The Patriarch’s House
August 22, 2009 at 3:24 pm (1900s Philippines, 2000s Philippines, Architecture, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Gonzalez de Sulipan, Manila Houses, Pampanga Art, Pampanga Cuisine, Pampanga Traditions, Personal, Random memories, Religious Traditions, Rodriguez de Bacolor, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, The Pampanguenos, The Past)
Lizares Domain
November 25, 2008 at 3:00 am (Angst, Architecture, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Family Traditions, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, Tristesse)
The Lizares – Alunan “Balay Dako” was designed around 1880 as a classical “bahay – na – bato” set on 6,000 m2 in Talisay town: it had a skirt / base of rare “coquina” coral stone and bricks covered with lime plaster which concealed the structural posts of hardwood; and an upper portion entirely of hardwood: the floors of the reception rooms were all of “tindalo” / “balayong” wood custom cut to size [ meaning the floor planks stretched from one point to the other in one piece ], the floors of the bedrooms were all of “narra” wood also custom cut to size; roofed by the new corrugated iron sheets. It was painted entirely in various shades of blue and white with lime – based paint. According to the Filipiniana scholars Martin Imperial Tinio and Fernando Nakpil Zialcita, it was designed in the “Floral Style” of the late 19th century Filipino “bahay na bato”: the interior spaces are more fluid and there is more applied ornamentation than the preceding “Geometric Style” of the early 19th century. Because the house shares several similar details with the famed 1880s mansion of Aniceto Ledesma Lacson, it is thought that the same team of builders and craftsmen were involved. Oral tradition in the family mentions that the team was from Batangas province. It also says that the builders and craftsmen were actually politicized individuals who had come to Negros island to surreptitiously spread the ideas of social and political change which would culminate some sixteen years later with the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
Construction of the “Balay Dako” in Talisay town was finally finished in 1883 and Efigenio and Enrica Lizares transferred from their initial residence, the “casa hacienda” in Matab-ang. The seventh child, Nicolas “Colay,” was the first to be born in the new house in town. As was their family practice, the five sons Vicente, Simplicio, Nicolas, Emiliano, Antonio, and Enrique and the other men of the family like their first cousin Rafael Alunan [ Sr. ] occupied the rooms of the “entresuelo” [ mezzanine area ] while the couple and their daughters stayed in the second floor of the house. True to her enterprising nature, Enrica again maintained a thriving “tindahan” or “almacen” / “tienda” [ store ] in the “zaguan” [ ground floor ] of the house, to the right of the “puerta principal” [ main entrance ], which sold rice, salt, sugar, garlic, onions, and other basic needs, just like the previous one in Matab – ang. She was known to measure the rice herself, counting every grain with the “paso”; nothing could be wasted with Enrica around lest one incur her ire. She even established an “imprenta” printing press with the latest imported machines in her Talisay “almacen.”
At the right rear portion of the “zaguan” rises the commodious, Neo – Gothic “escalera principal” [ principal stairway ] of rare “tindalo” / “balayong” hardwood [ similar to the Chinese "ji - chi - mu" / "chicken wing" wood ] above a “descanso” [ landing ] of star – patterned “machuca” tiles. The balustrade of the stairway is composed of Neo – Gothic tracery; the style became fashionable countrywide after 1875 with the newly – constructed Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros by the architect Felix Arroyo Roxas.
The principal stairway leads to the “caida” [ entrance hall ] the traditional family room of 19th century Filipino houses. Two Neo – Gothic arches hang over the hall as symbols of welcome. A Victorian round table with C – scroll feet is in the center of the room. Interesting architectural features are four large, carved piercework, Neo – Gothic rose window panels – two set into the “sala” wall and two set into the “comedor” wall – that allow the country breezes and the orchestra music to filter through the rooms. On the far side overlooking the garden, “butacas” or “sillas perezosa” [ lounging chairs ] are set beside the “ventanillas” [ sliding windows below the "pasamano" window rail ] for the family and their guests to catch the breezes. There is a large photograph of Capitana Dicang, in her mid – 40s dressed in an elegant “terno” during the early American colonial period, in an Art Nouveau frame on one wall and small silver – framed ones of family on the tables.
To the left of the “caida” is the “sala” [ living room ], a hall large enough to serve as a ballroom. It is decorated in the style of the 1880s: in the center is a grooved marble top table of the period with ball – and – claw feet surrounded by a suite of contemporaneous “Carlos Tres” – style high chairs of exquisite workmanship, probably by the Chinese master cabinetmaker Ah Tay of Manila, all on an old, woolen Eastern rug. Two tall pier mirrors hang over the console tables. There are individual busts of Efigenio Lizares and Enrica Alunan by the national artist Guillermo Tolentino, commissioned PreWar by their son Nicolas Lizares, cast in Naples, Italy. There are large family photographs in Art Nouveau frames on the walls and small silver – framed ones on the tables. Running counterclockwise from the right side of the “sala” are large framed photographs of the fourteen Lizares – Alunan children [ who survived from the original seventeen ] from Vicente the eldest to Remedios the youngest. At the rear left portion of the “sala,” overlooking the street, hangs the memorable 19 October 1938 photograph of Enrica Alunan – Lizares flanked by President Manuel Quezon and future President Sergio Osmena Sr.. on her settee in the “sala.” The photograph hangs exactly where it was taken after she hosted breakfast for the two statesmen – who happened to be friends of hers – when they attended the Charter Day of Bacolod [ when the municipality was declared a city by Commonwealth Act No. 326 and Alfredo Montelibano Sr. became the first city mayor ] and is very significant because it speaks volumes about Capitana Dicang’s wide – ranging political influence at her height.
