Over the years, whenever I came home for vacation from my work overseas, I would rummage through my mother's collection of old photographs and try to find out if I knew the faces of the people on those black-and-whites.
And on a few occasions, my scavenging produced a few blogs that were fun to write.
From the first ones about the belles of the town that included my godmother as the town fiesta queen of Saravia, now E.B. Magalona, in Negros Occidental (read blog here), to the 1940 photo of the birthday lunch of Don Felix Montinola (read blog here), the mayor of Victorias from 1935 to 1941, and about a postcard with one daughter's endearing message written in Spanish for her mother (read blog here).
"Viling y familia - Jaro Iloilo 8/9/46"
There was even a photograph that's a hundred years old, probably the oldest in her 'ba-ul' of old photograph collection. The photograph from 1920 was of Don Felix's daughter who eventually became one outstanding haciendera in the Negros island, beating the men in their own game in the 1960s (read blog here).
But the latest black-and-white photograph I stumbled upon was a picture of a family, whose faces unfortunately I don't recognize, but on its back are these words written in Spanish:
"Un afectuoso recuerdo a nuestro querido tio Felix y familia - Viling y familia - Jaro Iloilo 8/9/46"
Translation: "An affectionate remembrance for our dear uncle Felix and family - Viling and family - Jaro Iloilo 8/9/46"
Realizing that there must be a story to this picture, I had to know who this family was - a family who posed together at a place I assumed was their home in "Jaro" and even hired a professional photographer who visited their house for this special photoshoot.
Jaro, now a district in Iloilo City in Panay Island in the Philippines where rich families lived and had heritage mansions, was a city upon itself during the Spanish times. And in 1946, a year after World War II ended, one would have to visit a photo studio for a picture, although I am not sure if "1946" was the year the photo was taken or it could have been the year Don Viling gave the photo to his uncle.
Here, the photographer from 'Palau Studio' (written on the lower right side of the photo) photographed them at home. And I was glad he did because one obvious element in the picture helped me locate it! And it's a famous mansion!😄
All I needed was a name. But instead of just one, I got two from my mom: 'Viling Montinola' and 'Salud Escarilla', his wife.😂
From there, researching about it was a walk in the park, so to speak.😀
In the message, "tio Felix" was Don Felix Montinola y Lozada, while "Viling" was his nephew, Don Virgilio Montinola y Jalandoni. He's the one sitting at the center with a child on his lap.
Don Virgilio's father, Gregorio Montinola y Lozada, who was born in 1858 and died in 1934, was Don Felix's older brother. Gregorio's first wife was Matilde Jalandoni. Don Felix, on the other hand, was born in 1865 and died in 1949. Gregorio and Felix were sons of Benito Montinola y Vasquez and Quintina Lozada y Villa, who had eight children.
So, this picture was given by a thoughtful nephew living in Jaro to his uncle living in Victorias. His "tio Felix", although born in Jaro on February 16, 1864, moved to Saravia in the Negros Island to find his fortune and eventually, love by marrying the daughter of the mayor of Saravia in 1897. "Tio Felix" later moved his family to Victorias to be closer to his haciendas in the north (read blog here).
This was an endearing memento to his uncle saying that, even they were far apart (actually separated by Iloilo Strait😄), he and his family would always remember his tío and his family. The handwriting also made me ask: was this Don Viling's handwriting? Because, to me, it looked like it was written by a woman. Was this actually Doña Salud's?😲
Having identified the family in the picture and established how this family photograph ended up in Victorias where Don Felix lived and died, I realized one should never disregard a photo just because you don't recognize any of the faces in it and that it was of a time past and generations ahead of yours. And although I may not be related to any of them, somehow, somewhere their stories crossed mine.
Here's how.😊
Don Viling's younger sister, Doña Caridad Montinola, the lady standing behind him, owned an apartment complex along with another sister, Doña Fe Montinola, located along Arquiza St. in Ermita, Manila. It was named Fe and Caridad Apartments that was probably built in the 1950s where celebrities and old-timers of Ermita lived.
Since both women were unmarried and had no children when they died, they left the apartment complex to their youngest sister, Doña Herminia Montinola, whom everyone calls Inday Miniang. And guess where my siblings and I once stayed during a summer vacation in Manila?
At the Fe & Caridad Apartments!😊
I remember we stayed at the topmost floor which was the residence of Inday Miniang. It had a view of the red light district of Ermita and a 360-view of the area when you went up the rooftop. Her heirs must have sold it because it is now a hotel.
Although at that time, Inday Miniang already passed when we stayed at her apartment complex, I also remember being introduced to her when I was kid when she visited Victorias. She wore a blue floor-length house dress with her hair coiffed like the doña's of old and when I made 'mano po' on her hand, it was very soft and delicate.
And what about Don Viling's house (I assumed he was the one who had it built but I now thought maybe not) where the photo was taken?
At first, I didn't have any clue as to where in Jaro his family lived and where this photograph was presumably taken. But when I studied the family tree of "Viling" and his siblings, the family name of the husband of his only married sister caught my attention: Sanson.
One of the famous mansions in Jaro that I heard and read about is called Sanson y Montinola Antillan House. So, I asked myself, "Could this be the same house?"
I googled and thanks to two websites, I was able to prove that it is, indeed, the same house! 😋
From the BluPrint architectural website, I matched the tiles on which the family posed, while from Travel Guide Iloilo website, I matched the chairs on which the family sat.
Unless there's another house in Jaro with the same tiles and chairs, this is one and the same house.
So, there. 😊
The photo of Don Viling and his family was taken at his home in Jaro presumably in 1946, although I can only assume he was the one who had this mansion built. He was born on July 30, 1893 and died on July 23, 1953, a few days shy of his 60th birthday. Doña Salud, however, was born on February 5, 1901 and died on March 28, 1976.
The last time I saw Don Viling's mansion from afar was last February 2, 2020, when we went to Jaro for the feast of the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.
As our transport drove through E. Lopez Street, I saw his home from the road, knowing that it was the famous 'Sanson y Montinola Antillan House' and hoping that someday the owners would open the place to the public as I would also love to see it. I never realized then that Don Viling, once the patriarch of that heritage home I saw from the street, would show up in my stories.
And here's one more trivia.😛
My mom told me that, decades ago, long before the digital age, she actually visited the house a few times on an errand. She took the early ferry from Bacolod City to Iloilo City that day and swung by Don Viling's house as one of her stops before she went back to Negros in the afternoon. I was probably at school that day as I wasn't able to tag along. Had I gone with her, that could have been a better ending to this story. 😝
And while I was at it, I colorized the family photograph.
And in case the descendants of Don Virgilio Jalandoni-Montinola and Doña Salud Mirasol-Escarilla have lost their copy, this 74-year old memory is for you. 😍
Black-and-white photographs always tell the most colorful stories.📷
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PS. I wish the current owners of the property would open this heritage home to the public for a fee just like Camiña Balay nga Bato in the Arevalo District of Iloilo City or the Balay Negrense in Silay City. The fees collected would pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the place.
I also wondered why this heritage home was named Sanson y Montinola Antillan House, instead of Jalandoni y Montinola Antillan House when it seemed that this property was the home of the children of Gregorio Montinola and Matilde Jalandoni.😋
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