Bacolod City and Negros Occidental Province - Compiled Threads

[kyle@1008]

«« Silay City History Page »»


Silay was founded as a town in 1760. In 1896, it became a leading sugar producing town because of the Horno Economico (sugar mill) introduced by a French who became a Silaynon, Yves Leopold Germain Gaston.

The Philippine flag was first raised in Silay in the afternoon of November 5, 1898 when the Spanish soldiers surrendered to the hacienda laborers and landowner who attacked the garrison.

Silay in the past was known as the "Paris of Negros" and the "cultural and intellectual hub of Negros" because of Silaynons love for knowledge and works of arts. It became a chartered city on June 12, 1957 by virtue of Republic Act 1621.

On June 7, 2003, Silay City became the first and only Local Government Unit in the whole Philippines to hold a referendum through the People's Initiative approving the 2003 Annual Executive Budget.



Today Silay is one of the 25 tourist destination in the Philippines. It is the seat of arts, culture and eco-tourism in Western Visayas.

[kyle@1008]

and here are the pics

[kyle@1008]

silay's famous son

Leandro V. Locsin
Architecture (1990)

Leandro V. Locsin, architect, has reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture reflective of Philippine Art and Culture. He believes that the true Philippine Architecture is "the product of two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental... to produce a new object of profound harmony." It is this synthesis that underlies all his works, with his achievements in concrete reflecting his mastery of space and scale. Every Locsin Building is an original, and identifiable as a Locsin with themes of floating volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant and massive running in his major works. From 1955 to 1994, Locsin has produced 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building.

Locsin's largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a floor area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP Complex itself is a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings designed by him -- the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel.

[Sinjin P.]

Did I see this thread @ Samahan?

[kyle@1008]

and here's more....



note: this trains are 150 years old and they are still operational....

[kyle@1008]

Originally Posted by sinjin

Did I see this thread @ Samahan?

yes, mike... sorry made a mistake... I profusely apologize

[Sinjin P.]

Yeah, when I read it at Samahan, I had in mind that it was more appropriate to have it in the main Philippine Forums page since it's not a personal thread. Anyway, just ask a mod to close the one in Samahan?!? Am I right, I'll try to PM thomasian, he's OL now.

[kyle@1008]

New women of Bacolod
By Inquirer News Service

NEGRENSE women are the quintessential southern belles of lore and vintage LVN movies. They were to the hacienda born, with a silver spoon of muscovado in their mouths. They move with the languid hauteur of the rich who, as Fitzgerald said, are different from you and me. Right? Nothing could be more wrong. Yes, they are graciosa, as only an Ilongga can be, but they are no different from their cosmopolitan sisters who are tough and driven and ambitious. The more privileged among them also feel noblesse obliged to make a difference in the lives of the people around them, while enriching their own.

Lyn Besa Gamboa is the doyenne of culture in Western Negros, and if anyone dares to contest that, or aspire for the title, he or she should be prepared for the thankless job of nurturing the arts and culture of Negros, which is not a funding priority of the local government and other philistine people calloused by difficult economic times. (Gretchen Cojuangco, although a great supporter of the arts, has been heard to dismiss the archness of it all, saying, "Ano'ng culture-culture? I'm just a jardinera.")

Lyn likewise has little patience with the elitism connected with arts and culture. "I only want to keep the arts and culture of Negros alive for generations to come," she says. "People are more cohesive and richer for their traditions and history." In everything she's done, she has always involved the people, especially children. When she transformed the Gaston ancestral house in Silay into the Balay Negrense, she got schoolchildren to cut the grass in the yard and polish the floors in the house. Balay Negrense, a re-creation of the sugar-baron lifestyle of yesteryears, is today a landmark in Negros.

More recently, Lyn, now familiar with the enthusiasm of schoolchildren, put up the Museo Pambata in Sagay, north of Bacolod. "It's a beautiful little interactive museum for youngsters," she says. Her crowning glory, however, has got to be The Negros Museum, now relocated to the Old Agricultural Building along Gatuslao Street, which sports (upon her insistence) the six Roman columns that were the distinguishing features of its former site at the nearby Capitol building, as well as a museum shop, a coffee shop and bigger function rooms.

Lyn has always counted on the help of Cristina Montelibano, a true-blue Bacoleña, who's as low-key as Lyn is eternally keyed up. These days Lyn wants to revive the delicacies of the manuglibud, the itinerant vendor who carried on a bilao balanced on her head such delicious merienda fare as piaya, lumpia, suman, ibus mais, salab, puto lanzon and others, favored by the mahjongeras and panginggeras at the turn of the century. Lyn has no intention of reviving the afternoon mahjong and card games, only the native delicacies, now a dying industry in the barrios. She believes these delicacies can improve the earnings of the locals and attract to their communities guests and visitors who crave traditional fare.

She herself will be launching her own deli food named Savor de Silay, initially offering classy bottled jaleya de tomate, marmelada de cebolla, and salsa manga (her version of the salsa monja, the comfort food of the old Spanish nuns). "My children keep scolding me for giving away all my recipes," she says. Now she's branding them and expects to launch them on November 12 at the Dasmariñas Clubhouse, with the dishes of chef Ed Quimson especially using her products.

