Category Archives: History

June 3, 2012

ANP’s Silver Tiangge Coffee Table Book: A Negrense Must Have

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Inset: Foreword page of ANP’s coffee table book “Silver Tiangge”

The foreword Carmen Guerrero Nakpil in the coffee table book Silver Tiangge must have been by itself an ample introduction to the Negros Trade Fair and the Association of Negros Producers. Last year, I was given a privilege through ANP Vice-President for Media Jojo Vito to be part of the 26th Negros Trade Fair held in the semi-permanent location at Rockwell Tent. The event resulted to eight blog entries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), new friends and new experiences. Too bad I was not able to join the 25th Negros Trade Fair which was the best one so far but the essence of the celebration is captured in Silver Tiangge.

Inset: Featured is the kitchen exhibit at the Balay Negrense Museum

What is Silver Tiangge? That is the coffee table book produced by the Association of Negros Producers for the occassion of the 25th Year of Negros Trade Fair in Manila. You see, Negros Trade Fair is the longest provincial trade fair that has been running consistently that has breached a decade and an amazing feat it would that it would soon breach third decade. “Tiangge” in Silver Tiangge does not come from the Tagalog term but rather from the Hiligaynon term which means a “sari-sari“ or variety store. Indeed, from a small series of booths in SM Megamall, it expanded to include over fifty enterprises now.

Inset: Silver Tiangge’s Table of Contents

While the 25th Negros Trade Fair has long passed, the  Silver Tiangge is still in publication. Ms. Teena Gacho Rodriguez from the Association of Negros Producers reached me last week that there are more stocks available. This coffee table book is actually a must have for Negrense homes since it details not only details the products from ANP Showroom and the Negros Trade Fair but the evolution of Negrense industry that was forced to diversify due to the fall of the sugar industry in the Marcos regime. What was then as a means of extra income for sacadas has become a multi-million dollar export industry.

Inset: Various kakanin, sweets and coffee from Negros Island

Even with sugar‘s dominance since the late Spanish Era leading to the short-lived Republic of Negros, these industries found their roots in the countryside with Negrenses utilizing whatever resources they have to produce new products for consumption. A few of them like furniture-making dates back to the time when hacienderos would commission copies of furniture designs they have come across palaces of Europe, while foods like Bas-oy and Cansi were Negrense food innovations at a time when the poor was limited to scrap meats and innards. Soon enough, even the hacienderos caught on the taste and ate them too.

Inset: More food articles inside the coffee table book Silver Tiangge

Interesting, isn’t it? Association of Negros Producers has slashed down prices of the coffee table book to P1,500 which is very much affordable for a piece of Negrense history that every Negrense home in Negros Island and Beyond must have. The book is available in the ANP Negros Showroom Main at Lourdes Center in 9th cor. Lacson Streets, Bacolod City or at their branch at Central Citywalk in Robinson’s Bacolod, just look for Teena Gacho-Rodriguez or staff to purchase one.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Arts, Arts, Culture, Culture, Fashion, Fashion, Food, Food, History, History, Interior Design, Interior Design, Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, The Bread Rolls

February 8, 2012

People on Focus: Direk Jay Abello

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

It was Saturday and in the early afternoon when I caught the train and headed to Ayala Center. I was going to Kuppa Fort Bonifacio to meet with the Director/Executive Producer of PUREZA The Story of Negros Sugar and he is none other than a kasimanwa, Direk Jay Abello. Through the course of our correspondence until the meeting, I have always called him Direk for he has notable for such films as Namets which featured Negrénse cuisine at its best with a flare of a love story. I was running late then clad with my formal clothing for an even afterwards. My rap-dash walk was replaced with a sigh of relief when he told me he will be late.

When I entered Kuppa, I sat by a good spot by the window waiting for Direk when he texted me that he was already there in a shirt colored grey. I immediately noticed him in the other corner and went to greet him. His simple attire and humble disposition makes the coat and tied clad me a bit shy. He invited me to sit down and with a French-pressed coffee at hand, he greeted me and asked of how I was since I looked haggard from all the walking I did. Direk Jay has lived for many years now in the busy Metro Manila and was educated here too, in De La Salle – College of St. Benilde to be exact in a course actually unrelated to filmmaking.

Direk Jay graduated BS Management with plans to work in big companies like San Miguel but was drafted by his father to work as a farm administrator in his family’s farm in Isabela for three crop years. In the lean months after planting sugarcane, he routinely spends time in Bacólod City. It was here that he developed an affinity with performing arts when he got involved with a theater and the intricacies of production. He eventually managed his sister’s orchid farm and cut flower industry when she went to a convent in Marawi City. Feeling that is was called more for performing arts than farming, he went to Manila and pursued film.

When asked if what of all his films gave him the hardest effort, he immediately quipped PUREZA since it entailed countless hours of research and interviews. The idea to film PUREZA date back in 2008 at the successful premier of his film Namets when a group of sugar planters from a foundation asked him if he can do an audio visual presentation on the events of the sugar industry. If one can remember, the last part of the 1970′s in the height of the Martial Law era heralded the fall of the sugar industry. The group led by Joey Gaston, Gina Martin and among others met at Joey Gaston’s Café Uma and laid work for the film PUREZA.

