Mariano Avendaño San Diego was born to Rafael Roxas San Diego and Juana dela Cruz Avendaño of Obando, Bulacan. According to oral narratives, he went to the Visayas together with a priest who was assigned to serve in Pari-an, Cebu in the 1880s; and married Maria Yap (1857 – 1947) soon after. The couple made their home in what is now known as the Yap-Sandiego Heritage House.

Mariano served as a cabeza of the Gremios de Mestizos in the Pari-an district of Cebu. According to interment records, he died de muerte repentina (of sudden death) in 1897. His remains are buried in Carcar, Cebu.

Source: Aming Angkan