242. ARMANDO GOYENA for RUM CAÑA by Tabacalera, 1953

Tabacalera (Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas) was established as a cigar and tobacco factory by Antonio Lopez y Lopez, the Marquis of Comillas way back in 1881. It was put up right after the end of the tobacco monopoly.

Cigar-smoking then was a time-honored recreation for many Filipinos, and puffers often paired smoking with sipping liquor to heighten their smoking pleasure. 

Hence, Tabacalera branched out into the manufacture of liquor, and by the mid-twentieth century, it had the largest distillery in the Philippines churning out 40,000 liters of alcohol daily.

RUM CAÑA was one such successful product that came from their factory. Rum was a very popular mass drink, as it was very affordable, and Tabacalera’s RUM CAÑA became the choice of the country, and, in the 1950 decade, enjoyed a reputation as the Philippines’ best-selling rum.

RUM CAÑA was advertised during the 50s with famous star Armando Goyena as an endorser.  In real life, he was Jose “Pinggoy” Teodoro Iruyetagoyena Revilla Jr. (b. 7 Dec. 1922 / d. 9 Mar. 2011), who came from a well-off family and was a student of La Salle when he was discovered by Dna. Sisang de Leon for the movies  

He was introduced in “Puting Bantayog” (1948), that would pair him with Tessie Quintana. Goyena would shoot to stardom in 1952 with the superhero film “Kapitan Kidlat”, opposite Evelyn Villar.  His status as a major film star was cemented with “Hawayana”, which also catapulted the Goyena-Quintana love team to showbiz fame.

The film “Hawayana” , a 15^th anniversary offering of LVN Pictures, was shot in color, a rarity in the 50s, and was directed by Manuel Silos. The RUM CAÑA series capitalized on the huge following of Goyena, and the appearance of the print ads were timed to coincide with the movie’s national screening in June 1953. 

In 1958, Goyena married the prominent beauty Paquita Roces, herself a top commercial model known as the first Camay Girl. The couple had 8 children: Maritess, Tina, Johnny, Ces, Pita, Rossi, Malu, and Cita and 29 grandchildren, many of whom also joined showbiz.

He put behind his acting career after his marriage, reappearing only in 1995 as Don Eugenio López in Chito Roño’s “Eskapo”. Roño cast him again in 2001 for “Yamashita: The Tiger's Treasure”, for which he won that year’s FAMAS Best Supporting Actor award. His last appearance was in “Annie B.” in 2004, before his death age 88 in 2011.

As to the product Goyena endorsed, Tabacalera’s products were acquired by La Tondeña beginning in 1955, with Añejo Rum. The liquor giant had earlier bought Ayala Distillery in 1924. RUM CAÑA today, no longer exists, but La Tondeña continues to manufacture and sell a similar rum product with the brand name  “Flor De Caña Anejo Oro Rum”.