FOR our Father’s Day feature, we zeroed in on architect Jose Mari Cañizares, father of four sons, and “newly minted” grandfather to two boys. He and lovely wife Marilou (Rodriguez) lovingly brought up Joe France, Joevince, Jiggy and Kenzo.
When asked how it was raising four sons, Mari says that he and Marilou were determined disciplinarians because they always had in mind that their boys should become better versions of themselves—an upgraded version, so to speak. As a father, he knew that his role was to nurture and guide them.
“I imagined myself and Marilou on a chariot with four horses going in four different directions.” Guidance was definitely needed for all four of them to go together toward the same right path.
Now that his sons are adults, he is sitting back and enjoying grandfatherhood. Two grandsons have been added to the male population of the family—Jose Matteo from Joe France and Christabelle (Muertegui); and Vincent Lucas from Joevince and Renata (Pokorna). Mari and Marilou look forward to more grandchildren, and hopefully they will get granddaughters too.
FIRST-TIME FATHERS
Real estate broker Joe France, the eldest of the Cañizares siblings, is Dad to 1 1/2-year old Jose Matteo. As a brand-new dad, he admitted to feeling overwhelmed the very first time he held his son in his arms. Every milestone in his boy’s life is fully treasured—first words, first walk, first haircut. He is excited to witness more “firsts” as Matteo grows and develops. Just as his Papa Mari emphasized to him and his siblings, he hopes to inculcate in his son the mantra: “Paddle your own canoe.”
Joevince, also a real estate broker, is based in California, USA. He proudly declares that he is a very hands-on dad to seven-month-old Vince who, he said, keeps him motivated every single day. His one wish for his little boy is to achieve everything he aims for in life. When the time comes, Joevince wants to instill in his son the love for reading just as his father did to the family, pointing out that one acquired knowledge from reading books and that one must actively read to learn new things every day.
THE YOUNGER SIBLINGS
Both architects like their father, Jose Diego (Jiggy) and Kenzo speak of their Dad as their inspiration. He founded Cañizares Architects decades ago.
Newlywed Jiggy (to Mellisa Visuña) is not yet a dad, but he said that if and when he will have a child, he will impart to him what he learned from Dad... Have passion for what you do in your work and in your personal life and do it with love. Remember to always love what you do.
Kenzo, the youngest, is still unattached and fancy-free. He looks up to his father for the way he values progress, for his passion in his work as an architect, for his sense of humor and for his advice to him to broaden his perspective through travel because it is a real venue for learning.
Four sons, two grandsons and maybe more coming... it is indeed a man’s world over at the Cañizares family where architect Jose Mari Cañizares is king!