I am a native of Iloilo, but during my 17 years of existence in my hometown-- I have never once appreciated my city. I am aware of the common things you hear about Iloilo: it's called the City of Love, it was once the Queen City of the South, it is home to numerous Spanish mansions and churches and of course, the delicious food unique to us.
Other than those main facts (which is still a limited scope), I'm not that well versed with what Iloilo has to offer. But the months of being away from home has made me realise how much I've been missing all these years, and I've learned to appreciate the rich culture of Iloilo as well as embrace my Ilonggo heritage.
Here are a couple of awesome things about my city and the people that I managed to dig out from research (and also, based from experience):
Let's start off with a little trivia about the people. The Ilonggos are known to be gentle and nice people, which is a comment often heard from people from other regions, and foreign tourists as well. This view is mainly influenced by the way we speak: we have that sing-song pattern of intonation, which is usually described as "malambing/ malumanay" (soft-spoken). That being said, it has been rumoured that Ilonggos never get mad. While it is most certainly impossible for a person to be devoid of the emotion of anger, it is because of our accent that other Filipinos regard us as the kind who never gets furious. Our accent is also a defining trait, as it is hard to shake off when speaking Tagalog-- native Tagalog speakers would easily spot the odd one out. Along with the accent, the Ilonggos are regarded to be very loving people. This has earned the city the title "The City of Love."
I honestly never understood at first why my hometown is regarded as the Paris counterpart in the Philippines, but after months of staying in the Philippine capital, Manila, I have realised the truth in that statement.
I'm not saying that Manileños are rough people, but the distinction between my people and them is really apparent. In general, Filipinos are hospitable and accommodating-- but there is just something unique about the Ilonggos that makes them quite "nicer" than other Filipinos. I never noticed this in my years of stay in my province, but the constant exposure with the Manileños has made me see the difference.
Trivia:
Iloilo is dubbed as the "City of Love". The geographic location seems to agree with it too. If you look at the Philippine map, Iloilo is located in Panay Island-- a heart shaped land mass at the centre of the Philippines. |
| Coincidence? I think NOT. |
A LITTLE HISTORY
Pre-colonial period
According to lore, ten Bornean datus arrived long ago in the island they called Panay and exchanged items with the local indigenous people called the "Ati." They gave them a golden hat (salakot) and a pearl necklace in exchange for the flat lands of Panay island. The Ati retreated to the mountains while the Datus established a settlement in the plains. One data, named Paiburong, was given the territory Irong-Irong. Over time, the datu has grew in wealth and power that it has rivalled the nearby states of The Rajahnate of Cebu, The Kingdom of Tondo and The Sultanate of Sulu.Trivia: Irong-irong (the name "Iloilo" was derived from) is a local term meaning "nose-like" which refers to the river that divides the city and looks like a nose if seen from above.
 |
| Thank you, google maps. |
Spanish Colonial Period
The colonial conquest of the Philippines is underway, and the Spanish under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrive in Panay Island and settled in Ogtong (the old name of Oton). Unlike the resistance and hostility of other locals toward the arrival of the Spanish, the Panaynons embraced the foreigners and fervently converted to Christianity.The frequent invasions of the Moros made it hard to govern in Ogtong, and the Spanish moved the town centre to La Villa de Arevalo (the present day Villa). But as time passed, the alarming frequency of raids has pushed the Spaniards to move the town centre again-- to the village of Irong-Irong where a river snakes through the terrain making it an ideal strategic location for a port. They built Fort San Pedro at the mouth of the river to have a better defense against the raids, which is something that prevented the Spanish a better hold of the island. Irong-Irong was eventually shortened to "Iloilo."
After the stabilisation of the spanish rule, Chinese immigrants (Lopez and Jalandoni families) arrive in Iloilo to help in establishing the city's industries. The textile industry in Iloilo grew during the 18th century, and has been dubbed as "The Textile Capital of the Philippines." The rise of the industry has also raised the status of several Ilonggos to the upper middle class. The introduction of cheaper textiles has waned the textile industry but the opening of the ports to international market has triggered an economic boom in Iloilo's sugar industry. Some of the rich families of Iloilo went to develop areas in Negros and established haciendas in order to meet the sugar demands.
The increase in economic activity has made the Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Spain to elevate the status of "town" to "city" and a government was established soon after. The city was also granted the perpetual title "La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad" (The Most Loyal and Most Noble City).
When Filipinos started the revolutionary uprising, the Ilonggos condemned their Filipino brothers in Manila for such an unpatriotic act and pledged allegiance to mother Spain. The loyalty of the Ilonggos has made the Queen Regent to award the city the title La Muy Noble and has given Iloilo the reputation of being "The Queen's Favored City in the South" or simply "The Queen's City in the South." Iloilo legally holds the title, but it is mistakenly attributed to Cebu having overtaken Iloilo's economic progress when it declined.