It was agreed that Direk Jay would produce the film while the foundation will be in charge of raising funds. After rounds of raising funds by convincing sugar planter and farmer groups that this would be good for the sugar industry, the film was in the making. It took them ten days of going around the province to gather a pool of people to interview. According to Direk Jay, they interviewed in the course of the film a total of one hundred and sixty (160) people and that does not include those people interviewed off cam. The number includes ninety (90) to one hundred (100) sugar planters and sixty (60) to seventy (70) farm workers in total.

They also interviewed for academic information economists like Prof. Solita “Winnie” Monsod of the UP School of Economics and fellow Negrénse Dr. Bernardo “Bernie” Villegas of the rival UA&P School of Economics. The economists were able to give compact and comprehensive view of sugar’s economic aspect especially Dr. Villegas, whose family is involved in the sugar industry as well in Negros Oriental. Asking him about the “seven-year cycle of sugar planting” that was mentioned in the trailer, he said that it was mentioned by his Dad. Incidentally, my Dad also mentioned seven years, though unrelated, with muscovado sugar.

A setback with producing the film that Direk Jay mentioned is there are countless issues involved with sugar. Most often, there are new issues coming out like the recent Coca-Cola premixed sugar controversy among many others. It is easy to get distracted with a number of irrelevant issues which he tried avoiding on the course of filming PUREZA. From a number of issues tackled, PUREZA boils down on the question of the industry’s oppression, land reform and the controversial ASEAN Free Trade Agreement which is a looming threat to the sugar industry with the opening of the Philippine market to rival cheap sugar from Thailand.

All of the filming and recording left them with approximately 360 hours of material which includes all possible angles for tackling issues on the sugar industry. In the initial editing, the had a film that ran for three hours and was trimmed down to two hours and fifteen minutes. This was even trimmed down to one hour and forty-five minutes. Much of the production is how the directors sees the situation of the sugar industry but the questions tackled at hand will not have an answer. It is up to the readers to answer those mind-opening questions. When will this be shown in Manila? Very soon enough and something to look forward to.

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Most photos taken from the PUREZA The Story of Negros Sugar discussion group page. The schedule of the Manila premiere will be posted in that page and this blog’s like page.

4 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Culture, Culture, History, History, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, The Bread Rolls

February 4, 2012

Around Negros: Time Warp In Silay’s Streets

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

While the seafood treat was good in Balaring, I ought to bring my guest for what Silay City is known for – ancestral houses. Unlike other cities in the Philippines that has lost countless ancestral houses post – World War II either to bombing or development, there are still a number left in Silay. A walk around Silay City is like a time warp to the time when classical buildings and houses dots the city center. It was a hot day but tons of food made us ready for a walk. I am not a stranger to Silay since I’ve been here a few months ago for the free tour of the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas Participants last Nov. 13, 2011.

Going around Silay City, there is one formidable question that is sure to be asked: “What’s the difference between Silay and Vigan?” The question does make sense since Silay and Vigan are both heritage cities and has been known for their best preserved ancestral houses. I remember that being asked before and thankfully I have an answer for my guest. Vigan City’s ancestral house are actually of Mexican design as a consequence of being a port stop of galleons from Acapulco, Mexico while Silay City’s have variety of design ranging from Castillan, American and French Countryside with Filipino elements mixed.

While a number of ancestral houses are well-preserved, Silay’s ancestral houses saw period of darkness when a significant number were threatened to be destroyed. At the time of the Marcos dictatorship, the highways north of Bacólod was widened to accomodate a growing traffic. Since a number of ancestral houses and heritage buildings are close to the streets, they were slated for demolition but Silaynons pushed for them to be spared. Fortunately, these ancestral houses and heritage buildings were spared and the people of Silay realized the sentimental, cultural and tourism value of these structures for Silay City.

Apparently, not only ancestral houses are spared but also the countless century-old trees that dot the landscape. They are remnants of the times that saw a revolution, a golden age, world war and another round of tough times. Branches speak of generations, pasts that reminds us of how sugar’s wealth built Silay. This reminds me of the unfortunate news few years ago when age-old trees at the Intramuros area were cut off to be replaced by supposedly “more authentic” fire trees. Indiscriminate planning does take a heavy toll on heritage. My wish is that Silay would be vigilant in safeguarding these grand old trees.

Few minutes of leisure walk, we reached our destination – Balay Negrénse. Balay Negrénse is the ancestral house of Don Victor F. Gaston, the son of the French haciendero Yves Germain Gaston. I am no longer stranger to Balay Negrénse since this is my second visit to the house-museum. We rang the courtesy bell to call in a guide to let us in and show us around. Unfortunately, there was no guide available but by the stroke of luck, the Museum Director herself, Mrs. Maida Jison, wife of a former Silay City Mayor was very accommodating enough to show us around. Talk about hospitality at best and finest here.

Though I know the drill in Balay Negrénse, Mrs. Jison offered a fresh new view of Balay Negrénse and it’s history. She proved to be a really good guide after all since she has personal involvement with how the house was refurbished. Mrs. Jison even showed some photos before the house was turned into a museum. She told us that she used to disdain passing by this mansion when she was still young since it once looked like your image of a haunted house. She told us of many ghost stories about the house which made hairs stand up even up to now every time I remember her stories that are quite vivid and detailed.