A stalwart among women in travel, Lyn will assume the chairmanship of the International Federation of Women Travel Organizations in January 2004. Her bragging rights: She will be the first from the Asia-Pacific region to hold this post in the 34-year history of the federation, which is based in Torremolinos, Spain.

So, why is Lyn, a Tarlaqueña married to the Gamboas of Silay, doing all this for Negros? "Because, whether they like it or not, I am a Negrense. And also because it's a burning need for me to put Negros on the map, and it is now." Lyn has a sharp tongue, which rankles some people in Bacolod, but they will admit that she gets things done.

Likewise working to put Negros on the tourism map, in her own dynamic way, is Ruth Minerva Cruz, vice president of the Bacolod Convention Plaza Hotel, the first hotel there to address the needs of the conventions market soon after the 1989 earthquake that struck down the big hotels in Baguio. Since then, Bacolod, eventually boosted by more rooms in new hotels of all sizes, has been strengthening its position as the "alternative" conventions destination, after Manila, Angeles, Cebu.

When she was called home by her family to take up the management of the hotel, Ruth was then living and studying in Europe, mastering the German and French languages in Gottingen, Frankfurt, in Freiburg in the Black Forest and in Nantes, northwest of Paris, with the dream of becoming an interpreter, hopefully at the United Nations, or at a multinational corporation. But family duties beckoned.

The manager's post is distributed on a round-robin scheme among the investors' families. It apparently has not worked: The hotel is now floated on the market, for the right price.
Knowledgeable people are saying that if Ruth had been allowed to run the hotel by herself, it would have been going great guns, considering that it's the only hotel in Bacolod with a capacious conference hall and space for small ground-level industrial exhibitions and garden shows.

Ruth has not let up in her efforts to make Bacolod a meetings destination. Through Attain (Alliance of Travel Trade Associations in Negros), organized by the managers of the five big hotels in Bacolod, events are continually being created to draw people from the region and beyond. She's also been active, through Attain, in training and professionalizing tour operators and tour guides in Bacolod -- "Tourists, especially Germans, are very specific in their questions about Bacolod's sugar industry, which tour guides are not knowledgeable about" -- and in raising greater awareness among people in the barangays on the tourist potential of their charming, rustic communities.

Realizing that the hotel has now become too small for the meetings market, the Cruz family built the 24-room Prominence Inn, a bed-and-breakfast type that fits the Philippine setting well. More recently, Ruth opened The Quiet Place in Bago City, a 20-minute drive from downtown Bacolod, situated in a ricefield bowl cleared for cottages and gardens accommodating 30 to 40 people for small, quiet seminars, and soon a spa offering herbal massage and healing (lutay). It is a pioneering agri-tourism project, now popular with student groups and locals, and let everyone know that Ruth is running it herself this time.

Millie Kilayko has been a leading light in the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) since it was born in a time of great distress in Negros Occidental, when world sugar prices plummeted and government took control of sugar trading. That awful time saw 84 percent of Negrenses living below the poverty line and 60 percent of their children languishing in malnutrition. "Many people left the province to seek greener pastures elsewhere," recalls Millie, "and many others ran to the hills to embrace ideologies which promised a better life after violent change."

A handful of Negrenses, mostly housewives, sought better alternatives. Coming from seminars in Manila on starting a kitchen or backyard business with certain crafts and skills, the women shared their knowledge with wives of farm workers. They had to be very inventive, as western Negros did not have a tradition of crafts they could call their own, like the Ifugaos and Maranaos have with their weaving and woodcarving. This gave rise to the ANP.

Millie gave ANP a larger vision and a more professional stance. Under her presidency, the ANP implemented the projects of then President Ramos's National Economic Enterprise Development. "In partnership with DTI, among others, we helped handicraft producers in the 20 poorest provinces," she says. "Many times I could not believe what I was doing-riding public buses with chickens and pigs through the mountains, going to remote areas where government troops and rebels were clashing."

Many of the entrepreneurs coming from these poor areas have gone on to participate in big trade shows. "My greatest joy is when they come to me and boast to me about their sales figures-and I find that their figures exceed my own!"

In 2000, the 12th anniversary of ANP, Millie worked for the creation of the Negros Island Inc. (NII), with the ANP holding majority ownership and the balance of shares of stock available to individual producers and other Negrenses invited as investors. "In an era of global competitiveness, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs like us will find it increasingly difficult to compete in the international market and join expensive trade shows if we continue to do things as individuals." The 2002 European show organized by NII on a collective basis proved her point: "Buyers were standing in line for their turn at our 54-square-meter booth. They liked the idea of having to deal with only one company to commit the quality, production and delivery of the goods."

Since ANP has other priorities to serve, Millie and two friends have offered to buy majority ownership of NII and run it like a business outfit, with ANP still holding some shares of stocks. Millie also announces that ANP will be opening its showroom in Manila -- "a dream for ANP members for the past 10 years" -- this month, at 2205 Zobel Street, San Miguel Village, Makati. "The showroom offers not only Negrense products but the best of the islands," Millie says.

