Pedro Aquilino López

Pedro Aquilino López Medina was born on January 4, 1857, to the craftsman Ambrosio López and Felisa Medina.^[1] He grew up in Bogotá and left school at age 15 to work in the family's craft business.^[3] In 1871, he moved to Honda, Tolima, where he served as an executive member under the industrialist Silvestre Samper, with whom he established connections between Bogotá and Honda.^[1] To establish his own businesses, he experimented with the regional export of exotic skins and coffee, as well as products made from animal hides, with Cúcuta, North Santander, as his main area of operations.^[1] In 1878, he returned to work again for the Samper family, this time as an assistant to Rafael Samper, Silvestre Samper's eldest son.^[1][3]

The escalation of bipartisan violence in Colombia led the Samper family to eventually move to New York, leaving Pedro in charge of the Colombian businesses, most notably the Honda Trading House, where his eldest son, Alfonso, would be born years later.^[1] In 1880, he joined Samper & Co., where he distinguished himself by his role in expanding the company's business.^[3] Meanwhile, López simultaneously ventured into independent lending.^[1] In 1881, a year later, he entered the import of chemical and decorative glassware. In 1889, López ended his ten-year relationship with the Samper family, relocating his businesses abroad due to the escalating violence following the devastation of the Regeneration.^[4] In 1899, the López family settled in New York for security reasons related to Alfonso, Pedro's eldest son, who was a prominent and influential leader within the Liberal Party.^[1][2]