Sensing the apparent scardycat I have become, she assured us that no such stories have been accounted since the house was turned into a museum. The restoration of the Gaston House came as a challenge for Negros Cultural Foundation, the foundation that runs this museum and Negros Museum since it entailed millions of pesos. Out of generous donations and financial aid from Silay City ‘s various agencies, they were able to restore the structure. Since the house was bare when it was totally abandoned in 1970s, museum pieces were generously loaned or donated by elite families showcasing Negrénse lifestyle.

Mrs. Jison also talked about Silay from her childhood especially with how the City Plaza used to look before changes were done in the Marcos era. She showed us the picture of how the plaza looked like before and was wonderful with classical lightings, benches where the old folks used to chat and the former fountain. The old plaza was of sunken style, much like what UP’s Sunken Garden is but with more elegant trappings. She was frank to tell us that she disdain seeing the plaza in the current state from what used to be of European-style. Every Silaynon indeed shares same tearful sentiments as she expressed.

As if in a jump of thought, she relayed to us another mystery story about one of two statues of Pan that used to adorn the fountains of the City Plaza. Pan is the Greek god of fertility which sports a set of horns and hind legs. Familiar image, isn’t it? It is said that placing the statues in the middle of a fountain of water served a purpose. When the plaza was demolished, one of the statues were placed in a house of the certain Silaynon which burned down mysteriously. The statue was left unscathed and the next house that hosted the statue also burned down. This stopped when it was made into pond centerpiece.

Mrs. Jison was so enthusiastic with her stories that we didn’t noticed we already spent an hour’s time. Our conversation with her was cut short when a visitor arrived at her office. I took over from her to tour Doc Chard on the receiving area on the second floor. All was well in the area except for the fact that the ballroom-sized bathroom was closed to public. I would have loved to show Doc how spacious the room was. After a few snapshots of the place, we decided to go down since there were no seats or chairs for us to sit on. We decided to continue on the tour and bade Mrs. Jison goodbye in her lovely office.

Since we were already in the Calle Cinco de Noviembre, I decided to take my guest to the marker on the spot where a farmacia used to stand. The farmacia was owned by Leandro Locsin where Negrénse revolutionaries were secretly planned for revolution against the Spanish authorities. This was the Cinco de Noviembre that ushered my blog’s namesake, the República Cantonal de Negros or República Negrénse in short. This was an event in the history of Negros I am proud of since it was the time that Negrénses proved their cunning and established a functioning government started in this simple street corner.

Walking down the street, I suddenly noticed the grand orange mansion bit of distance. As I can remember well, a notable Silaynon lives there and he is Solo Locsin whom I met last November 13, 2011 during the bloggers’ tour of Silay. Just stone’s throw from this house is an odd-looking ancestral house that has another story to tell, a sad love story to be specific. The house was meant to be of two stories but the second floor was chopped off by the owner. The story is very interesting since it is a classic tragic love story of a haciendero daughter and a guy of simple stature whom a fellow Negros Blogger wrote about.

Since Café 1925 was just nearby, I decided to take Doc Chard inside to cool down before telling him the story in detail. The walking tour of the city revealed a lot of stories that an average tour would not have mentioned. This makes me interested to write about the stories of each ancestral house we passed by. Who knows what more stories awaits for us to discover, may it be success stories, an interesting number of horror stories like those we heard in Balay Negrénse or tragic ones like the house beside Café 1925. I suggest that when you walk around the city, go with locals for I am sure he would have stories to tell.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Culture, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls, Travel

January 25, 2012

Reliving Sugarlandia in “PUREZA”

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

When folks in Manila hear of Negros, the first thing that comes into their mind is the haciendas planted with sugarcane lorded over by hacenderos on their horses with a cane at hand while watching sacadas toiling the field. This is the stereotypical image and stigma of Negros that has been stuck in the minds of a non-Negrénse. Indeed, it is not surprising since Negros is still the Sugarlandia, the Philippines’ Sugar Bowl, being the source of 70% to 80% of the country’s sugar exports and sugarcanes still dominate the Negros landscape from north to south.

Documentaries have been written about Philippine history but it seems that Negros has been a gray area. Most often, Negros has only been mentioned in passing or footnoted in history books with the vague description as being the country’s sugar producing area. If the book publisher is a bit detailed, it would mention Cinco de Noviembre, the revolutionary leaders and their haciendas. Trying to debunk myths and reinforce established truths, the first full-length documentary on this struggling industry will premiere in Bacólod City, the Sugarlandia’s capital.

PUREZA, short for the Spanish term “Pureza de Azucar”, refers to the purity of the sugar yield that is determined by the stages of sugar production from planting all the way down to milling. The title is apt since it details a vital since it determines the profit that may be earned from that yield, the profit which fuels the almost legendary lifestyle of the hacenderos. The sugar mills and refineries of past and present still use this as their standard, a timeless testament to the story of the once thriving but now struggling billion-dollar cash crop export industry.

