Inside a historic Sevilla hacienda: Federica de Vallés y Huesca on family, legacy, and tradition

It's my family home, the place where I lived as a girl until I got married. It's the stage of some of my sweetest memories: the scenes of my youth, the gatherings, lunches by the pool, always surrounded by family and friends. The Hacienda San Antonio is a typical Andalusian hacienda. In its origins, it was an olive grove with its own mill, where they processed olives to make oil. In its other patio is the "Gallania," where workers lived during the week.

My mother bought it when I was a girl, after the Civil War. After several years of rehabilitation and reconstruction, we moved there, and it became our primary residence. Every day they took me to the Holy Heart school, by car in the winter and on horseback in the spring. My mother loved to organize reunions and dinners since I was young. Numerous artists and painters who loved Sevilla and its architecture came to our house, like Baldomero Romero Resendi, Blanca Bonald, or Ben Yessef. My husband, Rafael Garcia-Corona Campos, and I also loved hosting parties in the hacienda. He was a lover of flamenco, and we hosted performances from artists like Beni de Cadiz and Los del Río. In these rooms, there was a recording of a flamenco documentary led by Amos Rodriguez Rey.

There's a triptych of the campaign of King Jaime I, the Conquistador, featuring 300 marble figures and the shields of the King of Aragon engraved. During the Civil War, the triptych was in the Museum of Valencia. Near the end of the war, my mother reclaimed it because it belonged to my father, Federico de Valles Gil-Dolz del Castellar, who died in the front of Balaguer in 1939.

Ever since I was very little, my mother taught me the importance of my surname and of family legacy. My father died on the last days of the Civil War, when he was only 26 years old. He loved to fly, and he had his own plane, which he provided for the army, becoming an aviation lieutenant. Sadly, a few days before the end of the war, the plane was shot at, and he was struck in the chest. As my parents' only child, I inherited the three noble titles that belonged to my father, with the oldest being the Barony of Puebla-Tornesa, which dates back to the 15th Century. I gave that title to my son Federico when he completed his career as an engineer. The other titles I inherited are the Countess of Alabat del Sorells and Marchioness of San Joaquin y Pastor.

My education in England provided me with a wider perspective, allowing me to get to know different cultures and lifestyles. I visited my friends' homes, spending weekends there, and discovered my love for museums and paintings. During my stay in England, I was presented to Queen Elizabeth II at the Debutant Ball at Buckingham Palace, alongside my cousin Vicki Puigmolto, Countess of Torrefiel, and another friend from Malaga. We were accompanied by the nephews of the ambassador, Miguel Primo de Rivera and Tomas Marube.

For me, all of my homes have a special meaning. The San Antonio Hacienda represents the joy of childhood and youth. The Casa Palacio de Castellon de la Plana represents my paternal roots, and we've enjoyed it a lot with my kids on vacations. In the Mastrago, near Castellon, I have a fortified farmhouse called Torre Matella, classified as a property of cultural interest. Its medieval architecture is preserved in perfect state, and it's one of the oldest towers, dating back to the Order of the Templars.

I would say the Casa Palacio de Castellon. King Alfonso XII stayed there for several days during his proclamation as King in Sagunto. There, he saved the plate that was made in his honor. Through the years, I've tried to maintain the home's essence in its decoration. It's also where a collection of family portraits is kept. I keep the Valencian suits there that I used when I was Queen of Parador del Foc in Las Fallas de Valencia.

I'm happy in all of my homes. I couldn't pick just one. For me, they're all special because they represent different aspects of my life. Still, having resided in Sevilla my whole life with my kids, I'm at my happiest in the San Antonio Hacienda.

It means a big financial effort and personal dedication. I've tried throughout my life, and I think I've achieved it, to maintain the spirit of each of the homes alive, preserving their essence while ensuring they're productive. From an agricultural point of view, I've modernized cultivation with new varieties of citrus, I've adapted the lands to new watering systems, I've electrified the farmhouse, and new ponds have been dug.

Yes, my mother, Angela Huesca Sasiain, inherited that home from her family. It came from a family belonging to the Basque Country that lived for a few years in Peru, owning some silver mines in Huacho. After a few years, they returned to Spain and settled in Seville, buying several properties, among them, the home that's currently the hotel Dona Maria. In 1968, my mother, who was a very brave and entrepreneurial woman, decided to transform the home into the hotel Doña Maria, becoming the first businesswoman in the hotel industry in Seville.

Being an only child and coming from such a reduced family made my childhood very solitary. But today, with my four kids, twelve grandkids, and twelve great-grandkids, family life is completely different: it's happy, loud, and fun. I'm lucky because all of my kids have amazing qualities, and they complement each other. At this point in my life, I find myself in a serene and happy stage, because I've seen my kids grow into good, hardworking, and responsible people.

I want them to stay together; that's fundamental to me. Unity makes strength. I also want them to maintain a sense of duty and responsibility in their work. I'd like them to always apply the logic of the parable of talents: it's not about what you receive, it's about what you make with it. I hope they can continue the family legacy with their work and, if possible, grow it.

Our love for Spain and adherence to the crown. In these complicated times, I think it's important to impart that to younger generations.