Beyond Bacolod: Ancestral Homes, The Ruins and… Sugarcanes?

“When it rains, it pours” couldn’t have been more apt to describe the past several days. It’s been raining nonstop for almost a week now, and if Accuweather is to be trusted, this state of things will continue for yet another week. It sure discourages one to step out of their doorsteps, me included. And it also makes me wish I had made travel plans earlier. I could have been somewhere dry and sunny, anywhere but here, really, I’m not picky.

Bad weather, however, does not preclude one from finding things to do while inside the house on a cold, wet day like today. Curl up in bed with a good book, perhaps. Watch a movie or two, while binge-ing on your stash of not-so-healthy food. Or, in my case, marathoned the last half of Hotel del Luna.

Those are certainly enough to bring more than a small smile to my face.

Speaking of smiles, let me continue talking about that time we spent at the City of Smiles, Bacolod.

Well, technically, the places I will talk about were those that we visited outside of the city proper. On a free day, we hired a van for a day tour outside Bacolod City. One of the first stops was Balay Negrense.

The Balay Negrense

Also known as the Victor Fernandez Gaston Ancestral House, the Balay Negrense Museum was declared a Heritage House by the National Historical Institute of the Republic of the Philippines on March 8, 1994.

The story did not begin with Victor Fernandez Gaston himself, but from his father, Yves Leopold Germain Gaston, a Frenchman who became a pioneer of the sugar industry in Negros. After his death, his secondborn (and first son) Victor carried on his legacy. He was responsible for building a large house on 5 de Noviembre Street in Silay in 1918

Although much of the facade of the house is noticeably made of wood, it is still essentially a stone house, or a “bahay-na-bato“, but an airier version. This is usually what one would expect as the house of upper class Filipinos during the later part of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines. The stone part is primarily on the first floor of the house, while the second story is mostly made of wood.

But what makes it a step up from the typical stone house during that era is the integration of certain bamboo-influenced architectural features, which explains the “airy” bit of the description. In short, this Filipino feature improves the ventilation of the house.

Entrance to the Balay Negrense Museum requires an admission fee of Php40.00 per person, and it already includes an in-house tour, where you will be shown around by a staff (dressed in Spanish-era garb) as s/he recounts the history of the place.

One of the first rooms we were shown into was the one which had a large round table that contains the extensive family tree of the Gaston family.

And there is still a lot of room for the family tree to grow, it seems.

The sala or living room on the second floor is definitely one that boasts very good ventilation, with its tall and wide windows, high ceiling, and minimalist furniture. Some of the furniture, especially the wicker chairs, are no longer serviceable. Meaning, they are set there for display, but not really encouraged to be sat on by guests.

The bedrooms are also open for viewing, but only from the doorway, as the doors are barricaded to prevent anyone from walking in and touching the stuff inside. They are mostly the rooms occupied by the sons and daughters of Gaston.

We were also toured to the dining rooms, the kitchen, the pantry, even the outdoor dirty kitchen, the servants’ quarters… it’s quite a huge place, it’s easy to get a bit disoriented without a guide.

Oh, and since it is a museum, certain artifacts and replicas are also scattered all over the place. Old tools and implements, antique utensils, photographs and handwritten notes and poems, at works…

This steel bicycle has pride of place in one of the backrooms on the ground floor. As the note read, it is said to be “perhaps the best known of the early four-cylinder models, this shaft-driven FN was built by the Belgian arsenal to the designs of Paul Kelecom.” Whoever he is.

One fun fact, it appears that there is a delineation between the male and female members of the family. Like, the bedrooms on the left side of the house are for the women, and the ones on the right side are for the men.

It also covers how they would go up the stairs. The main stairs of the house that leads to the second floor parts in two separate directions, each with its own narrower stairwell. Female will walk on the left side and climb the left stairwell. The male members of the family will take the right stairwell.

The Hofilena Museum

We passed by this second ancestral home a few minutes away from Balay Negrense. We had no plans to enter, but decided to just take photos from the outside.

This is the Hofilena Museum, also known as the Manuel Severino Hofilena Ancestral House. From the outside, it looked no smaller or bigger than the Balay Negrense. But I’m not really sure since we didn’t tour the interior.

This house was declared a Heritage House on April 6, 1993, so that’s almost a year before Balay Negrense was granted the same distinction.

It is the first house in Silay City to be opened to the public, in 1962. It is also the first house in Silay City, still inhabited, to be declared a museum, and be installed with historical marker, in 1996, by the National Historical Museum.

The Iglesia de San Diego, 1925

The Church of San Diego de Alcala was built in 1925 through the generosity of Don Jose Ledesma and the Silaynons. The architectural design was done by Italian architect Lucio Bernasconi, who is responsible for the domed design, which this Church is known for. After all, it is the only church in the whole of Negros Occidental to feature a dome in its architectural design.

This 20th century church in Silay City is currently known as the San Diego Pro-Cathedral. But it has a lot of former names, including the one on the old marker, which is Iglesia de San Diego, 1925. It was also simply referred to in the past as the San Diego Parish Church and St. Didacus Parish Church, until its declaration as a Pro-cathedral in 1994.

