Calle Rizal

Another reason for my visit with my family to Silay City, aside from visiting my mom’s hometown and attending the 8th Locsin Family Reunion, was to see for myself Silay’s ancestral houses.  Silay, founded in 1760, became prosperous in 1846 with the cultivation of sugar cane and its new-found wealth translated into the construction of many opulent ancestral homes, located mostly along Calle Rizal.

The two-storey Antonio dela Rama Locsin Heritage House, dating back to the Spanish Colonial Period, is said to be the oldest house in Silay. This was the house where the late Architect Leandro V. Locsin (National Artist for Architecture) grew up. The house has capiz sliding windows and ventanillas.

Silay is the second city in the Philippines, after Vigan City (Ilocos Sur), to be named a museum city, making it one of the country’s top 25 tourist destinations.

The Soledad and Maria Montelibano Lacson Ancestral House, with its American-inspired look, features windows with glass panes and a galvanized iron sheet media agua, a secondary roof that helps protect windows from rain. The second floor still retains its sliding capiz windows and ventanillas.  When coming from Talisay City, this is the first ancestral house that will greet you.

Most ancestral houses in the city are named after their owners while other more famous houses are known for their unique characteristics or colors (Twin Houses, Green Hose, White House, Pink House, etc.).

The ancestral house of Jose “Pitong” Ledesma, along Cinco de Noviembre Street, was built in 1917.  It was the home of the renowned Silaynon pianist, conductor and philantrophist who was known for his sonata Tanda de Valse.” Ledesma also brought operettas de zarzuelas from Europe to Silay. The present owner of the house is Magdalena Locsin-Ledesma, piano accompanist of opera singer Conchita Gaston.

A total of 31 (some well-preserved) have been identified by the National Historical Institute (NHI, now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) as National Treasures.  Nine of them are Level 1 (Declared):

• Carlos Arceo Ledesma Heritage House
• Antonio de la Rama Locsin Ancestral House
• Delfin Ledesma Heritage House – 28 Generoso Gamboa Street
• Juana Coloso Ledesma House
• Amelia Hilado Flores House (owned by Jison-Alano)
• Arsenio Lopez Jison Ancestral House – Rizal Street
• Antonio Novela Sian House – cor. of Rizal and Zamora Streets
• Manuel de la Rama Locsin Ancestral House – Rizal Street
• Josefita Tionko Lacson Ancestral House

The two-storey Teodoro Morada Ancestral House, also called the “White House, was built in the early 1990s. A fusion of Spanish and American colonial architecture, this beautifully restored heritage house exudes a genteel Neo-Classical liner. It has a grand double winding staircase on the ground floor, glass paned windows, and a second set of Persiana windows behind them. Now the home of Rene and Jessica Velez Dimacali, is the favorite house in Silay of Liza Macuja.

Sadly, three Level 1 houses have already been demolished.  They are the Augusto Hilado Severino House (bought by the Iglesia Ni Cristo), the Claudio Hilado Akol Heritage House (bought by the Locsin Genealogy Foundation – balcony has been retained) and the Modesto Ramirez Hojilla (Carlos Javelosa Jalandoni) Ancestral House.

The two-storey Modesto Ramirez Hojilla Ancestral House, a Beaux Arts-style house currently owned by Carlos Javelosa Jalandoni Sr., was built in the 1920s. It is an example of an American Era adaptation of the classic bahay na bato which was influenced by 19th century “salt shaker” houses, with their wooden horizontal clipboard facades. Currently dilapidated, it is notable for its adaptation, introduced by the Americans, to Filipinos living on the ground floor.

Nineteen others are Level 2 (With Marker).  My grandfather’s house, built in the 1930s and locally called Balay Daku or “Big House, is one of these.   The others are:

• Victor Fernandez Gaston Heritage House (Balay Negrense) – Cinco de Noviembre Street, Brgy. III
• Alejandro Amechazura Heritage House – Plaridel Street, now the office of Celsoy Agro-Industrial Corporation
• Manuel Severino Hofileña Heritage House – Cinco de Noviembre Street
• Bernardino and Ysabel Lopez-Jalandoni Ancestral House – Rizal Street, Brgy. II, a lifestyle museum, commonly called The Pink House
• Jose “Pitong” Ledesma Heritage House – cor. Jose Ledesma and Teodoro Morada Streets
• Kapitan Marciano Montelibano Lacson Heritage House -Rizal cor. Zamora Streets, Brgy. II, home of New City Cafe (Kapehan Sang Silay)
• Vicente Conlu Montelibano Heritage House – Zamora Street
• Maria Ledesma Golez Heritage House  – Rizal Street, now RCBC Silay branch
• El Ideal Bakery (Cesar Lacson Locsin  Ancestral House) – 118 Rizal Street
• Jose Benedicto Gamboa Heritage House – Roque Hofilena Street, the Oro, Plata, Mata” (1982) house
• Angel Araneta Ledesma Heritage House  (Culture and Arts Office of Silay) – Plaridel Street, commonly called The Green House
• Teodoro Morada Heritage House – cor. of Cinco de Noviembre and Zamora Streets
• Digna Locsin Consing Heritage House
• Generoso Reyes Gamboa Heritage House (Twin Houses) – 960 Zamora cor. Cinco de Noviembre Streets
• Soledad and Maria Montelibano Lacson Heritage House – Rizal Street
• German Locsin Unson Ancestral House – 5 Zamora Street
• Severino Building/Lino Lope Severino Ancestral House – cor. Rizal and Burgos Streets.
• Benita Jara Ancestral House (ancestor of Nicolas Armin Jalandoni- last owner) –  Generoso Gamboa Street, now Silay City Sangguniang Panlungsod Building.

Check out “Jose C. Locsin Ancestral House,” “Balay Negrense,” Ramon Hofilena: The “Father of Heritage Conservation” in Silay City and the “Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni Museum”

The two-storey Digna Locsin Consing Ancestral House, across the Teodoro Morada Ancestral House, is also called the “Red House.” Now the home of Judge Reynaldo Alan, this heritage house displays American-Period horizontal clapboard sidings with Art Deco grillework.

There are also a number of ancestral houses that have not been declared as Heritage Houses.  They are the Felix Tad-y Lacson Ancestral House (sadly, demolished 2014), the Antonia de la Rama Locsin Ancestral House, the  Aguinaldo Gamboa House (house where Gen. Douglas MacArthur stayed), St. Theresita’s Academy and the Locsin House (Freedom Blvd, Brgy.Mambulac).

The Josefita Tionko Lacson House, the only heritage house in Silay with an elevator, has a Nativity scene show every December featuring Belen characters purchased during her many travels in Europe. Her house, propped up by Classical columns, allows the public to remain under shade.

Silay City Tourism Office: Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center, 6116 Silay City.  Tel: (034) 495-5553.  Fax: (034) 495-0848.  E-mail: silaycity_tourism@yahoo.com. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9 AM – 5 PM.  Coordinates: 10.79907,122.97658.