Occupation Tequila Distiller Parents Don Cenobio Sauza | Name Don Sauza | |
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Born June 16, 1883 ( 1883-06-16 ) Guadalajara, Mexico Died July 22, 1946, Guadalajara, Mexico | ||
Don Eladio Sauza (June 16, 1883 – July 22, 1946) ran the Sauza Tequila business from 1909 to 1946.
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Early life
Eladio Sauza was born June 16, 1883 in the city of Tequila, Mexico to Don Cenobio Sauza (1842 – 1909) and Dona Margarita Madrigal Navarro. His father was the founder of the famous Sauza Tequila distillery.
At age 20 Eladio moved to Tecolotlan to take charge of his father's distillery, the Hacienda La Labor. There he learned the business of producing and selling tequila. Later he moved to Mazatlan in the Northeastern part of Mexico to establish a Sauza Tequila distribution center in order to increase exporting.
Marriage and children
Eladio married Dona Silveria Mora Enriquez, with whom he had two children:
Growing Sauza Tequila
In 1909 Eladio returned to Guadalajara to mourn his father's death and to take control of the Sauza Tequila business. Shortly thereafter the Mexican Revolution threatened to expropriate Eladio's business and farmland. During the Revolution Eladio rallied patriotic sentiment and helped to establish tequila as the official spirit of Mexico.
Eladio modernized and expanded the family business by opening branches in Monterrey and Mexico City, and a concession in Spain.
Other enterprises
Eladio's interests extended beyond the production of tequila, including:
The final years
Don Eladio Sauza died on July 22, 1946, at the age of 63. He left the Sauza Tequila business to his firstborn son, Francisco Javier Sauza.