A taste of Iloilo

On a recent trip to Iloilo, I picked up another interesting bit of local lore: The construction of churches during the Spanish colonial period was contributory to the flourishing panaderia business that the city is famous for today.

The story goes that in olden times, mortar made with egg whites was used to cement stone blocks together. As more churches were built, households were required to supply a daily quota of egg whites for mortar. Loath to waste the egg yolks that they were left with, the enterprising locals used these to make various specialty breads and delicacies. Nowadays, Iloilo is known for its excellent biscocho, barquillos, piaya, barquiron, lubid-lubid, hojaldres, banadas, kinihad, yemas, and other tasty confections.

We were invited to attend the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day in Iloilo by Narzalina Lim and the Iloilo City Convention Bureau. Hence, on a balmy afternoon, our small group left Manila on board a pleasant Cebu Pacific flight. Still energetic when we reached Iloilo, we immediately took time to visit some of the city’s landmarks.

The Jaro Cathedral, finished in 1874 and home of the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria was our first stop. According to legend, some fishermen stumbled upon a hard object in the Iloilo river many years ago and saw that it was a statue of the Blessed Mother with baby Jesus. Although the image was just one foot tall, the fishermen were unable to lift it. Even 10 men did not manage to raise the statue from where it was found. It was only when they decided to bring the icon to Jaro that the image allowed itself to be carried by one fisherman. The image was then enthroned at the Jaro Cathedral, where it is believed to have miraculously grown bigger through the years.

We proceeded to Casa Mariquit, built by the banker Ramon Javellana, who is the grandfather of Maria "Mariquit" Javellana-Lopez (wife of former Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez.) With cut stone and firebrick floors at the ground floor level and rich, dark molave and other Philippine hardwoods on the second floor, the Spanish-period 200-year-old house on Sta. Isabel Street is a beautiful ancestral home with wrought-iron railings and wooden tracery transoms or calado. A vault for money and valuables was installed in 1910, but we were told that the family kept their money beneath the floors as well, secreted under movable wooden planks. Was that depressed floorboard one of the secret hiding places perhaps? We wandered through the house hoping to come upon one of the concealed spaces.

Finally, a visit to Nelly Gardens. The "beaux art" mansion is the home of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day organizing committee head Elena-Jison Golez. Built in 1928 by Don Vicente Lopez for his wife Elene Hofilena on two hectares of rice land, the estate was named after their favorite daughter, Nelly. When World War II broke out, a younger daughter, Dona Lilia Lopez, and her husband Don Francisco Jison chose to stay there with their family. The mansion came close to total destruction when Filipino guerrilla leader Gen. Macario Peralta ordered his men to burn all the houses in the city before the Japanese took over. Instead of following his orders immediately, the guerrilla looted the home. The Japanese Army came upon them and the guerrilla fled, unable to burn the building.

As Mrs. Golez led us through the different rooms, she explained that to replace all the furniture and works of art that had been looted, lost or sold, the Jison family traveled and purchased extensively after the war. Walking through the opulent structure and appreciating its shiny wooden floors and high ceilings, we recognized the fortuity of the guerrillas’ greed. Looting delayed them from following Gen. Peralta’s orders and ironically, it was the enemy who saved the mansion from complete destruction.

After a delicious snack of pancit molo (flat noodle and wonton) and biscocho (buttered toasted bread) at Nelly Gardens, we proceeded to dinner with members of the Iloilo City Chamber of Commerce and then to our respective hotels to rest for the next day’s activities.

A palimsesto (theater form of presenting Hiligaynon culture) at Museo Iloilo, a flamenco workshop, lectures on Spanish influence on Philippine architecture, and the opening of Feria Espanola, a two-day trade fair of Spanish wine and consumer products was on the agenda the next day. Afterwards, a visit to the Miag-ao Fortress Church, built in 1706. Included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1973, Miag-ao church has a botanical motif facade that is reminiscent of Aztec art.

In the evening, a dinner and fashion show called "Tertulia y Tapas" was held at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center. Featuring fashion designers Jackie Peñalosa, grand slam winner of the Department of Tourism (DOT) travel mart’s Bituin ng Kasuotang Filipino ‘04; and renowned designer Patis Tesoro (who at the age of three moved to Iloilo with her family and was first exposed to embroidery by the Assumption nuns) the beautiful gowns featured were made of hablon. During the Spanish era, Iloilo was a major producer of textiles. The hablon weaving industry has continued to produce finely embroidered jusi or piña clothing materials that are made into ternos or barong Pilipino. At the city’s Arevalo District today, weavers make jusi, pina and hablon using early Spanish era looms

A buffet dinner included Spanish culinary favorites such as lengua and arroz valenciana. Undoubtedly, in all aspects of our lives – food, clothing and architecture, religion etc.– we have assimilated Spanish influences.

To hold Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day in Iloilo is particularly significant because the city bears the distinction of being the last capital of Spain in Asia. History books tell us that although the Katipunan quickly gained support in several provinces of Luzon, the movement was initially unable to organize a chapter in Iloilo. This was because Ilonggos enjoyed economic gains that ensured their loyalty to Spain. After revolution broke out in Luzon, the Spaniards in Iloilo organized the Ilonggo Volunteer Battalion composed of 500 natives and Spanish officers. The batallion was sent to Manila in 1897 and fought against the Katipunero army of General Emilio Aguinaldo. For this, Queen Regent Maria Cristina issued a special decree on June 11,1897 awarding Iloilo City the title "La Muy Leal y Noble" (Most Loyal and Noble).

When Manila fell to the Americans, General Diego de los Rios was appointed governor-general of the Philippines, with Iloilo as temporary capital. Rios published an edict promising many reforms, but eventually, the Ilonggos no longer wanted reforms; they wanted independence. On October 28,1898, the entire province of Iloilo rose in revolt and on Dec 24, General Rios decided to surrender the capital. Soon after, he and his troops boarded the steamship Churruca which sailed away for Zamboanga en route to Spain.

Filipinos and Spaniards have come to terms with the fact that centuries of a shared history have irrevocably coupled their cultures. They can have overcome the episodes of difficulty and anguish in a common past and continue to work to form stronger and happier links today. In Iloilo, the Spaniards have returned – not as colonizers or foes, but as friends and equals. Thus, we celebrate Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day.