Casino Español de Manila

Casino Español de Manila is a club organized in the year 1888 by Spanish people living in the Philippines for their recreation and social activities. Later, Filipino members were welcomed to encourage Spanish-Filipino friendship in the country. It is located in the historic Ermita district of Manila. It is one of the two active Casino Español clubs in the Philippines. The second one is in Cebu which was built in 1920. A third club was built in 1926 in Iloilo but it was destroyed in World War II. The first building of the Casino Español de Manila was built in 1913 and opened in 1917. It was designed by the architect Juan Arellano, designed in a style described as neo-renaissance. In November 1951, six years after World War II, the President of the Philippines Elpidio Quirino and Vice-president Fernando López attended the reopening of the club's historical building. And in 1962, the club entertained the Crown Prince Juan Carlos of Spain (who later became King Juan Carlos I) and the Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark. Years later, becoming Queen Sofia of Spain, she revisited the club in 2000 during an official visit to the Philippines. References