Flanking the “sala” are the four “cuartos” [ bedrooms ] which were collectively shared by the eight daughters [ who survived from the original eleven ] of the family: Dolores, Adela, Maria, Celsa, Encarnacion, Felisa, Efigenia, and Remedios. One bedroom on the left side, facing the street, has a pair of half – canopy beds from the 1910s. There is a “mesa altar” cabinet with small ivory images of “La Inmaculada Concepcion” and “San Jose.” A splendid late 19th century “aparador” with a magnificent eagle crest stands in one corner. A lady’s dresser faces the beds. The adjacent bedroom and the two across the “sala” repeat the comfortable and accustomed pattern of furnishings: PreWar half – canopy bed, “aparador,” lady’s dresser, etc.. The eight daughters took after their mother Tana Dicang and liked monograms on their personal items. As a result, there is a wealth of vintage monogrammed linens in the house.
The “cuarto principal” [ principal bedroom ] of Efigenio and Enrica is located on one side of the “comedor.” There is a large tester bed of the 1870s type. A beautiful “aparador,” the twin of the splendid eagle – crested example in one of the girls’ bedrooms [ but missing its magnificent crest ] is along the long wall. Her “escritorio” [ writing desk ] is in one corner. The processional image of “Maria Magdalena” [ for the annual Holy Week processions ] is kept in the couple’s bedroom. Recently, the original, light blue – colored, lime – based paintwork of the principal bedroom has been revealed after layers of subsequent paint were removed.
To the right of the “caida” is the “comedor” [ dining room ]. There is a long table with tall dining chairs; these are PostWar replacements of the originals. There is an Art Deco sideboard from the 1930s where the silver flatware and the linens are stored. Flanking the double doors to the “cuarto principal” is a pair of “vajilleras” [ display cabinets ] for the exquisite Lizares – Alunan heirloom silver, china, and crystal. These happily survived The War because they were brought to the haciendas and buried in wooden crates. More antique silver, china, and crystal are in storage throughout the house.
Beside the “comedor” is an airy “balcon” [ balcony ] overlooking the big garden generously planted with fruit trees and flowering plants. The area originally had an ornate, piercework balustrade. After Tana Dicang’s passing, her sons and daughters used the “balcon” as an informal living area where they ate “merienda” and played “mahjong.”
Off the “comedor” is an “ante – cocina” which served as a secondary dining room for the family. A simple long table is flanked by two long benches. While the family always ate in the “comedor,” there were many times when the overflow was accommodated in the ante – cocina.
Past the “ante – cocina” is the big “cocina” [ main kitchen ] which, with Efigenio’s and Enrica’s characteristic foresight, was sheathed with imported tin sheets to contain the flames in the event of a fire.
From the “pantao” / “azotea” off the big “cocina,” there is a small bridge that leads to the old, traditional “outhouse” bathrooms of the house.
Acknowledgment: Adrian “Adjie” Villasor Lizares.
Lacson de Talisay, Negros Occidental
November 23, 2008 at 11:39 am (Angst, Architecture, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, Tristesse)
[ According to her youngest daughter Regina Araneta-Teodoro, the brilliant industrialist and diarist Dona Victoria Lopez [ y Ledesma ] de Araneta [ 1907 - 1988 ] used to say that the reason why the heiress socialite Celine Lacson-Heras was so beautiful, elegant, and graceful was that she was a granddaughter of Don Aniceto Lacson y Ledesma [ 1857 - 1931 ], the England-educated sugar baron who, in his lifetime, reigned supreme over Negros Occidental.
Their story began there… ]
THE FAMILY
Don Aniceto Lacson y Ledesma married Dona Rosario Araneta y Cabunsol [ a direct descendant of the Kabunsuan royal Muslim line of Mindanao; a fact long denied and forgotten by the family until recently reminded by scholarly research ]. They had eleven children: Jesusa, Emilio, Clotilde, Carmen, Enriqueta, Isaac, Mariano, Perfecta, Jose, Aniceto, and Dominador.
Don Aniceto Lacson y Ledesma and his second wife, the Spanish mestiza Magdalena Torres had ten children: Resurreccion, Margarita, Leonila, Leoncia, Nicolas, Juan, Lucio, Luis, Consuelo, and Jose.
When the Catalan Don Ricardo Claparols first met Senorita Carmen Lacson, he gushed: “Una mujer tan dulce!” However, three days after their wedding, she revealed her temper by throwing a bunch of keys at him. Dona Carmen was a jealous wife: she would send a spy, a farm laborer, to inform her of her husband’s activities at the sugarcane haciendas.
