Daily Archives: 19 June, 2005

My First Visit to Bacolod City (Negros Occidental)

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After finishing our GPS mapping of Iloilo City, it was now time to leave for our next destination – Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, a first for me.  We proceeded to Iloilo Port, paid the freight and port fee for the 1994 Ford Explorer as well as my ticket and waited, the rest of the time, on board our ship, the MV Maria Angela of  Montenegro Shipping Lines.  After an hour’s delay, we departed Iloilo City for Bacolod City at 1 PM.  The 3.5-hour trip was uneventful and we reached the city by 4:40 PM.

Lobby of Casino Filipino Hotel

Quite tired, Charlie drove all the way to the Casino Filipino Hotel within the Goldenfield Commercial Complex, the premier night life area in the city.  Here, we check into a de luxe room for each of us.  After a buffet dinner at the restaurant, it was early to bed for both of us.  We were to spend two more nights in this hotel.

My de luxe room

Casino Filipino Hotel: Goldenfield Commercial Complex, Singcang, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.  Tel: (034) 434-8901-10 & 433-3111-19.  Fax: (034) 434-8913, 434-4433 & 433-1234.

 

Molo District: The "Athens of the Philippines" (Iloilo City)

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Molo District, located 4 kms. from the city proper, was the former Chinese quarter of Arevalo called the Parian. Formerly a town before it was absorbed by Ilolilo City, it is also called the “Athens of the Philippines” because it produced some of the best political leaders and thinkers of the land such as Gregorio S. Araneta (secretary of the Malolos Congress), Gen. Aniceto L. Lacson and Chief Justice Ramon Avancena.  Here, you can try the popular pancit molo, spiced pork-chicken meatballs daintily wrapped in thin dough and boiled in peppery chicken-pork broth.  It was introduced here by the Chinese during the 18th century.

Church of St. Anne

The district’s twin-towered, Gothic–Renaissance Church of St. Anne, one of a few churches in Iloilo not built by the Augustinians, was built with coral rock and a tile roof, in 1831, under the supervision of Don Jose Manuel Locsin. In 1863, it was replaced by a temporary church by Fr. Jose Ma. Sichon until it was renovated in 1869 by Bishop Mariano Cuartero.  On August 4, 1886, our National Hero Jose P. Rizal visited this church to pray on his way to Manila from exile in Dapitan, referring to it as “la iglesia bonita.”  During the liberation of Iloilo in 1945, the church withstood artillery barrages but its two bell towers were totally destroyed and the church partially damaged.  It was rebuilt after the war.  The church, declared as a National Landmark by the National Historical Institute in 1992, has stained-glass windows and 5 wooden Gothic-style retablos. It is also called the Women’s Lib church because of the 16 life-size female saints’ statues lining the nave.  The district’s patron saint, St. Anne is in a prominent corner of its massive, antique wooden altar.

A nearby bandstand

In front of the church is a plaza filled with old trees, with gnarled trunks and branches, and an interesting domed gazebo which is actually a bandstand, a typical feature in Western Visayas plazas.

Church of St. Anne: cor. Jocson and San Marcos Sts., Molo District, Iloilo City, Iloilo.

La Paz District (Iloilo City)

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La Paz District, located 2 kms. from the city proper, was formerly called Lobo, Llaunon, Ilawod and Iznart (after Iloilo alcalde mayor Manuel Iznart), was established as a parish in 1868. It is noted for its La Pazbatchoy, a delicacy made of flat, scissored noodles and pork innards simmered in broth and topped with crushed pork crackers and spicy herbs.  It is served in restaurants around the market. 

Church of Our Lady of Peace
Its brick and stone, Neo-Classic style Church of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage), at the plaza, was started in 1847 by Fr. Candido Gonzalez, continued by Fr. Leandro Jambrina (in 1879) and Fr. Manuel Camara (in 1880) and enlarged and finished, in 1895, by Fr. Mariano Isart.  In 1909, it was restored by Fr. Anselmo Corcuera.  The stone convent was started by Fr. Mariano Isart based on plans by Don Julio Hernandez and Don Lorenzo Romero.  It was damaged during World War II and the 1948 earthquake.  

The church interior

Two engaged columns, supporting a triangular pediment, are recent additions (1970).  The 2-level church facade is flanked by twin octagonal, domed bell towers. 

Church of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage: Jereos St., La Paz District, Iloilo City, Iloilo.

 

Jaro District (Iloilo City)

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After breakfast at the hotel, Charlie and I started our GPS mapping of 3 of Iloilo’s 5 nearby districts – Jaro, La Paz and Molo (the others are Arevalo and Mandurriao, the site of the airport).  All 5 were incorporated to the city in 1936 by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 158 and each has its own plaza and church.

Jaro Cathedral

We first proceeded to Jaro District, an elite residential center located just 4 kms. from the city proper, and drop by its Gothic-style Jaro Cathedral (officially the Cathedral of Our Lady of Candles).  Located just across the street from the plaza, it is the seat of the Jaro Archbishopric. Mass has just been finished when we arrived.

The cathedral’s separate bell tower

The cathedral was first built before 1726 by Fr. Bernardino Alisen.    The present structure was built in 1874, upon the orders of Most Reverend F. Mariano Cuartero, O.P., first bishop of Jaro.  It was damaged during the January 5, 1948 earthquake and reconstructed, in 1956, under Archbishop Jose Ma. Cuenco.  Its separate 3-storey, 25-m. high, red brick belfry was built by Fr. Juan Aguado, restored, from 1833 to 1835, by Fr. Jose Alvarez and was ruined during the 1948 earthquake.  St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary, located near the cathedral, was where famous propagandist, orator, journalist and local son Graciano Lopez-Jaena went to school. 

Iloilo City’s Stately Ancestral Houses

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The stately Lizares Mansion

Iloilo City is one of the best places to observe American-era architecture, notably its ancestral houses. The stately Lizares Mansion, in Brgy. Tabuc Suba, is probably the most elegant and most opulent of the old houses and the most accessible.  Built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares, it was converted into the headquarters of the Japanese Army during World War II and, in 1962, became the school chapel of the Dominican-run Angelicum School.  This building, fusing American and Spanish architecture, has a spacious lawn.  

Nelly’s Garden

The imposing, Beaux Arts style Nelly Gardens Mansion, along E. Lopez St., was built in 1928 by Don Vicente Lopez y Villanueva and his wife Dona Elena Hofilena y Javelona.  Standing on a 4-hectare property with a beautifully manicured lawn, it was was named after their eldest daughter Nelly, who liked gardens.