Iloilo was the last overseas province of Spain; the city stayed loyal to Spain despite uprisings against her globally in Latin American and Asian colonies, thus staying true to the moniker most noble and most loyal. With the leadership of Martin Delgado, the towns of Iloilo eventually got involved in the revolution and the city was eventually turned over to to the Republic of the Philippines in Plaza Libertad.
American Colonial Period
The Americans arrive in Iloilo late December 1898 and the Ilonggos were not very welcoming of the new invaders and struggled until 1901, making it as one of the last cities to submit to the Americans.The Americans reverted the city's status to township again. Later, they initiated construction of new roads and widening important streets and installed streetlights across the city.
Protestant missionaries arrive in Iloilo and established the Iloilo Mission Hospital, Central Philippine University and the Jaro Evangelical Church. The Augustinians establish the University of San Augustine and the American Catholic Bishops upgraded the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary.
The cityhood status was restored on July 1937. The sugar demand was declining and labor unrest happening in ports scared investors away and the opening of a sub-port in Negros Occidental has moved the sugar importation closer to sugar farms.
Economic Decline
The continuous conflict between labor unions in the port area, the decline of the sugar industry and the declining peace and order in the countryside led to Iloilo's demise in economic importance. The agricultural sector continue to support the city to its eventual economic recovery and has since progressed at a moderate pace.GEOGRAPHY
Iloilo City is divided into 7 districts: Villa Arevalo, Molo, Mandurriao, La Paz, Lapuz, City Proper and Jaro. Jaro, Mandurriao and Molo are commercial districts while La Paz and Villa are residential districts. Lapuz is primarily an industrial area and City Proper (locally called "Downtown") is a commercial area and the political centre of the city.More information about the districts here: http://internationalriversummit.com/irs/?p=25
SITES TO SEE
Spanish Mansions
There are a lot of Spanish houses around Iloilo and has been deemed the "Mansion Capital of the Philippines." Affluent families mostly resided in Jaro, and their ancestral houses still stand to this day. |
| Photo © Mon Corpus |
Lizares Mansion
This elegant mansion with a mixture of American and Spanish architecture can be found at Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City. It was built in 1937 by Don Emilio Lizares for his wife Conchita Gamboa. The mansion has three floors, a basement and an attic. It has a long winding staircase and big bedrooms with floors and doors made of hardwood. |
| The Lizares Mansion before. |
The Lizares-Gamboa family resided there until World War II broke out. The war drove the family for a safer hiding place in Pototan, Iloilo leaving the mansion behind and the Japanese used it as their headquarters. The basement is believed to be a torture chamber for captive Filipinos. After the war, the family returned to their estate but soon after, Don Lizares passed away and his widow left for Manila-- leasing the mansion to a businessman that turned it to a casino. The city mayor eventually closed down the casino, and the mansion was left to a caretaker. The mansion was sold to the Dominicans in 1962 and was turned into a House of Formation for young Dominicans the following year. In 1978, it became the home of Angelicum School Iloilo.It's a popular attraction during Christmas time because the mansion is lighted up by the adorned Christmas lights around the house opened by the program "Sigaboom" annually.
Nelly Gardens
Regarded as the Ilonggo Queen of Heritage Houses, Nelly gardens is a magnificent representation of the old grandeur of the city. The mansion was built in 1928, a conception of the Ilonggo philanthropist and statesman Don Vicente Lopez and Doña Elene Hofileña. It was a four hectare property a kilometre away from Jaro's town center. It was spacious enough for Doña Elena to indulge her passion for flowers and gardening. It was named after Don Vicente's eldest daughter, Nelly. It was almost lost during World War II due to the "Scorched Earth" policy adopted by the guerrillas. Before the Filipino guerrillas could burn the mansion, the Japanese arrive and a gunfight ensues. Luckily, the house survived the war.
 |
| Nelly Gardens before. |
Casa Mariquit
Casa Mariquit or "Mariquit's House" is more than 200 years old, built by Ramon Javellana for Mariquit Javellana-Lopez when she eloped with Fernando Lopez at the age of 16. It is one of the old smaller mansions in Iloilo, but has a distinct look of red bricks and terraces. The lower ground floor of the house was once a bank. The ancestral house is located at Isabel St., Jaro, Iloilo City.
Ledesma Mansions
This mansion is located near Jaro Plaza and is owned by Rosario Lopez Javelona and Don Luis Ledesma. It's not visible through the picture but this mansion is actually tilted. Rumor has it that the owners hid a vast amount of wealth under the mansion and looters were quick on their feet and started digging the mansion's foundation, causing the old house to tilt sideways. There was no evidence of a treasure beneath the ancestral house though, and tilt was actually said to be caused by earthquakes that hit Iloilo through the years.