Dona Carmen, like several rich Negrense girls of her generation, was carried everywhere; she was even carried up and down the stairs of the Old House. However, Don Ricardo detested her leisurely ways; he made sure that his two daughters Carmita and Eulalia would grow up efficient homemakers and trained them himself.
Dona Carmen was a big woman and she was quite the character. She had a majordomo / butler, Emiliano, and a talented chef, Domeng. She would order Domeng to make her “chocolate” and after drinking it, her blood pressure would rise, and then she would scold Domeng for making her “chocolate” in the first place!!!
Dona Carmen even brought her car when she traveled to Europe.
The Japanese soldiers tried to burn the house three times during The War. On one of those occasions, the soldiers were on the roof torching everything while Dona Carmen was hiding under the grand “cama de medio cielo,” eating well!!!
It was the story in the family that Dona Jesusa Lacson de Arroyo [ the paternal grandmother of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo ], the eldest sister of Dona Carmen, used to be so elegant and refined [ like the archetypal Lacson lady rhapsodized in Negrense Society ] until she married her second cousin Don Jose Ma. Pidal Arroyo, a “politico.” She eventually became a “politico’s” wife: brusque, careless, and loud; she didn’t care if her half-slip showed below her dress by as long as one “takal.”
Dona Jesusa liked to make frequent “paseos” everywhere. She liked to visit her sister Dona Carmen frequently at the Old House. She always carried a little bag with her overnight provisions since she liked to “sleep over.” She had two daughters: Teresita and Mary. Teresita died young and Mary [ Lacson Arroyo ] married Enrique Montilla, who became a major sugar industrialist [ "BISCOM" ].
PostWar summers brought all the Claparols grandchildren to the Old House: The Javellana, Balcells, Medina, and Rossello branches as well as the other Lacson cousins. It was always a “War” between the girls and the boys: Whoever cried first lost!!! They even had “spies” in each other’s camps. There were bicycle races around the “balcon.” There were plenty of quarrels: it was a real “bakbakan.” The “War” got so bad that Dona Carmen the grandmother got a seminarian to play referee between the girls and the boys: the children promptly led him to the middle of the sugarcane fields and then they scampered in 20 different directions!!!
A swimming pool was constructed by the four Claparols-Lacson siblings for their children. However, the girls and the boys were never allowed to swim together lest they develop attractions to each other and lead to intrafamily marriages, which happened occasionally during their grandparents’ and parents’ generations.
Dona Carmen Lacson and Don Ricardo Claparols had four children: Eduardo, Jaime, Carmita, and Eulalia.
THE MANSION
The house was constructed by Don Aniceto Lacson y Ledesma and his wife Dona Rosario Araneta y Cabunsol in 1880. It was set in the middle of the vast Lacson sugar ‘hacienda’ in Matabang, Talisay, Negros Occidental [ a former property of the Swiss Mr. Luchinger and before that of the Englishman Nicholas Loney ].
Don Aniceto Lacson was one of Negros’ biggest sugar planters and he wanted a palatial residence to reflect his high financial and social position. At the height of his fortunes, Don Aniceto’s sugar ‘haciendas’ stretched contiguously for thousands of hectares from Talisay town all the way to Cadiz town.
The architecture is in what the Filipiniana scholars Martin Imperial Tinio and Fernando Nakpil Zialcita describe as the “Floral Style” of the Post-1870 Filipino colonial “bahay-na-bato”: meaning the interior spaces are less defined and more fluid, and there is more applied decoration. There are many Neo-Gothic architectural details which became fashionable following the 1875 reconstruction of the Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros.
The ground floor is made of rare “coquina” coral stone and bricks coated with lime plaster, while the upper floor is entirely of “tindalo” / “balayong” and “molave” Philippine hardwoods.
A Chinese craftsman and his team from Manila, probably the redoubtable “Ah Tay,” were recruited by Don Aniceto to execute the architectural details and the furniture of the house. It took them three years to complete the project.
Initially, Don Aniceto Lacson had given the house to his son and namesake. But the son was irresponsible and fell into financial straits. Don Aniceto, fearing its loss, requested his daughter Dona Carmen and son-in-law Don Ricardo Claparols y Deig to purchase the house. The Claparols couple ceded a lucrative sugar “hacienda,” the Hacienda Christina in La Carlota town, and additional cash in exchange for the paternal home.
The house was left as “comunidad” property to the four Claparols-Lacson siblings and their descendants.
Acknowledgments: Carmen “Carmita” Claparols-Balcells, Eulalia “Layette” Claparols-Rossello, Alexandra “Alexie” Javellana Claparols, Javier Medina Claparols, Carmen “Nena” Claparols Rossello, “Gigi” Lacson, “Baba” Montilla Araneta-Escudero, Alejandro “Aldo” Panlilio Claparols, et. al..