These days, Millie, together with a partner, is into horticulture and the production of ceramic home accessories, called Poetry in Clay, for export. Their latest venture is the Garden Center, a restaurant amidst blooms and foliage in the heart of the city. Will she ever stop coming up with new projects or new ventures? "I guess not," she says. "As long as there's an opportunity to create one more job, to bring in one more tourist, and to earn one more peso or dollar to help our economy in a little way."

Joy S.Valdez is the incumbent mayor of Bacolod City, the first elected woman mayor in the city's history. She also happens to be an outsider (tapik, in the derogatory word of the Bacolodnons), the daughter of a cardiologist from Pangasinan, who's married into a family of schoolteachers from Pontevedra. Her husband is presently the DOTC undersecretary.

"You cannot imagine the odds against me when I first joined Bacolod politics," she says. "Bacolod is a very feudal society; I simply didn't belong." But like Lyn Gamboa, Joy Valdez had her heart in the best for Bacolod, although it didn't help at first that family and friends sternly warned her that "politics is a dirty game at puro lalake ang kasama mo (you'll be in the company of men).'' From being the first woman councilor in Bacolod during the term of Mayor Alfredo Montelibano to vice mayor and then mayor, she has became the icon of a growing feminist group in that city.

Joy, before she joined politics, had worked as voluntary worker and consultant of the World Health Organization (WHO) in its program to "demystify" rehabilitation, especially in its work for children with disabilities. "WHO realized that it worked better in the Philippine situation to deal with children with disabilities at home by teaching their parents to handle them than to commit the children to an institution," she explains. Her ability to work in different communities and deal with people from all walks of life was "probably my greatest strength when I joined politics," she says.

This, together with a woman's unfailing intuition for what people need and aspire for and coupled with the compassion and will to do something about it, is what Joy as a woman is bringing to Bacolod's feudal politics. And she's doing it very well indeed. The Asian Institute of Management has named Bacolod "The Most Livable City" in the country, and the Clean and Green Program has catapulted it to the Hall of Fame for winning the environmental contest three years in a row. Her administration has also been rated excellent by a local productivity performance test in the areas of economic and social services and environmental protection.

[kyle@1008]

Originally Posted by sinjin

Yeah, when I read it at Samahan, I had in mind that it was more appropriate to have it in the main Philippine Forums page since it's not a personal thread. Anyway, just ask a mod to close the one in Samahan?!? Am I right, I'll try to PM thomasian, he's OL now.

thanks man....

[kyle@1008]

Silay once dubbed as "the Paris of Negros" by writer Beth Day Romulo has reiterated its commitment through the sincere dedication of the local administration to pursue cultural development especially to the less fortunate children in the community.



In 1992, when the former Honorable City Mayor Edwin D. Velez became the local chief executive, he had a vision for the youth. He saw that young artists could serve as a perfect medium for the promotion of the City of Silay, while pursuing a thrust towards artistic excellence.



The Kabataang Silay Ensemble started as a group of 36 elementary students (Grade III - Grade VI) who had successfully hurdled auditions conducted by the cultural staff. Currently, the City of Silay holds a summer arts and sports awareness program (Dagyang Bakasyon sa Arte kag Isports ng Batang Pinoy sang Silay). Now on its 8th year, the activity offers for free subject areas in arts and sports. Art courses are on painting and handicraft, cartooning and sketching, folk dance, rondalla playing and rock band playing. Sports courses are in swimming, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, badminton and football.



After a month long training, children who display great potential for skills development are integrated in the City's year-round training programs. Thus, folk dance workshoppers undergo auditions for pre-membership status in the Kabataang Silay Ensemble (KSE). A three-month screening and accreditation process is conducted by the KSE staff. This procedure is similarly done for the rondalla program. As it is, all performances of the KSE requires the accompaniment of live rondalla music.



Now on its 10th year, since 1993, the Kabataang Silay had been active in the promotion not only of the City of Silay, but also of traditional Filipino folk dances and music.



KSE has served as an effective component for tourism promotions and youth development. Earning the title "Young Cultural Ambassadors", these children has traveled extensively within the country and abroad to exhibit and display the rich cultural heritage of Silay as the premier cultural and arts center in the province of Negros Occidental.



The group has also participated in international festivals. They represented the Philippines to the 2nd Asian Children's Folklore Festival in Guandong, China in August, 2000 (see the pics...). A year after, they took part in the 2001 Aberdeen International Youth Festival (pictures here...) held in Aberdeen, Scotland.

[kyle@1008]

SILAY: THE PARIS OF NEGROS

MANILA, By Tina H. Lapres - (9th Prize Winner, Philippine STAR Travel Now Essay Writing Contest, co-sponsored by Philippine Tourism Authority, Sun Village Boracay Resort and Smart Communications)

Barely 14 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Negros Occidental, or a mere 15-minute drive from Bacolod, lies the city of Silay. Dubbed in the 1920s as the "Paris of Negros," Silay has always been the acknowledged cultural and intellectual seat of the province, a distinction that persists up to now and which its officials and residents help to perpetuate.

