Aurora Quezon
| Aurora Quezón | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd First Lady of the Philippines | |
|
In office November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944 |
|
| President | Manuel L. Quezón |
| Preceded by | Hilaria Aguinaldo |
| Succeeded by | Pacencia Laurel |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Aurora Antonia Aragón y Molina February 19, 1888 Baler, Tayabas, Captaincy General of the Philippines (now Baler, Aurora, Philippines) |
| Died | April 28, 1949 (aged 61) Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines |
| Resting place |
Quezon Memorial Circle 14°39′2″N 121°2′54″E / 14.65056°N 121.04833°E |
| Spouse(s) | Manuel L. Quezón |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Aurora Antonia Aragón, viuda de Quezón (née Aragón y Molina; February 19, 1888 – April 28, 1949), usually known simply as Aurora Quezón, and sometimes as Aurora Aragón-Quezón, was the wife of Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezón and the First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. Though she is recognized as the second First Lady of the Philippines, she was actually the first spouse of a Philippine president to be called as such, the honorific being unknown during the presidency of Emilio Aguinaldo, and thus not applied at that time to his wife Hilaria. Much beloved by Filipinos, Quezón was known for involvement with humanitarian activities and served as the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross.
Five years after her husband's death, Quezón and her daughter "Baby" were assassinated while they were en route to open a hospital dedicated to her husband. The province of Aurora was named in her memory.
Aurora was born on February 19, 1888 to Pedro Aragón and Zenaida Molina, in the town of Baler in Tayabas province. During the Philippine Revolution, her father was imprisoned by the colonial authorities for being suspected as being a member of the Katipunan; he would die in captivity. Among her tutors during her youth was her mother's sister, María Dolores Molina, who was the mother of her first cousin and future husband Manuel Luis Quezón. After her father's imprisonment, she was taken in by her aunt María Dolores and uncle Lucio, and she lived for a time under the same roof as her future spouse. After Manuel's own parents had died, he would stay with the Aragón family whenever he was in Baler.
After Pedro Aragón's death, his survivors, including daughter Aurora, had been cast into extreme poverty, surviving on subsistence farming. This experience was said to have shaped young Aurora's lifelong attitude of according equal treatment to everybody, no matter their status in life. The Aragón family later moved to Lucena where Manuel was then serving as the provincial fiscal of Tayabas. Aurora, who had wanted to become a school teacher, enrolled at the Philippine Normal College in Manila at the expense of her future husband, but had to stop her studies after two years due to her poor health.
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