There are several more ancestral houses around Iloilo City. The ones I usually pass by are in Jaro so I'm more familiar with those, but Villa and Molo have their own fair share of old Spanish houses.
JARO CATHEDRAL
Iloilo has a lot of beautiful churches and this is one church you should never miss. Known as the Parish of Our Lady of Candles, the Jaro Cathedral is the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Jaro and the site of the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary.
The journalist and national hero Graciano Lopez Jaena was baptised here on December 20, 1856.
 |
| The church interior. Photo © exploreiloilo.com |
Another distinctive feature of the church is the stairs attached to the front facade of the cathedral over the entrance, leading to the shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.
The Marian image of Our Lady of Candles also has a distinction of being canonically crowned by the late Pope John Paul II during his visit to the city, making it the only Marian figure to be given such stature in the Philippines.
The 400 year old image of Our Lady of Candles is said to be miraculous. It is reported to have been growing in size ever since it was found that it could no longer fit inside its original niche (the uppermost niche just above the current one). It was said that it was no more than one foot in height when it was first found by fishermen in the Iloilo River.
 |
| Old photo of Jaro Cathedral Note the old niche of the Marian image It has gotten bigger |
 |
| Photo © John Tewell |
Here's a list of more churches to visit: https://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/pinay-solo-backpacker/7-must-see-churches-iloilo-073859221.html
ILOILO RIVER ESPLANADE
This is a relatively new tourist attraction in Iloilo. Prior to its elegant renovation, the Esplanade or "baywalk/ boardwalk" as we fondly called it back in high school, was just a plain, long stretch of road from Diversion to Carpenter's bridge in Mandurriao, a total of 1.2 kilometres. It was used as a "shortcut" during the morning and was closed for vehicles during the afternoon to make way for the Ilonggos hoping for a leisurely walk or a jogging routine. Back then, the plain road was open for biking, skate boarding and even bringing your food in.
It was renovated sometime during 2011, and was inaugurated by President Benigno Aquino III on June 2012. The designer for the Esplanade is the same architect of Singapore quay and river esplanade. At the end of the walk are several establishments (such as Cholabite), but the food cannot be brought to the Esplanade. The Iloilo River Esplanade is a project aimed at increasing awareness for the environment and promoting love for the Iloilo River while providing a leisure area for the Ilonggos. When I went home recently, I saw that there is an ongoing construction of the esplanade extension at the other side of the river.
A walk in the Esplanade is one of my favourite past times with my friends from my previous University, and being a riverside area provides it a natural ambience and a perfect spot to view the sun set. There are times that you'll have to bear the awful river stench while passing the Smallville extension restaurants, for some reason the putrid smell of canal water lingers in that area.
For more Iloilo night life: Visit Calle Real in City Proper or Smallville Iloilo
FOODIES
Like most Filipinos in general, Ilonggos are food lovers-- and as such, Iloilo definitely has delicious local cuisines you should totally savour. The first thing you should try before anything else is the FOOD when you get to Iloilo, and the last thing you should do before leaving the province is eat MORE FOOD from Iloilo.The Original Lapaz Batchoy
This ultimate noodle soup is always tied with Iloilo. Batchoy is a soup dish composed of sliced pork and beef, pork intestines and liver, and miki noodles (fresh egg noodles). +Egg to make it specialThis dish originated in La Paz, Iloilo City and has been a favourite soup dish by Filipinos. Batchoy is served across the Philippines but the best Batchoy is still served in Iloilo. There are a lot of restaurants that cater the original La Paz Batchoy, but when it comes to the best version of Batchoy: is it Ted's or Deco's? Wrong. The authentic La Paz Batchoy is said to be served in Netong's, located in the La Paz Public Market. While the location of the establishment… doesn't seem to provide a fancy and elegant aura, it will surely provide you the authentic goodness of the original La Paz Batchoy.
I'm not really appreciative of this dish back while I was in Iloilo, but being away for so long has made me crave food close to home-- and Batchoy is one of them.
Pancit Molo
Another home grown specialty is the Pancit Molo. From the name itself, the town it originated from is Molo, Iloilo City. Pancit Molo is a dumpling soup dish that despite the term 'pancit' in the name, it doesn't use any noodles as an ingredient. It actually uses wonton, siomai or molo wrappers and instead of being dry like most pancit recipes, Pancit Molo is soupy.Kap Ising's in Molo is said to serve the best pancit Molo in the city. Their dumplings are slippery soft with just the right balance for a tangy, meaty filling.
It is imperative that you try the pancit molo of Iloilo before you leave.
