commemoration of Mexico's Bicentenary of the start of the Independence, General Moreno was honoured in the best ways a nation can honour its heroes. Lázaro Gallardo y Arrieta's own father, Luciano Gallardo y Gutierrez-Coronado was a true believer in Mexico's independence, so he supported the aforementioned General Moreno with horses from his haciendas and different types of weapons.

After the War of Independence, the Gallardo family fortune was diminished. Nevertheless, the young Lázaro Gallardo studied Law and obtained remarkable notes, being the manager of British mining companies that owned the important mines in Guanajuato area. Later on, he bought some of those mines and entered the tequila business in 1839. He was a man of his time: an attorney, rancher, miner, humanist, philanthropist and tequila entrepreneur. He was equally interested in participating in charities and social welfare as he was in cultivating his taste for the fine arts and botany; a remarkable collector himself, possessed a relevant portrait gallery, a vast library and interesting art pieces, being also the first Maestro Tequilero (Tequila Master Blender), because after a scientific process, he invented the Selección Suave (Smooth Selection): a technique that improved the quality of mezcal wine (today known as tequila) that was produced in his haciendas and successfully marketed through his tavern “La Gallardeña” in Tequila town and his store in Guadalajara named “Centenario”—a name that has continued to our days in a prestigious tequila brand.

Lázaro Gallardo recognized the best time to retire and selected among his children the one who had more entrepreneurial abilities: Luciano Gallardo y García-Diego. He had the vision to export his tequila to California taking advantage of his family's connections; so, after some years of political instability, the family business again, became very successful during the Porfiriato (an era of peace and industrial progress in Mexico). Luciano died in 1912—two years after the Mexican Revolution started; then, through the help of his sister in law, Ana González-Rubio y de la Torre (married by her part with the most important tequila producer at the time), the family business survived the complicated years of the Mexican Revolution and the times afterwards. It will be his younger daugther Guadalupe Gallardo y Gonzalez-Rubio who became the sole owner of the family business in 1957. Since 1930s her nephew Juan Beckmann y Gallardo started to work in the tequila business; he became a good friend of Hollywood's entrepreneur Vernon Underwood, this way, the Mexican spirit found new markets.

Independence Column in Mexico City best known as The Angel of Independence

Juan Beckmann y Gallardo was distinguished as one of the four pillars of the modern Tequila Industry by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila last June during the commemoration of its 20th Anniversary

After Guadalupe's death in 1964, Juan Beckmann y Gallardo inherited the whole tequila company. His efforts to promote tequila abroad Mexico had been recognized by the most important authority in the tequila business, the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (Tequila's Regulatory Council), which has designated him last June as one of the four pillars of the modern tequila industry.

Now, let's pass to the next family branch which descends from Captain Nicolas Gallardo y de Rodas: the charrería branch: The Rincón-Gallardo family originated from the marriage of Captain Nicolas Gallardo y de Rodas with Juana Rincón y Pérez de Aguirre in 1650. She inherited the Majorat of Cienega de Mata (established in 1657 by her uncle, the Priest Pedro Rincón de Ortega); therefore, Jose, the first child of the couple, when inherited the Majorat from his mother, changed his family name to Rincón-Gallardo and adopted the Majorat Coat of Arms, following his grand-uncle's will. This way, a new hyphened name born. Jose Rincón-Gallardo's descendants were very good in cattle rising and through a series of intelligent marriages, soon, the Majorat properties increased. When it was divided in 1860 it has a total area of 361,018.99 hectares (the French historian François Chevalier has noticed the extension of the Majorat as a multi productive center because the diversity of lands that formed such entity).

José Antonio Rincón-Gallardo y García de Roxas will be the 6th Majorat, he rebuilt: the “Casa del Vínculo” (the Majorat's House) in Aguascalientes (current headquarters of the State’s Government Palace) and the buildings of the Manor House of the hacienda of Ciénega de Mata, including a big church for such hacienda; those constructions have been studied, from the architectural point of view, by academic Clara Bargellini in her work Arquitectura de la Plata (1991). It will be the 7th Majorat of Cienega de Mata, Col. Jose Manuel Rincón Gallardo y Calderon, who was granted with the nobility title of Marquis de Guadalupe-Gallardo by Charles IV of Spain in 1810. This name was chosen by him in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe—Saint Patroness of New Spain (and of Mexico since its independence) and to honour the Gallardo heritage. Carlos Rincón-Gallardo y Romero de Terreros, was the 4th Marquis of Guadalupe-Gallardo, 3rd Duke of Regla, Grandee of Spain, 9th Marquis of Villahermosa de Alfaro, and a skilled horseman–especially in charrería (Mexican horsemanship). He's considerated as the “Apostle of the Charrería” since published seven books and numerous articles in his weekly column Plática Charra (Charro Talk) in the newspaper El Universal; standing out among his works: Mexican horseback riding, (Havana, 1917); The Horseman's Bible (Mexico, 1936); The Mexican Charro's Book (Mexico, 1939)–a work that until today, has several editions since it's a key text for the national sport; and The Equestrian Dictionary (Mexico, 1945): a text that got him a Diploma from the Mexican Academy of the Language. Thanks to his transcendent work in favour of Charrería, the disciplines of such sport were regulated, so that is possible to have sporting events while qualifying the competitors scores with points. He was a

founding member of the Charros National Association (Mexico, 1921); and Chairman of Mexico City's Jockey Club and Polo Club. Carlos Rincón-Gallardo's pioneering work in favour of the equestrian sports such as polo and charrería—but mainly in charrería, has influenced numerous generations of Mexican horsemen. Therefore, today some of his personal belongings and printed works are preserved in the National Museum of Charrería in Mexico City. There is a Charro Association established to honour his name; and the RincónGallardos continue with the family tradition through the new generations of the 21st Century.

Lázaro Gallardo's father Luciano Gallardo y Gutiérrez-Coronado sponsored General Pedro Moreno's troops in their fight for Mexic's Independence.

The Lázaro Gallardo's degree as Attorney at Law was authorized by the Governor of the State of Jalisco José Ignacio Cañedo (1829)

Conclusions: ~ Tequila and charrería are two of the three features that today distinguish Mexico in the world... To find a family that during the course of time has been involved in those activities in a successful way, and in a level that influenced them, it's an outstanding case: a case that deserves an academic study, a study that only can be made through the Genealogical Science. ~ It can be demonstrated by a series of first source documents that the Gallardo family associated with tequila is related with the Rincón-Gallardo family... In fact, those families are just two branches that descend from the same ancestor. ~ Those family branches, through time, caused an important influence on their own fields, standing out in both tequila and charrería, shaping the way we understand those activities today. ~ Personal achievements have transcended thanks to family traditions; then, those traditions from the rural estates in Mexico became part of the country's identity worldwide.

photography: Ricardo LPyLJ

Agave plant by John Christian Dahl (National Gallery, Oslo)

Epilogue: When visiting the National Gallery here in Oslo I had the nice surprise to find an agave plantâ€”among the paintings done by the talent of the famous Norwegian artist Johan Christian Dahl... As you all might know, the agave plant is the tequila source: there's no doubt, we live in a very small world after all!