What’s in a Name? Unanue House
Victor David, Class of 2014
December 5, 2011
Filed under Quill
We all know Centennial Village was constructed for the 100th anniversary of the University to add more housing on campus. And we all know that some of the names of the CV houses are a bit strange (Camalier, Engelhard, etc.). However, there’s one house name that always gets a few strange looks: Unanue (you-na-nuh-way).
Joseph A. Unanue was born in New York in 1925 to immigrants Don Prudencio Unanue Ortiz and Carolina Casal. In 1936, Don Prudencio founded the Goya Foods company in Manhattan. After Unanue graduated from high school in 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. During WWII, he was part of the 3rd Army under General George S. Patton. For bravery during the Battle of the Bulge, in which he had to assume command after his sergeant was killed, he was awarded the Bronze Star. He was only 19 at the time.
In 1946, he enrolled at CUA and went on to graduate with a degree in engineering. He went back to Goya Foods and learned the industry from the bottom up. Eventually, Unanue became president of the company and served in that capacity for 27 years. He left the company in 2004 and now keeps busy with different civic and cultural activities.
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