The full trailer offers us a transport back to the history of Negros, the hacenderos, so-called sugar aristocracy. PUREZA took more than three years to finish with a powerhouse production team that worked night and day. Most of them have been  immersed with Negros and some even are related to landholding families themselves. This hardy production team are composed of the ff. people:

Executive Producers J. ABELLO, JOEY GASTON
Producers FIONA BORRES, AGNES VILLAR
Director J. ABELLO
Assistant Director LOVELLE BELLOCILLO
Writers JET ORBIDA, CHECCS OSMEÑA
Editor FIONA BORRES
 Visual FX Supervisor RICHARD FRANCIA
Sound Engineers ALBERT MICHAEL IDIOMA, ALEX TOMBOC
Music PEARLSHA ABUBAKAR
Researchers IHVONIE SEVILLENO, KAT VALENCIA
Cosplay Actors OYING OSMEÑA, MILTON DIONZON, MANDY ALIMON, EERO MARTINEZ, DANTE AMIGUIN

Bonfire Productions and Negros Pureza Foundation handled much of the productions with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Their countless hours of research, unconventional chroma production, sleepless hours of tedious editing, tons costume shopping to occasional arguments over scripts had a finished product of a 2-hour and 15-minute long documentary.

Their hard work will pay off soon as the documentary will have a premiere screening this coming February 7, 2012, 6:30pm at SM City Bacólod. On the other hand, PUREZA will also join the Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012, a National Independent Film and Video Art Festival, and will also have a screening on February 11, 2012 at Robinson’s Place Bacólod. The documentary will be open for public screening on February 17, 2012. Stay tuned in this blog for more features on this documentary film and hopefully an interview feature with Director Jay Abella very soon.

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Photos provided by the Production Team and the Negros Museum.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Arts, Culture, Events, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

December 16, 2011

The Capitol Lagoon: New Beauty In Timeless Old Glory

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

This morning, with an aching body from the tiresome activities yesterday, I check my Facebook for new stuff around the online community. Seemingly half-awake, an image captured my mind and threw me aback. I did recognize the statue of a man with his carabao but something on the background caught my attention, what seems to be a fountain. When I thought I was dreaming, I did remember that later today, they are going to officially turn on the dancing fountain in the Provincial Capitol Lagoon at Bacólod City. The installation of a dancing fountain and color-themed floodlights signify a fateful start of developments around the area that is spearheaded by the Ayala Land, Inc. The Ayala Land, Inc., the undisputed winner of the bidding for the land behind the Provincial Capitol and the lots behind or beside the Philippine National Bank Regional Office, will develop not only the area of choice they acquired but also the whole premises of Province in Lacson St., already home to Bacólod’s or even the Island’s premiere commercial and financial districts.

In a recap of history, the Provincial Capitol’s construction was spearheaded in 1924 by the famous city-planner Daniel Burnham, the same Daniel Burnham who master planned the City of Baguio. The structure is of Beaux Art Design and was originally planned to include the present central façade only just like its twin Provincial Capitol in Negros Oriental. The North and South Wings were added for more office spaces, social functions and court offices when the present Hall of Justice was not yet constructed. As evident with Daniel Burnham’s project in Baguio City, he also had a man-made lagoon done which added to the beauty of the complex. There used to be lightings and small fountains in the Lagoon but was discontinued due to the financial losses incurred by the province during the height of the Sugar Crisis in 1980′s. The return of the fountains in the lagoon, in a grander scale, is a symbol that the Province has already surpassed the challenges of the economic downfall.

According to reports, it is a German firm who installed the fountains in the Capitol Lagoon which started their test runs early this week. The Provincial Capitol Lagoon’s new fountains with sport a 25-30ft. spout of water, synchronized with lights which would definitely bring back the glory and attention to this heritage structure. This will definitely bring a jubilant cheer among the regular joggers and some lovers trying to find cool solace in the Provincial Capitol Lagoon Park. Structures with fountains are currently the norm in the city especially at grand hallways of hotels but the first structures to sport one aside from the Provincial Capitol Lagoon are the Silay City Plaza* which is the first in the Province, the Old Bacólod City Hall or what is called the Fountain of Justice and the Philippine National Bank Regional Office though the bank’s fountain is currently non-functional.

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República Negrénse would like to thank and acknowledge Mr. Marlon Sabio for the photos and *Dr. Maritel Ledesma, MD for the info on the Silay fountains.

12 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Arts, Culture, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

December 11, 2011

Rainbows and Eclipses: Drama In The Sky

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Inset: The moon nearly eclipsed as seen by Mr. Lloyd Tronco.

Who has seen the Lunar Eclipse yesterday? The skies in this side of the world presented a drama unfolding as the long awaited Total Lunar Eclipse happened. I was finishing up on articles in my blog when someone from my SSC barkada, a resident doctor at a hospital in Bacólod sent me a message that a Total Lunar Eclipse will be happening tonight. Everyone is excited since the next occurrence of another Total Lunar Eclipse would be a long way to 2014 and by then, we are not even sure if we will see it clear in the Philippines. After thanking him for the reminder, I immediately grabbed my camera and went outside. I was not expecting to see much since it was a rainy day in Metropolitan Manila and some of my Negrénse kasimanwas here, especially those in Quezon City, cannot have a glance at the moon. However, when I went out, by some sort of miracle, the clouds cleared up as if trying to let me see the spectacle. I tried taking some snapshots but the passing rainclouds and the apparent limitations of my camera stopped me short of having a good one.

Inset: Stitched photos of the lunar eclipse sequence by Dr. Dominic Alojado, MD.

