Touring Philippines: Silay City's Balay Negrense

Right in the center of Silay City in Negros Occidental in the Philippines is a very popular landmark; I think it's competing for the top spot alongside El Ideal's fresh lumpia ubod, a favorite local delicacy. Ha-ha-ha!

Balay Negrense, or Negrense House (Negrense is an adjective to describe any thing or any one from and of the Negros Island), is the ancestral home of Don Victor Fernandez Gaston that was built around 1897 and was completed in 1901. 

His heirs donated it to the Philippine Tourism Authority and in March 1994, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines declared it a heritage house.

Situated along the historic Cinco de Noviembre Street in Silay City, Balay Negrense is actually just a few minutes from the airport. Any tourist arriving in the Negros Island should be able to squeeze in a few hours touring Silay City and its old, preserved ancestral houses that tell the story of what once the cultural and economic center of the island.

I visited The Ruins in the neighboring Talisay City a few years back. Just like Balay Negrense, it is also a popular tourist destination. But unlike The Ruins, Balay Negrense's interiors have been preserved and restored, and filled with antique furnitures donated by other Negrense families.

At the time of its completion, Balay Negrense was the largest house in the province, and must have been a sight to see during those years. With its big windows and high ceilings, this mansion is very airy and cool throughout the year. They didn't need air-conditioners then.

Don Victor Fernandez Gaston was the son of Yves Leopold Germain Gaston, a Frenchman from Lisieux, France, who is credited for bringing in sugar technology to the Negros Island in the 19th century. If you have seen the classic Philippine movie Oro, Plata, Mata, some of the scenes were filmed in another mansion owned by one of Yves Leopold Germain Gaston's heirs.

And as I walked around Balay Negrense that day, I stumbled upon portraits of Susan Magalona, who was said to have been the most beautiful woman on the island during her time. I remember seeing photos of Betty Magalona, Susan's sister, in my mom's photo album. Both women were mestisa and truly beautiful. Seeing photos of these ladies taken during those days, one can always declare that they were indeed beautiful, as there was no photoshopping then. Unlike today's digital photos and plastic surgery, you can never tell who's cheating! Ha-ha-ha!

   (Portraits of the beautiful Susan Magalona 
           are displayed at Balay Negrense)

Visiting Balay Negrense gives any tourist an idea of the lifestyle of the rich sugar baron and his family in the early 20th century.

So, if you're visiting the island, do drop by Silay City and make a quick trip to Balay Negrense and other museums. And don't forget to stop by El Ideal for snacks! I always do!

(Silay's cathedral as seen from Balay Negrense)

Here's Balay Negrense's homepage:

http://www.balaynegrense.com/index.html

Touring Negros Island: Talisay City's The Ruins

If you've seen the Philippine movie Oro, Plata, Mata, a Peque Gallaga classic, you would have an idea on how life was during the early 20th century in the province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines.

                     (The two 'M's plastered one side up 
                         represent Mariano and Maria)


In those times, rich families of Spanish descent lived in mansions that would probably be standing in the middle of their hacienda or right in the middle of a pueblo, just opposite the town hall.  Although these big houses had a lot of rooms, the number of rooms was always outnumbered by the number of servants.

Although there are still a lot of these ancestral mansions in the province, one mansion's history has become a popular attraction. 

The Ruins.  That is what the remains of the mansion of the late Don Mariano Lacson is now called. Situated in Talisay City (just next to Bacolod City, the province's capital) and in the middle of a hacienda, the mansion's silhouette and history are what attracts tourists to this site. 

Built in the 1920s, the mansion of Don Mariano was Italianate in style with neo-Romanesque small twin columns that guard both sides of the windows and that rise up to an arch giving the mansion a very elegant character from the outside . Looking at those huge windows, it must have been very breezy all year-round! And they didn't need air-conditioning!

                       (A running fountain in the garden)

The mansion had ten rooms, but during World War II, Don Mariano agreed that it be burned down because if it fell into the hands of the invading Japanese army, they would definitely turn his very luxurious home into their command post. The Filipino guerrillas fighting for the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (or USAFFE) helped torch the mansion down. It is said that the timber used for building the mansion came from the sturdiest of the trees available that the structure burned for three days.

Don Mariano actually had this mansion built in memory of his wife Maria Braga, a Portuguese lady from Macau, who died while she was pregnant with their 11th child. This mansion was like a Taj Mahal of the Philippines. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum in India built by a Mughal emperor in memory of his third wife. On the other hand, Don Mariano was like an emperor in his own right, lording over his haciendas and hundreds of laborers at that time. But in memory of his first wife, he didn't build a big mausoleum; instead, he built a big house.

If his mansion wasn't burned down and was still standing today well-preserved like an ancestral home complete with furniture, curtains and locked doors, I think Don Mariano's ghost would be seen standing by the belvedere gazing out as if to watch the sun set over his hacienda. Or maybe, on some moonlit nights, he and Maria Braga would be seen roaming their well-maintained gardens, and that would be enchanting!

                          (The gardens and gardeners)

As I am now based in Seoul, Korea, and my days spent in the province are limited, I made sure I squeezed in a trip into my vacation schedule to visit The Ruins in Talisay City. Having abandoned plans on a sidetrip to Don Mariano's hacienda during my vacation in the province before, I made sure this time that I wander around this corner of the province that once revered his name as an emperor of sorts. 

  

                                      (Maria Braga)

                         (Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson)

And just like the many local and international tourists who came to visit all these years, I also discovered The Ruins' history, admire its architecture and enjoyed walking around Don Mariano's gardens. Looking at the silhouette of the mansion surrounded by the lushness of the trees and his gardens, and caressed by Negrense breezes under the Visayan skies, any visitor can sense his undying love and devotion to Maria Braga, even though they're no longer around. Just like the Taj Mahal, the ruins of the mansion still stand as one man's monument and testimony for his love.

And if you're visiting Bacolod City or Negros Occidental in the Philippines, do drop by The Ruins. Who knows? Don Mariano will be there to welcome you.

                     (During the mansion's construction)

Here's their official website for details and directions:

http://www.theruins.com.ph/

                          Don Mariano and Maria Braga