Intramuros of Lost Memory
September 24, 2008 at 2:10 pm (19th century Filipino Art, Angst, Architecture, Design and Decoration, Filipino Art, Random memories, Religious Traditions, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, Tristesse)
There are those who say that Intramuros should be preserved because of its sheer historical importance: for hundreds of years before 1571 it was the site of the flourishing settlement of “Maynilad” ruled by the Tagalog rajahs of ancient Malay history; from 1571 – 1898 it was Manila, the colonial capital of “Las Islas Filipinas” and the seat of the Spanish Empire as well as of the Roman Catholic Church in the Far East; from 1898 - 1941 it was part of the rapidly expanding American colonial city of Manila, which at that time was one of the most progressive and beautiful cities in Asia when Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok were mere towns and backward settlements. Filipino History happened in Intramuros, as simple as that; one wonders why some intellectually-challenged quarters of Filipino Society have such difficulty understanding that fact.
There are those who say that the dead Walled City of Intramuros is a useless remnant of Spanish colonial oppression, that the resources of the nation can be directed towards more productive economic activities that will benefit a larger percentage of the Filipino people. Yes of course, productive economic activities that benefit our admirable, truly hardworking, and frugal government officials and politicians.
Then there are the local politicians who want to conserve and increase the ranks of the “informal settlers” [ one of those odd new "politically-correct" terms; the term is more incorrect than the former "squatters" because it reduces our less fortunate brothers to something akin to supernatural elementals or even extraterrestrials ] in the area because of the sheer number of their votes come election time.
It is during “pointless” cultural debates like these that I frankly miss the Marcos Era. During that time, what President Ferdinand Marcos and Madame Imelda Romualdez-Marcos wanted just happened. Period.
If one opposed them, he just “disappeared” from the face of the world.
To quote a disco song from the 1970s: “That’s the way uhuh uhuh I like it!!! Uhuh uhuh!!! That’s the way uhuh uhuh I like it!!!”
One has to take a stand on things. This is mine.
Having it All… Today!
June 1, 2008 at 8:02 am (Architecture, Design and Decoration, Filipino Art, Manila Houses, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos)
[ OK, for those of you who are "tired" of reading about the "Traditional Elite" and "Old Manila," here is one about a Manila family who is richer-than-rich NOW, TODAY, 2008. Everything about them is new, new, new, and chic, chic, chic. If this doesn't "satisfy" you, I don't know what will. ]
“Dad always knew he would make it. But it was a long hard climb.”
We sat there in the “lanai” overlooking the vast front garden and the vast back garden of their new, contemporary residence set amidst +- 10,000 m2 in one of the city’s most exclusive enclaves. As with all Great Wealth, Everything had the air of Consummate Ease. And Sheer Expense. Even the plants, the grass, and the stones looked expensive. A Japanese firm had been summoned to design and execute the fantastic garden.
The dining room had a frankly new ”narra” dining table for 24 persons [ the top was 42 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 6 inches thick ], courtesy of the Dad’s lumber magnate friend in Surigao and the Dad’s general friend who facilitated its DENR-free and hassle-free transport to Manila. The entire dining suite was Neoclassical in style. Over the dining table hung three rare Art Deco lamps of Lalique glass, acquired last year in Paris. On the French Art Deco sideboard was a stylish Art Deco coffee service by Puiforcat, acquired for an unimaginable sum in Paris. The room was hung with four large 1930s Fernando Amorsolos and four large 1950s Vicente Manansalas [ certified as originals by the authorities ], artistic trophies purchased from the unraveling estates of various Marcos crony friends.
The large “kitchen” actually looked like a living room and was a serious chef / restaurateur’s dream: The refrigerators were “SubZero,” the ovens “La Cornue.” The kitchen cabinetry had been ordered in Germany. Most of the kitchen’s accessories were Italian, “Alessi.” One side of the kitchen was a casual living area with a large plasma TV and contemporary Italian furniture. Two large and important BenCab canvases casually hung in the kitchen’s living area, underscoring the wealth of the owners.
He took me to what he referred to as the “garage” at the far end of the property. It looked more like a chic loft at Rockwell instead of a garage. It was airconditioned and humidity-controlled; the lights were LED. There was a carpeted lounge, a bar, and men’s and ladies’ washrooms. Inside were parked some 100 cars, some luxury sedans, several sports cars, some SUVs. Several valets and mechanics were at work polishing and maintaining the cars. It was a scene guaranteed to get any man’s testosterone going.
The Cult of Grandeur
January 21, 2008 at 8:49 pm (Architecture, Design and Decoration, Filipino Art, Manila Houses, Random memories)
We live in The Casual Era. Some people call it The Era of the Flip-Flop. Most Everybody looks terrible. I, for one, will certainly not bother to distinguish the expensive “Hermes” flip-flop from the popular “Havaianas” and the affordable ”Beach Walks” worn by the mammoth crowds in the malls. Rubber slippers are rubber slippers and I say the hell with it.
Girls are invariably dressed in half-yard, make it 1/4 yard, wonders. That’s if they’re not wearing little more than Band-Aids. They should just walk around nude and get an even tan. Boys are invariably in made-for-anorexics T – shirts with Satanic designs and jeans that look as they were used for machinery wipes and target practice.