Ilonggo Treats
Biscocho
This is baked bread coated with butter and sugar on top. This is best paired with soup, like Pancit Molo. While it doesn't sound like a tasty snack based on the description, it is actually quite delicious that you'll never notice you've finished a whole pack in one sitting. This is the signature pasalubong from Iloilo and the specialty of Biscocho Haus.
Barquillos
These are crisp wafer rolls made of flour, eggs, sugar and other supplementary ingredients. They are made through pouring the batter mix on a specially designed wafer iron called baquillera. This tasty treat melts in the mouth once you start chewing and it is often partnered with ice-cream. The specialty of Deocampo's.
Bañadas
These cookies are toasted bread dipped in white sugar icing. It's kind of like Biscocho but appeals more to those with a sweet tooth.
Butterscotch
This is not a homegrown delicacy but it is one of the best Pasalubong products in Iloilo. Magnolia even created an original ice-cream flavour based on Iloilo's butterscotch. Butterscotch is a chewy fudge treat made from brown sugar and butter along with some cashews. It is another specialty from Biscocho Haus.
Cream Horn
These are rolled puff pastries filled with custard. Once again, this is not a homegrown treat but it has become a popular pasalubong from Iloilo. These can be bought at Margec's Deli (formerly Zageca) located at E. Lopez St., Jaro. They also offer other variety of treats you can bring back home with you.
*Biscocho Haus is the premier pasalubong centre of Iloilo. This shop was started by Dr. Carlos and Therese Gaudarrama in 1975. Their main branch is located in Lopez Jaena St., Jaro.
MUST TRY RESTAURANTS
Madge Cafe
This isn't another Starbucks, believe me. Madge Cafe is located inside La Paz Public market and it has the best brew in Iloilo. They have been serving their original brew made from native coffee beans for over 50 years.The cafe also makes personalised mugs for their regular customers. So cute. /w\
Roberto's
If you want to have some siopao (steamed bun), the recommended place to have your fill is Roberto's. The shop is known for it's delicious large siopaos with generous fillings that would surely satisfy your hunger. Their specialty is the Queen's Siopao, which contains bacon strips, Chinese sausages, chicken and pork adobo strips and boiled egg. It is only limited and usually the first to be sold out, so you'd better grab a bite while you can.Afrique's
A homegrown pizza parlour from Iloilo, Afrique's serves up delicious original pizza as well as tasty main dishes such as their Baby Back Ribs.Al Dente Ristorante Italiano
Al Dente is the oldest italian restaurant in Iloilo, and one shouldn't doubt how they could have survived for so long. They have been captivating the Ilonggos' tastebuds with their Italian-Mediterranean fusion cuisine for years.Breakthrough
One of the iconic seafood restaurants in Iloilo. This seaside restaurant is located in Villa, and as such the beach is strongly not recommended for swimming. They have a wide range of seafood dishes albeit expensive, it's a must try.Tatoy's Manokan and Seafood
Tatoy's is well known for its lechon manok (roast chicken) and while it seems preposterous to pay 300 pesos for a native roast chicken, I can assure you that it is definitely worth what you're paying. Of course you'll need to be in a group so you can split the bill, I mean you can't eat a whole chicken by yourself. Try their baked talaba.Pat Pat's Kansi House
If you're the type who likes bulalo, you'll love our version "kansi." Kansi is the Ilonggo version of beef shank stew that contains a bit of sourness unique to the province. Pat Pat's Kansi house best serves this dish and has been doing so since 1999.Mang Inasal
If you're looking for something mainstream, there's always Mang Inasal. This famous food chain is a home grown Ilonggo franchise established in 2003 by Edgar Sia II. The first branch is located at Robinson's Mall Carpark.These restaurants may not have expanded beyond a wider territory than Panay Island (except Mang Inasal), but that doesn't mean they don't serve some good food. These are real gems in Iloilo waiting to be found. To be honest, even I feel ashamed that I never got to try some of those Restos. I guess it's gonna be in the bucket list when I get home.
Trivia:
Iloilo is the name of the film that won the 2013 Cannes Festival. The movie was directed by Anthony Chen, a Singaporean who once had a nanny from Iloilo City-- the main inspiration for his debut film. The film has become an instrument for Chen and his nanny Teresa (also the name of the nanny in the film) to reunite after being separated for 16 years. Teresa Sajonia is a resident of San Miguel, Iloilo.--
These are just some of the things I managed to dig up from research and experience. While it's true that you might find it captivating in written words, it's still a better experience to go visit Iloilo and have a piece of the awesomeness yourself in the City of Love. Iloilo may not seem like much at first, but it is truly a beautiful gem at the heart of the Philippines. There are far more things to know about Iloilo, and sometimes you just have to go out there and find out for yourself.
Hala Bira, Iloilo!
No comments:
Post a Comment