Xavier’s SONS The Aquino Family By Shane Lavin ’03
Jose Aquino, Sr. ’77 P’07 ’19, Emmanuel Aquino ’19, and Jose Aquino, Jr. ’07
12 XAVIER MAGAZINE
The deep connection between the Aquino family and Xavier High School had its true beginning in the fall of 1972, when Jose Aquino, Sr. ’77 P’07 ’19 attended Xavier’s Open House at the suggestion of family friend Tony Aguero ’71. “After that moment, there was no other consideration. For [my father], it was realizing a dream—Xavier represented the fruit of my parents’ struggle to flee communism so I could determine my own purpose,” Jose Sr. said. “He loved the JROTC, the Jesuits, and the location. And I was also impressed.” Born in Cuba the year Fidel Castro seized power, Aquino, his parents, and his maternal grandparents left their native land in 1965 as political refugees to join one of his aunts in Spain. His father was forced to leave most of his family behind. The Aquinos lived in Spain for six months before moving to New York City and settling in Queens, where they have lived ever since. When it came time for Jose Aquino, Jr. ’07 to begin his own high school search, there was little question where Jose Sr. wanted him to enroll. However, he wanted to make sure his son was making his own choice. “I remember seeing Xavier on the field at Turkey Bowls and my dad meeting up with classmates throughout the years. That made a big impression on me. But he didn’t push me to go to Xavier. He made me go to other Open Houses. We left Xavier for last, and once I came to the Open House, I fell in love with the school. It was really exciting to follow in the footsteps of my dad.” Jose Jr., who now teaches religion at Xavier, coaches JV football, chaperones CFX service trips, and is a fixture on Kairos retreats, embarked on his own Xavier journey in 2003. During his four years on 16th Street, he played football, threw shot put, went on CFX trips, and became a Kairos student retreat leader— all the while setting the Aquino family record for JUG. “I should probably still be walking!” he joked. By the time Emmanuel Aquino ’19 was ready for high school in 2015, there was a little less deliberation about where he would go. “It was a done deal. My first memory of Xavier was my brother’s senior year Turkey Bowl when they beat Fordham Prep 28-14. When my brother started teaching at Xavier, I started going to football games and then I went to HAP. After that, there was no question Xavier was the place I wanted to go.” “Between the three of us, Xavier has created another bond. Anything that happens to Xavier is important to all three of us and we feed off each other,” Jose Sr. noted. “I saw William McGowan, S.J. at Jose’s Open House and he remembered me over 20 years later. It showed me the love and concern they had for us. Little things like that happen every day at Xavier that make you realize the dedication the Jesuits, teachers, and administration have to the students.”