Why even dress up these days???
Even contemporary houses are casual. Obsessively so. The Current Linearity calls for One Great Room where “one can do everything.” Perhaps have sex even. Antecedents found in the “California Room” of the 1950s [ FYI, it's now fashionably pronounced "Kollifohnia" because of The Governator ]. Contemporary furniture looks like one variant of the bean bag to another. At least in the 1970s, Everything was Shamelessly Synthetic. These days there are all these blasted pretenses to being “Organic.” I don’t care if it cost ten million friggin’ bucks and is advertised in “Wallpaper” magazine, it looks like the furniture in my doctor’s waiting lounge.
Why even put up house these days???
But a long time ago, there were really reasons to dress up and to put up house. In those days, The Rich really looked rich, and Everyone Else looked, well, decent. Houses were elegant, with well-defined areas for living. One didn’t live in just one room; in fact, there were areas in a house one didn’t see everyday. There were sensible numbers of staff, without which entertaining in high style was impossible. The gentlemen worked and the ladies kept house. Yet, despite all the business concerns, One was subjected to a rigamarole of luncheons, teas, cocktails, dinners, and dances. Everybody was entertaining when they were not being entertained themselves. Even traveling abroad was elegant, Everyone was well-dressed, well-mannered, and well-heeled. It was a different time and certainly a better one. There was Elegance, and yes, even Grandeur, in Daily Life.
“Wherever Sugar Grew”
August 8, 2007 at 2:23 pm (19th century Filipino Art, Architecture, Design and Decoration, Domestic Travels, Random memories, The Ilonggos, The Negrenses, The Pampanguenos)
Many years ago, Joey Panlilio asked his grandmother, the regal and enduringly lovely Dona Luz Sarmiento de Panlilio, where the most beautiful old houses — needless to say the most beautiful antiques — in the Philippines could be found, and She answered simply: “Hijo, Wherever Sugar Grew…”
That meant Pampanga, Bulacan, Batangas, Iloilo, and Negros.
Of course, She was right.
The Grand Lady of Jaro
August 2, 2007 at 2:19 pm (Architecture, Design and Decoration, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Ilonggos, The Manilenos, The Negrenses)
Among the many splendid mansions of Old Jaro, Iloilo, there is only one grand residence that enduringly captures the full essence, and the length and breadth of the wealth and splendor of the legendary Iloilo Sugar Fortunes at their Height in the 1920s to the 30s: The “Nelly Gardens.”
The imposing, Beaux-Arts style ”Nelly Gardens” mansion was built in 1928 by Don Vicente Lopez y Villanueva [ 1879 - 1963 ] and his wife Dona Elena Hofilena y Javelona. It was named for their eldest daughter Nelly. Their first residence was along Calle Iznart, Jaro’s main thoroughfare, but Dona Elena found the street noisy and bothersome, and since she liked flowers, plants, and gardening, Don Vicente decided to build their new residence on four hectares in [ what was then ] the outskirts of Old Jaro. The residence began as a simple two-storey affair that was continually enlarged and embellished as the family grew, as their fortunes multiplied, and as their social obligations increased.
Don Vicente Lopez and Dona Elena Hofilena had four children: Nelly [ married Salvador Zamora ], Benito [ married Leonor de la Rama ], Lilia [ married Francisco Lopez Jison ], and Vicente [ married Maria Rita Lopez Zamora ]. In the aristocratic fashion of those days, all four siblings could play a musical instrument proficiently: Nelly played the piano; Benito, the cello; Lilia, the harp; and Vicente, the violin. To this day, there is still a large PreWar photograph of them on top of the black Steinway grand piano in the ”Sala” [ living / drawing room ] of the mansion.
Don Vicente Lopez y Villanueva was among the richest in the affluent Lopez Clan: a sugar planter and industrialist with immense holdings. When his elder brother Don Benito Lopez y Villanueva [ o 1877 ] was assassinated in 1908 by a rival political faction [ who happened to be their Jalandoni relatives ], He undertook the guardianship of the two sons, Eugenio “Ening” and Fernando “Nanding” [ who later on became THE tycoon Don Eugenio Lopez and The Vice-President Fernando Lopez ], and took them to live in his Calle Iznart house and later on at the “Nelly Gardens” [ Their mother, Dona Presentacion Hofilena viuda de Lopez, retired to the old { turn of the century } house perched on an islet --- the storied "Roca Encantada" --- on the 400 hectare ancestral Hofilena "hacienda" in Guimaras island ]. The brothers Eugenio and Fernando Lopez y Hofilena and the siblings Nelly, Benito, Lilia, and Vicente Lopez y Hofilena were first cousins twice over: their fathers Don Benito and Don Vicente Lopez y Villanueva were brothers and their mothers Dona Presentacion and Dona Elena Hofilena y Javelona were sisters. The younger Lopez-Hofilena first cousins always addressed their elder first cousins respectfully and affectionately as “Tatay Ening” and “Tatay Nanding.” In fact, when Eugenio Lopez y Hofilena married Pacita Moreno y de Santos, they spent the first years of their married life at the “Nelly Gardens.” To this day, there are twin, late 1800s four-poster beds with the initials “BL” [ "Benito Lopez" ] and “PH” [ "Presentacion Hofilena" ] in a second-floor bedroom facing the front garden.