To be honest, this is my first time to hear the word “pro-cathedral” so I looked it up. It turns out that a “pro-cathedral” is a parish church that is temporarily serving as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese. So it’s basically a parish church that also functions as a cathedral.

The interior took great advantage of the dome design, translating the exterior design inside very well. The arched windows on the dome provide illumination inside the Church and even grants it a sacred glow, if you know what I mean.

Even the ceiling made full use of the dome inspiration, making the entire space seem wider than it actually is.

An Azucarera Along the Way

This was an unexpected yet pleasurable stop.

While on the road, we happened to pass by and spot several large trucks filled with sugarcanes, which were just harvested. I don’t know if this was coincidence or  by design (or maybe our driver-slash-tour-guide Bill planned it) but we took one backroad and found ourselves cruising along sugar plantations on both sides.

And then he stopped on one roadside where a large truck is parked, being loaded with harvested sugarcanes.

From the side of the road, the harvested area looked like a tornado struck it, but I suppose it was the work of combined man and machine as they went about the reaping process. The nearby areas were still tall and green with unharvested sugarcanes, presumably to be dealt with at a later time.

Some of the workers were resting while others were carrying stacks of long sugarcanes up on the truck. They were very friendly and good-natured, welcoming us, and probably amused at how amazed we were by the sight of them in what seems to be their normal element.

Our driver-slash-tour-guide even asked the workers if we could have a taste of some of their harvest, and he scored a few “rejects”, peeling it for us with a borrowed bolo and handing each of us with a cane to much and chew on.

This is not my first time to have sugar cane raw because, growing up, I had uncles who farmed some sugarcane and kept giving it to me. I remember chewing and sucking on sugarcane until my gums were raw and my teeth were aching, Ah, fun times, those childhood days.

And since we were already there, some of us wondered if we could climb up on the truck where the harvested sugarcanes were loaded. We asked some of the workers if it’s ok, and the were very good-natured about it, with the warning that we should be careful while walking up the narrow, shaky wooden plank.

Hey. We’re from the boondocks, and I like to climb, so I was one of the four who gamely climbed on.

I wasn’t able to take a photo while on the truck, because we were in a hurry as the truck is about to wrap up loading. But we were basically stepping on sugarcanes piled haphazardly atop each other, so it was quite soft and does not really make for solid footing. But man….. these are future sweeteners~!!!

The Ruins

Out of Silay City, into nearby Talisay City, for The Ruins. We got there close to sunset, during the Golden Hour. Probably one of the best times of the day to visit the place.

Just an overview, as transcribed on a marker in the building:

The structure of the mansion is of Italianate architecture with neo-Romanesque columns. In New England, they often were homes to ship captains, with shelf-like crowns around the top of the mansion. It is believed that the father of Maria Braga, who is a captain of his own ship, had much influence in the design and architecture of the mansion. It was built after the death of Maria Braga (1911) and became the residence of their unmarried children. It was the largest residential structure ever built at that time.

In the early part of WWII, it was burnt by the USAFFE and then by the guerillas, to prevent the Japanese forces from turning it as their headquarters or garrison. The inferno brought down the roof and the solid wooden floors, but the structure generally withstood the ravages of time, thanks to the oversized steel bars and the A-grade mixture of the concrete used in its construction.

There was quite a crowd when we arrived, and the people just kept coming in as the day drew to a close. The facade of the house is already very impressive, especially when you consider the fact that it had withstood the ravages of war. I mean, it was even purposely wrecked, but it still stood strong.

Right there is proof of the high quality of workmanship during that time. Contractors and builders today should take notes.

The second level of the building is closed off to visitors. But the first floor has a cafe for those who want some refreshments, and a souvenir store. An area is also dedicated for photographic and narrative documentation about the history of the place.

And, in case you’re exhausted, you can sit on any of the chairs provided for just that purpose in the middle of the first floor.

Apparently this place can also be rented out for special occasions, such as weddings and similar festivities. Some would even use this for their pictorials, such as for pre-nups and such.

Can’t blame them. Aside from the imposing house, The Ruins also boasts a well-manicured lawn and gardens that are clearly well-maintained.

It gets prettier when darkness sets in, as the lights in the house all come to life, as well as the illumination outside of the main structure. The gardens, with its flora, and the fountain, get all lit up, too.

The problem with having a crowd of people is having to wait and take turns to have photos taken, haha!

…Manokan Country

This is just a side note, and it IS in Bacolod City. I am talking about eating Chicken Inasal, which is a specialty of Bacolod. In fact, Chicken Inasal is said to have originated here, although some other nearby Visayan cities have their own stories claiming the same.

But! My point is that inasal is such a big deal here in Bacolod City, they have an entire street devoted to it. It’s like a Chicken Inasal street market.

I am talking about “Manokan Country”, which is basically a street with one line of stores and restaurants serving Inasal and its variations. Aida’s is probably the most hyped up name, and they have two stores, if I’m not mistaken. But if you’re not lucky, you’d find yourself having to line up coz it’s always a full house.

If you’re not willing to wait, though, you can take your pick among the other stores next to it. I think it’s basically the same, since they are using the same original inasal recipe.

So, when in Bacolod, try the real deal when it comes to inasal, and check out Manokan Country! (If you want, you can even make advance orders if you want to bring home some original inasal.)

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