Oldtimers love to talk about the old Silay, of how performers from Europe would come to perform in the town instead of Bacolod. Of how the strong voice of the Italian tenors would seemingly break the window panes. Our late father, during the last years of his life, would recall with undisguised pleasure how he and our mother would deposit the older children with our grandmother so they could watch the opera in the evening. Even in his old age, he remembered how the visiting Europeans would pick up and smoke the cigars discarded by the landed Silaynons.

From our father’s account, as well as those of the surviving members of that past generation, almost every house had a piano or a violin or both. The electronic age was ages away and entertainment for the family came from these musical instruments. This passion for music and the arts gave Silay – and the Philippines – its first international star: Conchita Gaston, the mezzo soprano who in the post-war years performed in major operas in Europe. Ms. Gaston was reportedly the first Filipina to cut a record in America. Up until her passing, she was a revered figure in her city of birth.

In later years, Silay would produce a National Artist for Architecture: the late Lindy Locsin who designed the palace of the Prince of Brunei, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine International Convention Center, and many other impressive buildings along Ayala Avenue in Makati.

Driving to Silay from Bacolod City, one notices that the four-lane highway suddenly narrows down to form a bottleneck as he enters the city. Soon enough, one gets a glimpse of the old houses and buildings that line this portion of the highway, or Rizal Street, which traverses the center of the city. Later, one learns that the continued existence of these structures is mostly credited to a motley group of Silaynons who had the sense of history to work against their destruction in the 1970s.

Fully convinced that these houses and buildings, as well as the other ancestral houses in the city, were worth fighting for, the nucleus of what was to become the Silay Heritage Foundation went around getting signatures and effectively putting a stop to the ongoing street-widening project of the government. It is a testament to the foresight of these men and women that these landmarks were spared from destruction in the name of progress. Today, these ancestral houses and buildings form part of the charms of the city, attracting foreign and domestic visitors.

In recent years, two of these ancestral houses have been turned into lifestyle museums that give a glimpse of what life was like for the so-called sugar barons of old: the Balay Negrense on Cinco de Noviembre Street, and the Don Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni House Museum on the northernmost end of Rizal Street.

Balay Negrense was home to Don Victor Gaston, eldest son of Yves Germaine Leopold Gaston, the Frenchman who came and settled in a place called Buen Retiro in Silay during the latter part of the 19th century. Yves Gaston, who previously worked as a technician in a sugar farm in Batangas, was largely credited with the development of the sugar industry in Northern Negros. Perhaps it is also safe to say that it was this older Gaston and his descendants who imbued the then pueblo of Silay with the unmistakable French flavor, giving rise to the Paris of Negros tag.

In the 1980s, when Negros Occidental suffered from its worst economic crisis, the Gaston house was deserted and left to the elements. For many years it remained unoccupied and neglected, its sorry state resulting in stories about it being haunted. Now restored to its former glory with the help of the Department of Tourism, the century-old Gaston mansion, now called Balay Negrense, is being run by the Negros Cultural Foundation.

The first to be declared a National Historical Landmark in the City of Silay by the National Historical Institute on November 6, 1993, the two-storey residence of the late Don Bernardino and Ysabel Jalandoni is typical of the opulent houses of the early 20th century. Built in 1908, the well-preserved house was constructed with materials meant to last a lifetime, with the hardwood coming from faraway Mindoro.

Although one cannot see the resemblance, the design of the house is said to have been influenced by the native nipa hut. Its steel-trayed ceiling, on the other hand, was molded in Hamburg, Germany. Run by the Silay Heritage Foundation, a non-government organization, the Pink Museum, as the Jalandoni House is sometimes referred to by locals, occasionally serves as the venue for cultural, educational and artistic activities for Silaynons.

Just a short walking distance from Balay Negrense is another ancestral house that is similarly identified with the NHI marker. Owned by the late Manuel and Hilda Hofileña, this family abode was opened much earlier to the public, its main attraction being the private art and antique collection of son Ramon. Probably the biggest and most interesting in the province, Ramon’s collection includes works of contemporary artists as well as masters, among them Luna, Rizal, Amorsolo, Manansala, and Abueva.

An avid art connoisseur, Ramon Hofileña used to bring art exhibits to this city, perpetuating in the process the image of Silay as the center of the arts. He also conducted printmaking workshops for the young in the family house, with the hope of discovering yet another artist. A visit to Ramon’s collection, and with him providing the annotation, can be very educational, and never fails to impress visitors.

These three notable houses – Balay Negrense, the Bernardino Jalandoni house-museum, and the Hofilena ancestral house cum art gallery – have been featured in glossy magazines and lifestyle sections of major papers. Along with the 30 or so ancestral houses of varying designs and architecture, they have earned for Silay the unofficial tag as Museum City.

Some sectors may lament what they consider as obstruction to progress, but these vintage structures are attracting visitors to the city. They have also, in the words of a National Historical Institute official, given Silay the "soul" that is sadly lacking in many modern cities.

