Charmed

CEBU, Philippines - For the most part of my life, I’ve lived and grown up in the midst of the laid-back and rustic milieu of the sock-shaped island that’s Negros. Negros isn’t really one of those places you’d frequently chance upon in travel magazines because if you don’t look really hard, you’ll realize that the one thing that makes Negros so special apart from its fair maidens, is the quintessential provincial lifestyle with the manangs making toron and suman in the afternoon and the manongs carefully stroking the feathers of their roosters before the afternoon cock fight or sabong.

I admit. I haven’t really had the chance to fully explore Negros, which is divided into the Occidental and Oriental sides by the ridged back of the Cuernos de Negros (Horns of Negros) mountains while I still had the luxury of living there, particularly in Dumaguete. So when the opportunity and my friend’s pick-up truck presented itself, I knew that this chance to see Negros for the first time in the eyes of a tourist and not of a Negrense’s was a chance that I could not and should not pass off.

Hat on the head and my prettiest turista bayo on, slipped on my shades to see the simple joys that Negros – particularly Negros

Balay Negrense

Location: Silay

Balay Negrense in Silay brings you back to 19th century Negros when sugarcane cultivation was in an all time high and when sugar barons smoked cigar at the patio after a long day talking to the tenientes in the hacienda. Conveniently nestled amidst the greenery and foliage of the trees and shrubs right in the pebbly path of Cinco de Noviembre Street, Balay Negrense today, is one of the first museums to be established in Negros Occidental.

Balay Negrense is the ancestral house of Don Victor F. Gaston. His father, Don Yves Leopold Germain Gaston, a Frenchman from Normandy, is among the pioneers in sugar cultivation in Negros Occidental. He married Prudencia Fernandez of Batangas before moving to Negros and finally settling down in Silay.

Balay Negrense is what you would typically call balay na bato with the lower storey made of a combination of concrete and stone and with the upper storey predominantly made of hardwood. With the posts made of balayong, a local hardwood, it would take more than just a storm to take this house down. Balay Negrense is flanked with large doors and windows making the house airy and cool enough even on the hottest summer days.

Inside the house, you find yourself brought back to the time of Don Victor Gaston with 19th century furniture seemingly unmoved since the yesteryears and with portraits of mestizas and mestizos hung on the wall for a glimpse back into the past. Don Victor’s study is flanked with old books and an enormous window behind his chair opened like a book half-read. Up the staircase, one will find a collection of old Filipinianas and the bedrooms of the family members, including a collection of old dolls in the room of the youngest family member that, strangely, brings an eerie feel into the entire place.

If you’re brave enough, you might want to explore the house a little bit more by making your way into the rooftop garden that will give you a sweeping view not just of Silay but also of the glittering sea which, back then, brought in ships teeming with treasures from distant lands.

The Ruins

Location: Talisay

The path to the Ruins is a long and rough one—especially if you don’t have your own vehicle. But rest assured, the trip is well worth it as you will find yourself cast under the spell of an oasis amidst never ending sugar fields within Talisay, a little outside Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental.

The Ruins dates back to the early 1900s and is something I would consider the Taj Mahal of Negros Occidental. If the Taj Mahal was a monument of love in India, the Ruins is no different as it was built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, one of the richest sugar barons in Negros as a testament of love for his Portuguese wife, Maria Braga whom he met during one of his many vacations in Hong Kong.

The mansion, that is now the Ruins stuck out like a sore thumb compared to many of the mansions built in the Philippines during the days. For one, it was of Italiante architecture with smooth wooden carved arches and balusters that boasted of the most painstakingly intricate details. The façade of the Ruins in itself was heavily influenced by details like shells that was very characteristic of the houses of sea captains—of which, Maria’s father was. It was even said that Maria Braga’s father had a huge hand in influencing the over all construction and look of the Ruins. In fact, much of the furniture—which were the finest in the country—in the mansion were gifts from Maria’s father from his trips around Asia and Europe.

The grounds of the mansion was carefully landscaped with a four-tiered lily fountain right at the entrance, which was the prized possession of one of the Don Mariano’s daughters.

The mansion was eventually reduced into rubbles after it was sent into a blazing inferno by the United States Armed Forces of the Far East out of their fear that the mansion might be used as a headquarters by the Japanese forces.

With only the skeletal structure made of marble-smooth A-grade concrete rising amidst the rubble, the Ruins is best visited during sunset, capping the visit off with dinner and a cup of coffee at the restaurant nestled conveniently amidst the remains of the mansion.