Captain Jose E. Goyeneche, Captain of the Sto. Niño Yacht

For decades, Capt. Joe steered the wheel and directed the country’s foremost religious fluvial procession of the Sto. Niño. It was Capt. Joe who was assigned by the Sinulog Foundation in the mid ‘80s, that started the yearly ritual where the image of the Sto. Niño is brought to the outskirts of Mandaue on the second Friday of January via a foot procession and would then be taken to the Ouano Wharf to be boarded on a yacht. The yacht would then proceed to Pier 1 where the image would be received by the Hermano Mayor, followed by a foot procession going to the Basilica. The following morning would then be the Holy’s Child Grand Parade.

Captain Joe was born on July 12, 1924 in Trinidad, Bohol. He was the fifth of the ten children of spouses Luis Petarco Goyeneche (who traces his roots from the Basque part of Navarre, Spain) and Grace Moore Evangelista (born in Perth, Australia, her father is from Talibon, Bohol, while her mother is an Australian).

Joe, together with his elder brother, Primo, joined the guerilla movement during World War II. Joe was just 16 years old then, becoming the youngest officer under the command of Musong Zabalones, popularly known as Commander Lawin. After the war, Joe studied Marine Navigation and became a sea captain at the age of 21. At 26 Joe married Cecilia Castaneda Cuizon of Mandaue City, Cebu. Their love produced three children, Eduardo (he finished B.S. Mechanical Engineering at the Adamson University and went into the foundry business), Vanessa (she finished Architecture at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and worked as furniture designer) and Carmel (a medical doctor, who went to the United States to become a Registered Nurse).

The siblings of Capt. Joe were Luciana (married Antonio Sayson), Gregoria, Primitivo (married Madelene Luther), Nestora (married Joseph Puhek), Benjamin (married Milagros Pelaez Reyes), Leoncio (married Emilia Villegas), Luisito, Perla (married Ernesto Michael), and Melva (married Raoul Campos). Captain Joe worked as sea captain for more than 30 years, after his retirement he went back to Cebu and became a consultant of several shipping lines, among them was the Ouano Group of Companies owned by the late Ernesto Ouano Sr.

Captain Joe, the captain of the Sto. Niño Yacht for decades until he was too old to navigate, died on May 3, 2011 at the age of 87. But his legacy continues with his grandchildren: Kirk Vincent Goyeneche, Don Philippe Goyeneche, Mark Martin Goyeneche, Mae Goyeneche, Mary Andrea G. Arieta, and Francine G. Sanvictores.