In contrast to, or perhaps complementing the ancestral houses, the San Diego Pro-Cathedral must be one of the most beautiful modern churches in the province. Built in 1925 and designed by an Italian, its domed architecture resembles that of the basilicas of Rome. Like the old award-winning plaza that in the 1970s was sacrificed in the name of beautification, the Pro-Cathedral evokes images of Europe and its old-world charm.

Another tourist come-on of Silay, though of a different kind, are the "dragons" of the Hawaiian-Philippine Company, one of the 15 sugar mills that can be found in the province. Used to transport sugarcanes as well as bags of sugar, these vintage steam locomotives are among the oldest remaining steam locomotives in the world. Railway enthusiasts from Australia, Japan, and Europe, have visited this sugar company in their desire to see the Baldwins and Alcos, to photograph them as they perform their task during the milling season, and most importantly, to experience a ride on one of them.

Other sugar mills are also hosts to these huge machines, although they have mostly been replaced in sugar operations by diesel-fueled locomotives for economic reasons.

Remarkable as they are, the ancestral houses, art collection and museum pieces are not Silay’s only tourist attractions. Thirty-two kilometers east of the city is Patag Valley, which in the last remaining months of World War 11, was the last stronghold of the Japanese Imperial Forces. For this reason, Japanese – as well as American – war veterans make sentimental journeys to this historic place. These memorial tours peaked in the late ’70s and early ’80s when then Tourism Secretary Jose Aspiras institutionalized the Reunion for Peace. The project encouraged former enemies to come together and to visit scenes of battle where comrades lost their lives.

Today, Patag is more than just a historical site. Surrounded by mountains and blessed with a year-round cool climate, the valley with its hidden waterfalls and scenic beauty has been declared an ecotourism zone. Some local entrepreneurs have started building resorts in the area and it continues to be a favorite campsite for young scouts and plain nature lovers.

Known for its excellent food and pastries, Silay is a veritable gourmet paradise, a place where cooking and eating is an art to be savored and enjoyed. Here, family recipes are treasured and guarded like some valuable heirloom, to be brought out and served on special occasions.

It is said that piaya, probably the most in-demand take-home item or pasalubong, originated from Silay. So with the fresh lumpia ubod the city is also known for. The fame has so spread that sellers elsewhere, to convince an undecided customer, would claim that their goods came from Silay.

A visit to Silay will not be complete without a stop at El Ideal Bakery & Refreshment. Located just a few meters from the public plaza, El Ideal has built a reputation for producing excellent pastries, pies and breads. It seems this bakery had always been there, and it does not only count on visitors or tourists for business. Silaynons, as well as other Negrenses driving to the northern towns of Negros Occidental, invariably stop there for their favorites. Depending on the time of day, and the number of buyers who have come before, one will find freshly-baked pies, chocolate and cassava cakes, puddings, panara, empanada, piaya, an asssortment of cookies and the chewy meringue.

For the really famished, there is the nourishing batchoy and arroz caldo, or the halo-halo to beat the summer heat. Standouts among the bakery products, as far as visitors are concerned, are El Ideal’s buko and guapple pies, the last an original recipe of the bakery.

Established by the late Alice Villanueva family in 1920, the fame of El Ideal has reached other shores. Sometime in the 1980s, the British Broadcasting Corporation did a documentary film on Food and Eating Habits Around the World. Somehow the crew found its way to Silay and El Ideal was fortunate to have been included in that documentary, with the BBC crew filming the making of guapple tarts. The docu was later shown in the United Kingdom and in other Asian countries.

Another proof that Silay is indeed the place to be for food-lovers is the proliferation of the so-called manuglibod or sweet-sellers. These women – and a few men – go around carrying flat native baskets on their heads filled with all sorts of pastries and goodies. In the old days when there were just a few of them, the manuglibud would go around the town, calling out to the housewives and mothers who were mostly home in those days. Untying the katsa or white cloth that they knot around the basket, children would then be made to choose from the variety of offerings from the well-stocked kalalaw or bilao.

Today, the Silay sellers do not confine their selling to their hometown. In the morning one sees them gathered in a place near the public market, waiting for their suppliers to deliver their orders. From there they take the jeepneys to Bacolod and proceed to their respective "territories": a subdivision, a commercial bank, a school, or the Capitol, where they have become a familiar sight.

Like the El Ideal, the sweet sellers of Silay were also immortalized in that BBC documentary. So with the Hofileña ancestral house. They have also been featured in glossy magazines and travel articles. To be sure, more TV producers and filmmakers came after BBC to capture this aspect of Silay lifestyle. Cultural and historical landmarks, lifestyle museums, ecotourism sites, good food. These things, plus its proximity to the capital city, have drawn Filipino and foreign travelers to Silay. Convention time in Bacolod would invariably find Balay Negrense, Jalandoni House-Museum and the Hofilena ancestral house, swarming with the participants on a pre- or post-convention tours. El Ideal’s products are also gobbled up in minutes.

Fortunately for Silay and its people, the local government sees what tourism can contribute to the economy, and have responded positively to the call of the times. A tourism and a cultural office are now in place to take care of tourism-related activities. There is the Kabataang Silay Ensemble and Rondalla, a school-based group of dancers and musicians who have earned honors here and abroad. Dubbed the Young Ambassadors of Silay, they contribute to the image of Silay as seat of culture with the excellence of their performance. To ensure its continuity, the city government conducts a one-month workshop every summer to prepare replacements for the graduating members.