This is my first time seeing a Total Lunar Eclipse unfolding and my mind immediately scanned all the things I learned in science about lunar eclipses. The phenomenon of a Total Lunar Eclipse happens when the Sun, Moon and Earth are directly aligned together with the Earth blocking the light from the Sun. The whole sequence from the first prenumbral to the last prenumbral or the end of the lunar eclipse lasted for approximately four hours from 8:30pm to 12:30am, too bad for kids who get easily bored. While Manila was fully cloudy to partially cloudy, my kasimanwas in Bacólod and Tokyo had the clearest view of the night sky. They were able to give a blow by blow updates on the moon’s eclipse sizes from where they are.

Inset: The moon is blood red as captured by Dr. Dominic Alojado, MD.

The best look of the moon does not lie on the full eclipse itself but that leading to the second umbra where the moon is fully blood red. Sounds familiar? The blood red moon has mythical connotations to it especially with vampires, just as a bright full moon has connotations with another mythical creatures, werewolves. Blood red moon has Biblical connotations too by which it appeared in the night sky the day Jesus died on the cross, as if to tell the world that the blood of the Savior was shed. The rare appearance of a blood red moon gave it much significance, may it be mythically or Biblically. Only the most enthusiastic of the astronomic enthusiast or sky photographers was able to capture the blood red moon in its fullness  late last night. Most of the blood red moon shots I saw were from my beloved hometown still where people stayed all night just to capture everything. Indeed, it was a science lesson, only that nature is the one teaching this time.

Inset: A double rainbow captured by Ms. Joan Honoridez over Mandalagan.

Even as this was occurring, Bacólod City has seen a lot of beautiful natural phenomenons lately like the occurrence of double rainbows for the past few weeks. Scientifically, double rainbows are caused by the reflection of the main rainbow via suspended water droplets in the air. The faint second rainbow above the brighter rainbow is called the “supernumerary rainbow”. Rainbows are frequent after the rain but double rainbows are a very rare occurrence but it happened three times since the first week of November up to weeks leading to December. What is coincidence that this rare occurrence happend in a single city for three times? Maybe but somehow, people cannot help but put it as a sort of heavenly message that it will be good times ahead in the City of Smiles. Whatever meaning they put in the phenomenon would not hurt as people would work hard for which they wish and put their total faith in God. Nevertheless, these rare occurrences seen most clearly in my hometown is a wonderful treat for everyone, a marvel of God’s wonderful creation.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Culture, Events, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

November 17, 2011

The Hacienda Correspondent: Balay nga Dakû

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

The choice for Balay Negrénse grounds as the place for the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas participants to have lunch is a superb one. Fresh air and the refreshing view of the big house made the organic lunch eating experience a unique one. While we marvel on the view of the house outside, the interiors are worth exploring too. The house was built by Don Victor Gaston, the son of Yves Germain Gaston, a Frenchman from Normandy and the patriarch of the Gaston Family who was one of those responsible of revolutionizing the sugar industry. Now know today as the Balay Negrénse Museum, this is one of the three standing Gaston mansions in the island and the one well known.

The actual family name of Yves Germain Gaston is Germain, a result of the old French naming system similar to the Spanish one which the paternal family is mentioned first before the maternal family name. In order to prove that the family indeed is a descendant of the original French family, they brought with them their family’s heraldic arms from France. This particular piece is found in the private office once occupied by Don Victor. Preserved with the office are some important documents related to their ancestry and some books which the esteemed French-blooded haciendero treasured and cared. The house has been nicknamed as balay nga dakû or “big house” in Hiligaynon which it really is with its enormous size.

Apparently, family kinship is very much important for the Gaston Family and they keep a genealogy wheel in Balay Negrénse in order to keep their family updated in their connection. The genealogy wheel starts off with Yves Germain Gaston and branches off to three which all built their mansions, Balay Negrénse included. The present generation amounts to close to a thousand descendants which are all successful in their field with those involved in business, arts, music, politics and some even Monseigneurs in their own right. One of their family members, the late Gov. Emilio Gaston was Governor of Occidental Negros from 1934 to 1937. I wonder if the genealogy wheel is updated since this is open to public.

As with any other ancestral mansions in Silay and other parts of the Island, the centerpiece of the house is the grand piano. There are other pianos inside the mansion but it is a grand piano that determines the social standing of the family. The so-called bragging rights the grand piano gives to the mansion’s residents are much like what a Hummer or a Rolls Royce can give at present. Indeed, even at present, a grand piano is still considered a status symbol. Grand pianos not only serve as a bragging item or a determiner of social standing, it was also used to feature a family member’s musical skills either in playing the piano or singing. A number of Gastons have been sent to the conservatories of Europe to study music and some like the mezzo-soprano Conchita Gaston is known worldwide and has graced several social occasions in Silay City.

One defining feature of mansions are their grand staircases which welcomes you immediately from the big main doors of the house. Have you ever wondered why the grand staircases? As the guide told us, it is mainly for a dramatic entrance of the party celebrant especially girls on their debut. Negrénse hacienderos love to party and they make these “dramatic entrances” 0ften and grand staircases are a convenient platform too which can act as a stage. Most of the mansion’s features may have derived inspiration from palaces that some of these hacienderos visited in their regular vacation tours of Europe. As much as grand staircases are mentioned best in fairytale stories, the stories of the mansion’s occupants seem to have a fairytale twist to it too. Most of the stories are hearsay but some have a grain of truth in the matter.