According to oldtimers, The “Nelly Gardens” mansion was the very place where the legendary lifestyle of the Iloilo Sugar Barons was ultimately defined. It became the definitive Iloilo residence as the most important receptions of the province during PreWar and PostWar were held there. In PreWar, the grandest occasion in The Lopez Family was the annual birthday ball of Don Vicente held every 22 January, to which only The Family and The Elite of Iloilo were invited. It was always a formal affair that required long dress and black tie, magnificent jewels and black limousines; full orchestras played dance music throughout the evening. The invitation from Don Vicente Lopez was an indication of one’s rank in Iloilo [ and Manila ] Society.
The mansion eventually devolved to the second daughter, Lilia Lopez y Hofilena [ Mrs. Francisco Lopez Jison ]. She and her husband Francisco Jison y Lopez of Silay, Negros Occidental were second cousins through the Lopez line. Lilia’s father Vicente Lopez y Villanueva was a first cousin twice over of Francisco’s mother Maria Juana Dolores Lopez y Villanueva [ married to Albino Jison y Golez ]. Vicente’s father Eugenio Lopez y Jalandoni was an elder brother of Dolores’ father Marcelo Lopez y Jalandoni. Vicente’s mother Marcela Villanueva y Felipe was an elder sister of Dolores’ mother Julita Villanueva y Felipe. To further underscore the close relations, Rosario Lopez de Santos [ Rosario Lopez y Villanueva, married to Francisco Santos; they had no children so She adopted several Lopez nieces and nephews as her heirs ], the formidable “Nanay Sayong” [ "Mother Sayong" ], adopted the young Francisco Jison y Lopez [ her first cousin Dolores' son ] and made him one of the heirs of her vast fortune. “Nanay Sayong” was an older sister of Vicente Lopez y Villanueva, a very capable and very willful lady who created her own immense fortune in sugarcane plantations and sugar mills. She was among the richest of her generation of Lopezes. So such are the interrelations of The Iloilo Aristocracy…
*************
These days, The “Nelly Gardens” is actively managed by the daughters of Lilia Lopez y Hofilena and Francisco Jison y Lopez: Lourdes Lopez Jison-Ledesma and Elena Lopez Jison-Golez. Their brother, Francisco Lopez Jison Jr., resides at the estate year-round. The mansion itself defies time as it is excellently maintained and remains as it was during the lifetime of Lilia Lopez de Jison; but the grounds are being redeveloped to best utilize the opportunities of the 21st century. Constant Reinvention is one of the Secrets of the Lopez Fortune.
The Untold Splendors of Old Pampanga
February 27, 2007 at 7:50 pm (19th century Filipino Art, Architecture, Arnedo de Sulipan, Design and Decoration, Escaler de Sulipan, Filipino Art, Gonzalez de Sulipan, Manila Houses, Pampanga Art, Quiason de San Fernando, Random memories, Religious Traditions, Reyes de Arayat, Rodriguez de Bacolor, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, The Pampanguenos)
In the late afternoons, a group of affluent Filipiniana collectors and connoisseurs, as well as authorities, scholars, and researchers, gathers at the eminent Filipiniana scholar Ramon “Boy” Villegas’ “Katutubo” Arts & Crafts at the LaO’ Center in Makati to catch up on the latest in the uppermost echelons of the Manila Art and Antique World. The conversations are invariably interesting, as the friends discuss the latest important finds on the market and express their interest in the rarest objects, generously peppered with, of course, the latest unsavory but interesting doings of Manila Society.
Usually, the conversations steer to the highly-desirable heirlooms of the “de buena familia” Old Families. And more than the Negrense, Cebuano, Batangueno, Laguna Tagalog, Ilocano, and even Manila families, The Pampango families and their storied holdings are the ones most often discussed.
I have always suggested to my good friend Ramon “Boy” Villegas that the Metropolitan Museum of Manila should mount an exhibition — one that will certainly be a blockbuster — themed and titled “The Splendors of Old Pampanga.” I also suggested the idea to another good friend, Corazon “Cora” Alvina, formerly the head of the Metropolitan Museum and presently the head of the National Museum, and while she thought it was a wonderful idea, she bowed and shook her head sadly when she realized the enormous insurance costs that such a magnificent exhibition would entail…
New Year’s Eve with The Banker
December 24, 2006 at 7:03 pm (Architecture, Design and Decoration, Humor, Manila Houses, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos)
Formidable Mother decided that we would all spend New Year’s Eve at her son’s English style residence. Despite our individual [ and separate ] plans, We all acceded because none of us wanted to displease Formidable Mother. But we also wanted to see what her son’s [ The Banker's ] wondrous “I am in London” house was like…
We arrived at 8:00 p.m. that evening. Several valets uniformed in dark “barong tagalog” were on hand to signal cars, open and close car doors, and assist the guests in alighting. The facade of the house was Palladian in style ala Inigo Jones-William Kent-Quinlan Terry. The drive was paved with granite. And we entered the massive front door…
OH. It was English all right. Expensively English, not at all “Desordre Anglaise” Shabby English [ which was actually the real, authentic, and correct "English Look" practiced in the Great Houses of Britain; but then, this was no down-at-heel English fortune ]. It was the way the “English Look” was done for the Very Rich from Mayfair to Regent’s Park all the way to Park Avenue and the Upper East Side in New York… It was “The Look” done well in Manila, for once!!! It was not the “I want the ‘English Look’ but on a Shoestring Potatoes Budget” so often seen in Manila’s exclusive, and exclusively parsimonious, enclaves.
