Balay Negrense

I love all things old and ruined so I was very happy to see Balay Negrense which was owned by sugar baron Don Victor Leopold Gaston Y Fernandez back in 1897/1898 and get to see a glimpse of what life must be like then. I love the house because it is so open with fresh air and light coming from every direction. I guess they aren’t that scared of mosquitoes and dengue fever at that time still.

To get inside, one is greeted by Admission fee notice to help preserve and restore the museum’s collections but after paying our dues, we didn’t receive any receipt at all.

Adult: 40 pesos
Negros Resident: 40 pesos
Senior Citizen: 35 pesos
Students and Children: 20 pesos

The first floor shows a sala, offices, bathrooms and servants’ quarter but it seems that the real action is located at the second floor above the grand staircase where real sala (living room), 3 bedrooms, kitchen and open-air pantaw were located.

Pantaw is where washing and hanging of clothes was done. It also led to a small staircase to the lower floor that served as servants’ access to other work areas.

Filipinos are known for eating foods with hands but after seeing the long dining table filled with utensils (their spoon was BIG by the way, bigger than my mouth), I doubt they know how to go about it.

The tour guide/caretaker showed us around the house and I love the glass table that presented the family tree from Don Victor Leopold Gaston Y Fernandez up to the present. Unfortunately, I can only trace my ancestors up to my grandparents but a friend insisted that I’m a descendant of Ham (Noah’s son in the bible) because of my weird sense of humor.

Tour guide also shared stories about how the house was being used in the 1982 movie Oro, Plata, Mata by Peque Gallaga and hearing weird footsteps around the house especially at 1 in the morning.

Next stop: The Ruins

Getting Out of New Bacolod Silay Airport

Aside from the usual taxi that could get very expensive, shuttle van is also available at the following rate:

Silay Airport to Bacolod – 150 pesos
Bacolod to Silay Airport – 100 pesos

But then we saw Nyala Tour van that advertises 35 pesos to the airport. Some friends tried this and after some pleadings plus batting of eyelashes, the driver dropped them at Balay Negrense located in Silay instead at Silay Plaza.

Bacolod’s Ruins

Am I in EUROPE already? Actually, it’s the Ruins of Bacolod a.k.a. Balay Daco, Simento nga Balay, Mansyon, Palasyo, Lacson Mansion and Balay ni Anoy.

The building was owned by one of Negros’ sugar baron, Don Mariano “Anoy” Ledesma Lacson, and it was built in memory of his beloved Portuguese wife Maria Braga who died while carrying his 11th baby. Family planning is unheard of at that time and it actually took weeks to get to a doctor’s house and back again.

The architecture is of Italianate design with neo-Romanesque columns and due to the material used (thick, dense metal columns which was used to build railways; a-grade concrete with 1:1 proportion of sand and concrete I think; and final touches to the wall is made of egg white and cement) it was certainly intended to last “forever”. 

And to honor the undying love of Mariano and Maria, two M’s letters were molded on each post.

Isn’t that sweet?  But I don’t know why people can’t construct a love building while the person is STILL ALIVE.

So how did the mansion become a skeletal ruin? During World War II, AMERICANS commanded FILIPINO guerillas to burn it down to keep the JAPANESE from using it as headquarters.

How to get to the Ruins on a budget? Coming from Balay Negrense, walk to Silay Plaza and take a jeepney that will drop you off at Pepsi in Talisay City for 13 pesos. From there, take a tricycle that will take you to the ruins and depending on your haggling skills, you could end up paying 100 – 200 pesos for the whole trip.

P.S.
The Ruins is a perfect place for pre-nuptial photo session.  For inquiries, you may contact the direct descendant of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, Raymund Javellana at (+63) 917 832 6003 / (+63 34) 476 4334.

Entrance Fee: 40 pesos