The best part of this house, just like any kind of house is the kitchen. Even as the house had modernized its kitchen equipment in the middle of the 20th century, the dirty kitchen concept still persists. It is here that the hard cooking is done using native ingredients to serve tasty gourmet meals for special dinners or just simply daily food. Hundreds of unique recipes must have passed by the charcoal stoves and clay pots of these dirty kitchens. Houses in Negros always have a space set aside spaces for the foods that require a little bit of dirty, or should I say smoky work. While dirty kitchens have waned down in style on the latter part of the 20th century, it is seeing a comeback as people re-explore the native ways of cooking food. No wonder why Balay Negrénse was chosen as the venue of the Adobo Festival every Cinco de Noviembre to serve as the renaissance of good food that houses like these showcased.

The mansion’s long table is often the scene of glamor and fine dining where the best of porcelain plates and silverwares are used. Children are separated from the adults when eating as to not disturb them in their dinners with spilled glasses, broken plates and often noisy disposition. Meals are often the venue for family members to update on each other about the latest happenings or on the latest price of sugar per picul on the market. Oftentimes, every meals would not only serve the residents of the house but also their relatives. It is a norm for haciendero families go rounds in hosting their family or even other haciendero families for lunch or dinner. Many times, it would be a showdown of the best recipes between families with one trying to outdo each other with unique recipes and the most elegant of dining ware taken down from the displays for the most important guests to use.

In the afternoon, the men and women of the house would gather in the sala of the house to enjoy coffee or tea while discussing business matters. These now empty coffee tables once host a retinue of men loudly talking about the latest in trends while the women continue in doing their business. Women would often do knitting together while gossiping about the juicy incidents about some occasional scandals that trick out of some confines. Silay may have been a bustling rich pueblo but the once laidback town is small enough for the latest rumors to circulate. Issues like the discreet affairs of men or the latest adventures of some “liberal” women are the meatiest of the matter, together with some gossip about bastard children thrown into the mix. Indeed, the afternoon coffees of yesteryears are your primordial social networking of the present.

As with any other old houses, an aura of mystique is also tagged with Balay Negrénse. The hysteria of haunted houses will always be attached to these balay nga dakû. Moreoften, it is the controversies and a number of hearsays that haunt these walls with a lasting impact. One can only imagine the busy activities that once saw this house when the sugar industry was once at its peak. The walls can speak only as much as what is written on the books are the words spoken by the guides. The curious and imaginative minds sometimes cannot help but be transported back in time when parties were held after the other. Balay Negrénse and other big mansions of Silay is a testament to the good life that many of those who migrated to Negros have long sought for. For many, an inspiration but for the present generation, a heritage worth taking care for the future generations to behold and learn.

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More photos on the Balay nga Dakû in the Photo Blog.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Culture, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls, Travel

November 13, 2011

Philippine Blog Awards Visayas: A Resounding Success In Historic Silay

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

My Saturday mornings are usually boring times for me that I sleep until lunchtime but yesterday was meant to be a different one. I am in Bacólod and it was the day for which purpose I am back in my hometown. With a few people from Negros Bloggers, we hitched a ride with Atty. Eli and Elena Gatanela of BusinesSphereConsulting.com, the couple who sponsored my ticket for this event. While I was waiting for the Gatanelas in front of the former Sweet Greens Restaurant, fellow Negros Blogger and Skyscrapercity Bacólod forummer Glady Tomulto of ExperienceNegros.com passed by and let me have a lift to the lovely residence of the good couple. Picking up the tokens for the event, we headed out from the bustling streets of Bacólod City to the historic Silay City.

Cruising along the city’s prime thoroughfare, the car passed by Two SanParq, the current title holder of Western Visayas’ tallest building at 70m high. These kinds of structures are just the usual in my daily runnings in Metropolitan Manila but for a city that saw a rise and fall of the economy, this heralds a changing lifestyle for the Bacoleños. Give the city 5 more years of an economic boom and you will see a city filled with more of these and taller. For now, my hometown is not the star of the day for we will also revisit the beauteous wonder of Silay City. As we cruised on, the scenery changed from the bustling construction booms of Bacólod City to the sugarcane fields of the suburbs and the countryside.

All around, I saw sugarcane and the sugarcane flowers are in bloom too, an indication that the sugarcanes are ready to be harvested anytime soon. Sugar was and still is the province’s prime export crop, with this same product building and enriching the lush and pomp of Silay City. Silay City is the Paris of Negros for its beautiful ancestral houses financed by the fat income of the sugar industry. This scenery in fact repeats itself all over the island which supply the country’s need for sugar. Buying sugar from your grocery store, more than likely, that sugar is from Negros. As we went near the Silay City downtown, the scenery of sugarcane fields are now changed to these famed heritage houses towered by the mighty San Diego Pro-cathedral.

As we entered the vicinity of the Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center, the first cultural center in the Philippines, we were greeted by the Kabataang Silay Rondalla Ensemble practicing their pieces. The Rondalla Ensemble is a group composed of young Silaynons that won several prestigious awards in the country and abroad. Their presence is proverbial because the main purpose of the Cultural Center is to present the best of local talents, a decade and a half longer than the Cultural Center of the Philippines itself. The same original but highly renovated structure of the Civic Center still stands after half a century and is now named after a great Silaynon statesman, a testament to the late Senator’s contribution to the city.