There was an ethereal, ineffably elegant scent inside the house. There were perfume burners, certainly by Guerlain of Paris, for the unmistakably expensive scent of “Imperiale” wafted throughout the palatial residence.
The Hall of embassy proportions was Georgian in inspiration with a grand marble staircase on the right. The floor was conventionally European with white marble squares bordered by diamonds of black marble; Italian “pietra dura” marble inlay in a restrained Neoclassical pattern lined the perimeter of the floor. A George I silver chandelier hung from the ceiling. A tall, tall Christmas Tree decorated with antique French and German glass ornaments stood at the foot of the staircase. And to show that it was indeed the home of a young family, the youngest son’s toys were scattered about The Hall. His toy car, inadvertently left beside the Christmas Tree, was from FAO Schwarz in New York, no less.
Tall and glistening burled mahogany double doors heralded The Drawing Room. The elegant atmosphere reminded me of the San Francisco living room of the Gordon Gettys and the New York living room of the Milton Petries. The walls were upholstered in “moutarde”-colored French silk velvet, very Georges Geffroy and Victor Grandpierre. A large, pale 18th century Samarkand rug lay over the parquet-de-Versailles. Museum-quality 18th century English and French furniture graced the room. The upholstered, goose-down filled furniture, from Lenygon & Morant in London, was upholstered in a variety of silk damasks. Two English Chippendale cabinets held an assortment of French and German “objets de vertu” as well as antique Chinese ivory and jade. And the paintings. Oh, the paintings. The Banker had a taste for the Italian Masters, from the Florentine Renaissance onwards. There was a Giorgione, a Titian, a Veronese, a Tiepolo, a Guardi, a Canaletto, among so many other splendors. *nearly faints*
Another pair of elegant double doors led from The Drawing Room to The Dining Room. It was a room straight out of mid-eighteenth century Paris, with gilded boiseries in rococo style. A genuine French 19th century Aubusson rug was on the floor. We marveled at the marvelous room, for it was obvious that French stucco artisans had been brought to Third World Manila for the purpose. But instead of the expected round table draped with classical silk velvet or silk damask and surrounded by Louis XV or Louis XVI single chairs in the Classical French Style ala Chateau de Montgeoffroy [ where the first real dining room in 18th century France appeared ], a comparatively simple Filipino dining suite of mahogany and carabao bone inlay took pride of place. We were puzzled by the radical choice of furniture until we were cheerfully, and rather helplessly, told by The Banker himself that the suite had been a gift of Formidable Mother early in their marriage. Oh. *breathless* It had better remain there then, despite their vast array of magnificent options at Didier Aaron and Kugel, lest Formidable Mother become infuriated and summon the Powers of Hell… *fearful*
On another end of The Drawing Room were another pair of double doors that led to The Library. It was, expectedly, the quintessential English room in the quintessentially English house.
Three pairs of French doors in The Drawing Room led to The “Loggia.”
Lining the entire length of the ground floor hallway were magnificent examples of authentic Chinese Ming Dynasty furniture purchased from the unimpeachable Robert Ellsworth in New York, a collection begun by Formidable Mother.
The Powder Room was a wonderfully stylish chinoiserie fantaisie with endless mirrors, French gilt-bronze fittings, embroidered Chinese silks, and all manner of rock crystal.
The aristocratic Anglophilia of the splendid residence was completely understandable. The master of the house, after all, had read at Trinity College at Cambridge, among the most august of academic institutions, and from his youth had been friends with the banking Rothschilds and Guinnesses. His was no ordinary education from the very beginning: it had been carefully thought out by his technocrat father and sophisticated mother.
We were told by the staff that Formidable Mother was seated at the “loggia,” a big arcaded space beyond the Drawing Room and the Dining Room. And there She was. Formidable Mother, who was as big as her immense fortune [ think Mrs. Catherine Mingott in "Age of Innocence" ], sat on a distinguished English 18th century George III gilt armchair at a round table with all of the requisite teeny-weeny Parisian chinoiserie bamboo-style gilt chairs. We greeted her enthusiastically but we immediately sensed that She was already exploding her own fireworks…
Formidable Mother was in a snit when we arrived. She was breathing fire. She looked regal and beautiful in a dark-colored couture gown by Valentino Garavani detailed with black lace and black jet beads [ uncharacteristic of her: She was, in her later years, usually dressed in elegant, white Swiss fabrics ] . Her blonde hair was elegantly and expensively coiffed by the Salon of the Hotel Intercontinental. She was wearing some of her favored, custom made [ as in made for her!!! ] Fulco di Verdura and Bulgari jewelry, which she had purchased in Rome back when she “could still run.” The stylish mix was punctuated by some of the rarest and most expensive pieces of PreColonial Filipino Gold Jewelry, of which She had a very important and renowned collection. She wore her splendid jewelry with a casual, everyday air; actually, She seemed to be bored with them. She was shod in dreadfully expensive but comfortable shoes from a Parisian shoemaker. But She was extremely displeased — livid, actually — to see some of her relatives which her son had dutifully invited. She hurled invectives at them like popcorn while the staff tactfully led them away…
The evening’s august guests continued arriving. Among them, the sons of Manila’s [ and the Philippines' ] premiere Spanish mestizo family and also the sons of Cebu’s premiere Spanish mestizo family. Leading bankers and technocrats. Socially invisible heiresses. The Paris-based sister of The Banker’s wife, who was “Madame la Baronne de **********,” and a few others, whose names were all synonymous with wealth, power, and influence.
They all proceeded to the “loggia” to greet Formidable Mother, who was as grand a doyenne as any. She knew all of them; She knew the lowdown on all of them. The most respectable were received with enthusiastic greetings, warm embraces, and “beso-beso” kisses on both cheeks. The banking colleagues were greeted warmly with firm handshakes and a kiss on one cheek. The wheeler dealers and their ambitious wives were met with curt “hellos” and lukewarm handshakes.
Mrs. Banker had not yet made an appearance to their guests. She was still busy all around the house and specially in the kitchen, directing her staff and attending to the myriad details of the evening. She was an heiress of an old Chinese fortune in Manila. They literally owned blocks after blocks of the city’s old but most viable business district. She was not a particularly beautiful woman, but she had the “X Factor”: She could be made to look like the most glamorous woman in the city. Because She was very rich even on her own, She had a considerable “armory”: piles of boxes of gowns from her couturiers in Paris, rows of current Chanel suits, racks of Blahniks, Choos, and Louboutins, a mountain of Shu Uemura and Murad, and a vault full of contemporary Parisian haute bijoux: Mouawad, Cartier, Van Cleef, and JAR. All That, when She would rather dress in a comfortable cotton top and jeans. She did not exactly get along with Formidable Mother-in-law, or rather, Formidable Mother-in-law did not exactly get along with her. At best, they had a grudging respect for each other.
The Banker finally came down to meet his guests, a stylish latecomer at his own party. He had come from another, more formal New Year’s Eve gathering and he had rushed upstairs to his baronial bedroom for a change of clothes. He had discarded his English bespoke dinner jacket for a more casual, more avant garde, and still frightfully expensive long-sleeved shirt, pants, and shoes he had picked out in Paris on yet another business meeting just a few days ago. He was a handsome and strapping man, and he was a fortunate combination of his Southern Tagalog father’s high intellect, incisive business acumen, and executive drive and his mother’s cosmopolitan Mediterranean-Oriental looks, high artistic tastes, and exceptional personal style. The Banker was a “Renaissance Man” in many ways.
Conversation was at fever pitch when something seemed to have fallen, crashed rather, in the Drawing Room. Formidable Mother was further incensed when She saw one of her late husband’s business partners whom She never liked; She thought, rightly, that he was always out to put one over them, or over anybody for that matter. She had strongly hurled the big Hermes bag which her maid carried — heavy because it contained her gold accoutrements and everything else — in his direction, inadvertently displacing one of a pair of gilt bronze Empire torcheres by Thomire on pedestals which flanked one of the Drawing Room doors.
Happy New Year!!! *giggles*
After a pause, the impossibly polite crowd continued yacking as if nothing had happened.
You see, Formidable Mother was really something else. As a Sophia Loren character once said: “I’m *******!!! I don’t have to make sense!!!”
We all left The Banker’s New Year’s Eve Party with “loot bags” filled with goodies from Fauchon in Paris. Those were all sent every year from Paris in early December by Madame la Baronne de ********** for her sister, Mrs. Banker. The Banker kept an arsenal of expensive gifts — art works, luxury gold and silver objects, vintage French wines, French comestibles, French clothing, Italian leather, etc. — for his friends in one room of his splendid house.
It was truly a Happy New Year. The next day, a chatelaine from Bauhinia Road complained to her newly arrived but fantastically rich neighbor on Intsia Road that his bullets from last night’s revelry had rained on her house and nearly killed one of her beloved poodles. The arriviste neighbor did not apologize in person, which would have been the proper thing to do, but He promptly sent a generous cheque. His neighbor on Bauhinia Road was insulted, because She was very rich herself, although of the Old Variety.
Such nice problems to have.
*unfinished*