Like the rest of the province, the city has developed its own festival called Kansilay which spices up the annual fiesta in November.

Local entrepreneurs, like Aquilles Baldevia, have ventured into the hotel and restaurant business, providing much-needed facilities for those who want to imbibe the special ambience of the city by actually living in it, if only for a few days. Last summer Baldevia opened his latest project – a resort near the sea complete with a regular-sized swimming pool, picnic sheds, and cottages for overnight visitors.

In a few more years, an airport of international standard is expected to rise in Silay. This will – hopefully – enable the city to live up to its new title. Not anymore as the Paris of Negros or the Museum City, but to its 21st century distinction bestowed by the Department of Tourism: One of The 25 Top Tourist Destinations in the Philippines.

[kyle@1008]

The artist who soared

First posted 02:03am (Mla time) Jan 03, 2005
By Yasmin Doctor
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page C1 of the January 3, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


AFTER many years of enchanting us with his old Hispanic houses, the artist bids us farewell.

Lino Severino Jr. passed away on Dec. 7 after a battle with brain cancer. The 72-year-old artist, who became known for his depiction of ancestral homes, seemed to have had a premonition of his departure: just a week earlier, he had a reunion with two of his close friends, artists Romulo Olazo and Edgar Doctor.

Severino, who used to be a pilot before he pursued a career in the arts, has flown to heaven.

His dreams of flying planes and handling a paintbrush started in his childhood during the '40s. As a child growing up in Silay, he became fascinated with flying and devoted much of his time painting accurate copies of flying machines.

After graduating from high school, the young Severino entered the Philippine Air Force. Soon, he was flying his very own fighter jet.

Years later, the ex-Air Force pilot would fly domestic and international flights for Philippine Airlines

(PAL). He even became a private pilot for the Philippine National Bank afterwards.

But he joined his love of flying with art. While still in PAL, he took classes in painting.

In 1975, Severino joined the annual art competition of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP). He became a finalist.

During the mid '70s, Severino, together with Olazo and Doctor, would go to Binangonan every Thursday and spend the rest of the day there painting on the spot with National Artist Vicente Manansala.

In 1986, Severino joined the AAP competition again and was honorable mention. He was a member of the AAP, Saturday Group and other artist groups.

His artworks were exhibited abroad in Chile, People's Republic of China, the United States and France.

Severino's passion was to let people feel the stories of the past through his canvass. His artworks speak of a language no longer understood in this fast-paced world. Yet, he was able to capture a moment from another time like a photographer.

Adding poetry to his pictures, Severino was able to make his art bleed with longing and solitude, but keeping restraint. His neatly-lined planks of wood and intricate grillwork next to broken capiz windows complemented his sullen colors.

His art was filled with nostalgia. And just like any pilot, Severino was able to transport this bygone-era to our time and succeeded.

He was not only a painter and a pilot, but a historian.

And even if he is gone, Severino will always be remembered as the man who brought life to the past. His art will touch the hearts of younger generations and his memory will never fade.

[kyle@1008]

Restoring old homes


In Negros Occidental, a few minutes away by from bacolod, heirs of wealthy landowners have banded together to preserve their old mansions and to make these ancestral houses available for public viewing at a minimal cost of 30 pesos.

This joint effort is best demonstrated in Silay City, about 14 kilometers from Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental. The Silay Heritage Foundation is in charge of restoring and preserving ancestral houses, and promoting significant insights into the history and legacy of the lifestyle of the Silaynons. It has up to 31 ancestral houses now all considered national landmarks.

I recently visited two museums, the Bernardino Ysabel Jalandoni House and the Balay Negrense (Victor Gaston House), where curator-guides explain the intricacies of these opulent hundred-year-old residences. In structure, the two-story Jalandoni House is similar to old houses in Manila’s Spanish-era "walled city" of Intramuros, in the northern town of Vigan, and in Laguna province. The ground floor, for example, serves as the "parking space" for carriages and storage room for crops.

What makes Silay’s old mansions different was the lifestyle of its residents. In its heyday, Silay was known as the "Paris of Negros." The señoritas and señoritos would regularly visit Europe for vacation and shopping, and brought home various ornaments and furniture for the house. No wonder one can find things such as a 19th century wash stand, ceramic pitcher, and basin from Europe, Luis Quince Style table lamp of baccarat crystal, and embossed steel trayed ceilings molded in Germany.

Also displayed are the gowns and jewelry that came all the way from Paris, where the favorite couturiers of the moneyed hacenderas were. Apparently, for entertainment of the hacenderos, performing artists from Europe would arrive in ships that docked at the 1.7-kilometer Silay Pier, then the longest in Asia. (Silay was the capital of Negros Occidental before the pier was transferred to Bacolod City).

What would strike some people today as amusing was how old-style and aloof the parents were from their children and how the males were separated from the females. At the Balay Negrense, for instance, the boys’ rooms are located on the first floor and the girls’ rooms on the second floor. Segregation is also evident in the main stairway that leads into the dining room. Midway, it forks into two -- the left side for the males, the right side for the females.

At the dining table, the kids stayed at the separate round tables so that they didn’t disturb their parents while eating. When there were guests, the children were not to be seen in the "sala" [living room]. That’s why the children’s rooms have connecting doors so they can move from one room to the next and chat among themselves, in hush-hush voices

[kyle@1008]

and a few more pics of silay

[kyle@1008]

driving through the plantations....

[manileño]

Originally Posted by kyle@1008

and a few more pics of silay

I like this pic a lot. Very "New Orleans"..
this is both Spanish and French (creole) architecture, no? Really nice.

[kyle@1008]

«« Patag Page »»





The maiden mountains of Patag in Silay City are among the world’s age-old treasures. Naturally decorated with diverse forms of life, like the indigenous tree species, giant ferns, wild flowers in bloom, plus hundreds of gushing rivers. Patag is considered as one of the few remaining forest stands in the Island of Negros. Encompassing 1,330 hectares of forest lands, rolling hills and lush vegetation in the terrain, the entire area comprises the North Negros Forest Reserve, which is among the province’s 4.77 percent remaining cover.



Patag is world-famous for its historical significance. During the World War II, its virgin forests served as the last stronghold of the Japanese Imperial Army in Negros Island. More than a hundred families of Japanese soldiers and civilians walked long hours, all the way from Guimbalaon to Patag, braving rains from above and rains from high-caliber artilleries of the allied forces, to take refuge in the forest. Thousands of Japanese were killed in the battle, others died of epidemic disease especially the wives and children.



When the war was drawing towards its end and after months of hiding and resistance, Japanese survivors of the World War and their Filipino families surrendered in May 1945.



Residents claim to have found remains of the Japanese soldiers in shallow graves. War equipment and artifacts are scattered all over the area. A remarkable reminder of the ferocity of war. . . a manifestation of the patriotism of unsung Japanese heroes who shed blood for the Land of the Rising Sun.



Countless man-made caves and foxholes used as hide-out during air raids have also been found everywhere in the forests. Even until now.



In 1959, a decade and a half after the war, a Rest Settlement for tuberculosis patients was constructed through the efforts of Senator Jose Locsin, a native of Silay City. Situated near the site of the Japanese Cemetery, the hospital was operated in 1961 as rehabilitation center for some TB patients until 1970. Immediately after the patients were returned to their homes, the center accommodated some 25 mentally-ill patients from Manila who were under rehabilitation.



A year after, the operation stopped due to lack of financial support from the government. The Rest Settlement in Patag was the first provincial rehabilitation center of the national government. It housed patients from Negros and neighboring islands.



Presently, the dilapidated hospital building serves as accommodation center for visitors who come to take a glimpse of Patag’s historical contribution through well-preserved caves and dug-outs, and war artifacts kept therein. . . or mountain lovers who take time out to trek the last frontiers.





The old Hospital in Patag



Unknown to many, Patag is not only rich in historical value and famous for its mountain peaks. It features several natural scenic spots distinct from the rest, only found in the midst of Patag’s wilderness.



A few kilometers away from the hospital is the giant Pulang Tubig Waterfall that drops 80 meters from atop, a powerful shower of cold water affluently distributed to rivers and creeks. Old folks believe that blood of Japanese soldiers killed during the war oozed from the peak of Pulang Tubig that descended along the waterflow. Another version tells that slightly red colors in the river stones are caused by the sulfuric reaction. The legendary Pulang Tubig, however, is all-white and crystal-clear. There is one living fact about the waterfall; the glorious sight of stout, bubbling overflow of water oozing from the highest elicits a truly surprising reaction from the visitors – of a profound feeling.



In the mountains of Patag lie hundreds of waterfalls some are naturally hidden in unexplored rainforest. Frequently visited are the waterfalls of Malisbog and Dumalabdab, an hour-less walk from the old hospital.



Gifted with countless springs, cold, hot and miraculous, these water sources have multiple uses for the residents as well as transients. Of the sixteen discovered springs, two are thermal, three are acidic or vinegar-tasting and three more springs are believed to have cured minor illness and skin disorders.



An aerial view from the Sirab peak, where an intense heat and drought in the lowlands burned of old growth trees in 1987, is the Sulfatara, with steam of hot water, an eight hour walk from the barangay proper. The crater spews fire on occasion. Another sulphur deposit nearer to the poblacion is the Sulfatara Gamay, only a five-hour hike.



Few meters away from the site of Sulfatara main are natural rock formations the local folks call, Pandong Bato. These gigantic boulders are well-arranged sheds made of rocks that can shelter 20 people. It is said that pre-historic upheaval caused these boulders to roll and fall into their present positions.



Certainly among the finest sceneries in the tranquil jungle of Patag is the overwhelming Tinagong Dagat. It is embraced by the luscious, flourishing trees and shrubs, fully-carpeted with mosses comparable to the soft, comforting cushions. This famous attraction, according to scientists, was once a volcano which erupted in the 18th century. It sometimes raises to as high as three feet but there are instances when water ebbs and becomes dry for a season. This hidden natural pool is enveloped with mysteries awaiting to be unfold. In this truly charming paradise, one can only fill his eyes and heart up to the limit.



The enigmatic tale of Patag is further manifested by the enchanting natural basin called Kawa-Kawa where waters stays during summer and dries up in the rainy season. Encircled by tall pines and native trees, the natural basin is half a hectare wide and measures even up to eight meters deep.



Like the sky cables in other countries, Patag is so far the only upland area with a modest skyline to boast which helps transport local folks and visitors from one mountain to the other in a matter of seconds. There are two manually operated skylines, once used to transport logs in the ‘70s. The breathtaking skyline ride, for mountain trekkers, is a 25-second experience of thrill and excitement. . . a lifetime chance to soar height.



Another distinction exclusively found in Patag is the endangered wildlife almost nearing extinction. Among the diminishing species housed in the forest are the Philippine Spotted Deer, endemic only in Negros and Panay, the Bleeding Heart Pigeon, the Visayan Warty Pig, indigenous and dipterocarp trees plus a long list of native birds.



The existence of these endangered species could have become a lifeless picture landed in the pages of history with the massive devastation of Negros forest in the recent years.



The alarming scenario of forest denudation in the whole world, however, did not totally transform Patag into oblivion. It was not exempted though, from the hands of treacherous elements in the society. Logging concession in Patag began in the later part of 1950s and took a halt in the’90s. Patag has nevertheless maintained a large portion of its primary growth trees and virgin forests. With nature’s natural process of regeneration, it is still a beautiful sight to behold.



Without the local folks’ deeper realization of the situation and the sense of responsibility to safeguard the natural habitat, Patag could have been just a view of deserted, brown valleys in the far east of Silay.



These barefoot vanguards of Patag forests are indeed instrumental in promotion and advocating for environmental protection in the area and nearby localities.



Even residents themselves are living testimonies of their dreadful contribution to kill the environment – logging, wild hunting, kaingin system and charcoal-making. The massive campaign to end the global disaster and the after-effects of the act have awakened their consciousness and made them active frontliners for environmental protection.



Nestled in the lap of mountain ranges, the community of Patag maintains a conventional, non-artificial lifestyle. Rustic Barangay Patag is Silay City’s farthest and newest barangay yet closest to the hearts of nature-loving Silaynons in the urban. Its all-year round cool temperature and the warmth of about 2,870 people make up the ambience of an ideal community in a native yet carefree living society.



Patag is a home away from home. But the local folks, hard-working as they are, have only their genuine hospitality and heart-warming smiles to give. Nonetheless, they offer a legacy – a Filipino tradition.



Residents largely depend on farming as their major source of livelihood. Through the Stewardship Contract of the government, farmers till their own lands in a sustainable environment-friendly way. These cooperative members practice the methods of Sustainable Agriculture – the Sloping Land Agriculture Technique, production of organic fertilizers and integrated farming. One of the waterfalls was converted into a dam by the government to irrigate the farmlands of some 200 farmers. They also engage in other forms of livelihood to augment the family income.



In fact, Barangay Patag is enlisted in the priorities of the local government. Construction and improvement of the irrigation system and potable water are among the recent programs provided to residents. Community health coordinators are frequently visiting the areas for a regular health monitoring.



Aside from the natural attraction Patag, the City of Silay also takes pride of the well-preserved ancestral houses, architectural structures, cultural presentations and world-class delicacies. Above all – the generosity and hospitality of Silaynons.



Silay City and Patag epitomize a truly remarkable destination. A journey to the past, a journey to the origin of creation.



Patag today will still be the same tomorrow. San alteration, for it has the sympathy and love of its people – the guardians of the earth.



A reason the present generation should be proud of. For they bequeath to their children the greatest wealth in the world.

[kyle@1008]

Originally Posted by manileño

I like this pic a lot. Very "New Orleans"..
this is both Spanish and French (creole) architecture, no? Really nice.

silay has a lot of french and spanish immigrants,...I guess this influenced the people's taste in it...what is so nice is the fact that most of the ancestral homes are still homes, with people living in them ,... so it's like breathing in history

[kyle@1008]

as a reminder lang: I thought it would be wise to place silay on a different thread away from the bacolod and negros one, because of its importance and distinction..
its position for being one of two museum cities in the country,.. for being one of the top 25 destinations, as well as being negros' second city...

technically silay is part of the greater bacolod area..... but it does deserve to stand on it's own thank you...

[tigidig14]

Originally Posted by kyle@1008

silay's famous son

Leandro V. Locsin
Architecture (1990)

Leandro V. Locsin, architect, has reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture reflective of Philippine Art and Culture. He believes that the true Philippine Architecture is "the product of two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental... to produce a new object of profound harmony." It is this synthesis that underlies all his works, with his achievements in concrete reflecting his mastery of space and scale. Every Locsin Building is an original, and identifiable as a Locsin with themes of floating volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant and massive running in his major works. From 1955 to 1994, Locsin has produced 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building.

Locsin's largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a floor area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP Complex itself is a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings designed by him -- the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel.

nice to know