The mayor arrived just in time for the 2pm schedule and had a little chit chat with Negros Bloggers and other bloggers present. I was fortunate enough to have exchanged cards with the great man. I have never seen a politician his age that is actually well versed with the latest of technology, someone who did not need to ask what a blog even means. This actually also translate to the fact that the Silay City Plaza is one big wi-fi zone. No wonder why he gave a resounding yes to the Negros Bloggers in having the blog awards in Silay City for he knew the power of technology which can help in promoting Silay City to the world. New media like blogs and social networking is now a strong force to reckon with, going where traditional media cannot reach.

The program started well and highlighted the Mayor’s good sense of technology which he invited the bloggers to write about Silay all the more. A pretty good number of bloggers arrived from all over Western Visayas to receive their respective awards. The winners of the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas are as follows:

  1. Culture and Arts – Tumandok
  2. Food and Beverage – Flavours of Iloilo
  3. Lifestyle – RandomThoughts
  4. Personal – The Young Pinoy Blogger
  5. Photoblog – onethirdpoundpatty
  6. Technology – Leon Kilat: The Cybercafe Experiments
  7. Travel – Backpack Traveler

As heaven’s answered our prayers, a Negros Blogger won an award in the awards but in a curious providence, he not only won an award but won two for two of his blogs. Sir Gil Camporazo, a Negros Blogger and a school principal from La Carlota City bagged the day with two awards. He and other winners received the “arado” token as a symbol of their labor of love in their blogs. Each will also receive a trophy in the likeness of Kansilay, a legendary pre-colonial Silaynon princess who embodies the very trait of Silay: courage, resilience and grace.

During and after the program, the bloggers munched on local treats from Silay and Merci Pasalubong which was in abudance. Leo Vision did a good service too in documenting the whole occasion so expect a good quality post of pictures and videos later on. We were also graced by the representatives of AirPhil Express and Smart Communications who listened attentively to the bloggers’ notes. Despite a few cliches, the event was an astounding success. This was possible because of not just 100% but 200% support of the City Government of Silay and the sponsors. Tomorrow, the City of Silay is extending further their help by hosting a free tour of the city to be led by the Tourism Officer of Silay City himself, Mr. Ver Pacete.

Just like the tall yet humble image of Jose Rizal standing by the door of the Cultural and Civic Center, Silay City and Negros Bloggers has proven well. Silay City is continuing to bustle in economic activity yet still aware of the rich cultural heritage that lies on its doorstep. This city was, is and will be a model of other cities in balancing history with modern progress. Negros Bloggers on the other hand has proven well and will continue to bring light to the beloved province by blogging. Everything does not end with the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas 2011 for there are other major activities that Negros Bloggers will be hosting. For later, Negros Bloggers and the rest of the Visayan Bloggers will see Silay up close in the not so usual yet beautiful sceneries and culinary adventure.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Culture, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

November 9, 2011

Silay City and Negros Bloggers Prepare Blog Awards On Saturday

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Inset: The revised and final poster of the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas.

After a long wait, series of café meetings, Facebook core group planning and sponsor searching, the chosen venue Silay City will be abuzz with activities for the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas this coming Friday. Coming home from a late dinner with a friend from Singapore yesterday, I saw my Inbox full of updates with a list of finalist for the blog awards. Unfortunately, our beloved blog was not on the list but who knows, a year from now when you nominate us again. However, this writer is proud to be a contributor of two finalist blogs namely Tumandok and Experience Negros that will have the chance to receive the awards. Tumandok is aiming to be the first continually-running and purely Hiligaynon blog on the web while Experience Negros is a travel and leisure website featuring the best of Negros Island. Not to spoil the fun, the Negros Bloggers core group are busy piecing bits together for D-day. The Philippine Blog Awards Visayas will be a litmus test in the preparedness of Negros Bloggers and an open door for future major projects. The following are the finalists for the Blog Awards:

Culture and Arts

Jaysee Blabs
Tumandok**
Balakista
Visayan Filipino Martial Arts*
Visayan Arnis/Eskrima*

Food and Beverage

Flavours of Iloilo
The Culinary Adventures of the Bacolod Food Hunters*

Lifestyle

Tribo’s Cup
RandomThoughts!*
The Ilonggo Network
CebuRunnning

Personal

Locally made
Mashed Patatas
The Young Pinoy Blogger
The Freudian Slip*

Photoblog

onethirdpoundpatty
Bacolod City Online*

Technology

Leon Kilat: The Cybercafe Experiments
Mancelita.com Philippines

Travel

The Travelling Feet
soloflightEd
backpack traveler
Exotic Philippines
Experience Negros**
Libotero
ILOILO Travel Guide
Iloilo I LOVE!
Viaje Negrense*

Legend: * – Negros Bloggers finalists; ** – Blogs with the Writer as Contributor

Inset: Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center, the first cultural center in the Philippines.

The Philippine Blog Awards Visayas coincides with the month-long fiesta of the City of Silay. Silay City Mayor, the Hon. Jose “Oti” L. Montelibano will grace the occasion as the gentle father of the host city which was determined by the Philippine Department of Tourism as one of the top 25 tourist destination in the country. Here is the basic program flow for the day:

AWARDS PROGRAM
CIVIC CENTER, 14:00PT

Invocation
Kabataang Silay Rondalla Ensemble

National Anthem

Opening Remarks
 Henry James G. Toga
President, Negros Bloggers

Words of Welcome
 Mayor Jose L. Montelibano
Mayor, City of Silay

Acknowledgement of Guests 

Rationale of the Awards
 Juned Sonido 
President, Philippine Blog Awards Inc.

Introduction of Judges

About the Trophy and the Artist 
Gil Severino

Presentation of Nominees

Awarding of Winners 

Presentors

Intermission

Closing Remarks
 Elena Gatanela

Fellowship

All bloggers far wide, especially in Negros Island are invited to grace the historic event for Negros Bloggers. The program is open to everyone who are blogging enthusiasts, neophyte bloggers and those that are interested to blog. The guests will be treated to some snacks and the genteel scenery of classical Silay. You need to pre-register here to avail perks and privileges for guests. Chatting and building friendships with Visayan bloggers will be a worthwhile activity in this not so ordinary afternoon. Join now!

Leave a comment | posted in Culture, Events, History, Negros Occidental

November 7, 2011

Heritage: An Economic Liability or A Priceless Treasure?

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Growing from a Filipino or Negrénse household, sayings would be one of the earliest values lessons you would hear from your parents and old family members. One of the most immortal perhaps is the saying “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.” Indeed there is much to learn from past histories, those experiences that mould who we are at present. This proverbial saying does not just apply to us as individuals but as a people. It has been said that Negros does not have much history to speak of, but is it possible? The people without a history is a people without an identity. Surely, Negrénses are a people of unique identity. Is this history non-existent or just plainly undocumented, something waiting for us to discover? Fortunately, I happen to found a short film posted in YouTube about leisure afternoons in Talisay, one of the cities comprising the Metropolitan Bacólod Area. Metropolitan Bacólod is a triumvirate of three cities of the capital Bacólod City, the sub-urban Talisay City and the cultural Paris of Negros, Silay City. These three cities are rich in history but sadly, only Talisay and Silay Cities are initiating programs to preserve their city’s heritage while Bacólod City lost a number of its architectural heritage buildings through time in the name of development, one of which is close to my heart.

Inset: The art deco former Bacólod Police Office and Doctor's Hospital, now demolished.

As a young and curious child then, I would love sitting by the feet of my grandparents and hear them tell stories about the olden days of Bacólod. These storytellings would be more exciting with old pictures Bacólod street scenes and their youthful days. My grandfather, the late Col. Elpidio P. Mayo was a former guerilla, war veteran and an officer in the Internal National Police. My mother’s family used to live in Victorias City and moved to Bacólod when my grandfather was assigned as an Assistant Station Commander. The Police Headquarters was the housed in an art deco building and the family lived in a small house just a stone’s throw away, in what is now a vacant lot beside Calvary Temple. The art deco building itself speaks of history and has undergone a transition from being the City Agriculture Office, City Police Headquarters, the former Occidental Negros Institute campus (now University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos) and finally, the former Doctor’s Hospital building. The building and the adjacent lot was purchased by the Gaisano Group as the eventual site of their Mall’s expansion. Decades after, no mall expansion stands on the site, only the ruins of these once beautiful building. Thinking about this heritage structure’s fate, it saddens me that this pattern of heritage destruction happening in a growing scale.

Inset: A photo of the Lagoon at the inauguration of the then new Provincial Capitol.

Most of the remaining heritage structures of Bacólod City are located in the busiest section, Burgos and Lacson Streets. Lacson Street is best known as the city’s Business District and the home of the Provincial Capitol of Occidental Negros. While most of the people know Burgos Street as the former Millionaire’s Row for having the large mansions of the city’s most elite, Lacson Street is home to many more ancestral houses that are falling prey to the city’s booming real estate industry. One of the recent preys is the ancestral house beside Mayfair Plaza on which now stands the nearly completed Avenue Suites Hotel. If you very inquisitive enough, behind Starbucks Coffee in the same street, you’ll notice another ancestral house kept intact. If you are curious enough to have ventured in the narrow 1st to 21st Streets, you’d see more ancestral houses. Lately, I have heard of talks that another ancestral house will be demolished between the Philippine National Bank and Bank of Commerce buildings to give way to another development. Not far from that ancestral house, another heritage structure is threatened to be demolished, the former Provincial Jail.

Inset: The Old Provincial Jail, also formerly known as Fort San Juan.

Jail yards are heritage structures that get the least attention at heritage conservation maybe because of the horrible atrocities and conditions associated with it. Unlike other jails though, the Old Provincial Jail of Negros Occidental started as a Spanish military facility called Fort San Juan. Fort San Juan was never designed as a detention facility but in time, with steady crime rates, it was transformed as such by the American administration. Contrary to the prevailing opinion that there is no heritage value left in the structure, in fact the commandante is still intact, only covered by concrete to strengthen the structure. In fact, some exposed areas do bear code numbers of the bricks and which brick-making facility those came from. The news of it being converted to a mall facility without an assurance that the historic structures would be left intact is indeed sad news for heritage conservationist like me. Sadder it is that may more are threatened to be gone from the cityscape of the City of Bacólod. More than descriptions in old textbooks, these structures give life to our past, something we should revisit and learn from for us to see the very future we are heading.

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Addendum: There is redemption to all this though. Some of those endangered ancestral houses along Lacson Street a beginning to be reutilized as fancy dining restaurants (eg. Cuayx). There is hope after all. As for the Fort San Juan, I just hope our dear governor keeps his word that the commandante building left from the Spanish era will be preserved.

4 comments | posted in Culture, History, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls