Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
eighteenth century it was talked about as the “Paris of Negros”, with music performers
from Europe arriving by steamship to take part in operettas and
zarzuelas
. This passion
for music and the arts gave Silay - and the Philippines - its first international star,
Conchita Gaston
, a mezzo-soprano who performed in major opera houses in Europe in
the postwar years. Japanese forces occupied the city in World War II, after which the
sugar industry declined and Silay lost its lustre - many of its European residents
departing for home. Today, Silay's major tourist draw is its
ancestral homes
, most of
them built between 1880 and 1930 and some of the best are open to the public, giving
a glimpse of what life was like for the sugar barons.
The main road runs through Silay as
Rizal Street
, passing the central public plaza
halfway along its kilometre strip of shops, hotels and restaurants. The major annual
festival in town, the
Kansilay
, lasts one week and ends every November 13 with a
re-enactment of a folk tale showing the bravery of a beautiful princess who offered her
life for justice and freedom.
6
The Balay Negrense Museum
Cinco de Noviembre St, a 5min walk west of the central plaza • Tues-Sun 10am-5pm • P50 •
T
034 714 7676
he
Balay Negrense Museum
was once the home of Don Victor Gaston, eldest son of
Yves Leopold Germaine Gaston, a Frenchman who settled in Silay in the mid-nineteenth
century. After World War II the house was left deserted and by 1980 was a sad ruin,
known only by locals for the ghosts that were said to roam its corridors. Now restored by
the Negros Foundation, the house is a glorious monument to Silay's golden age, with
rooms of polished mahogany furnished with antiques donated by locals.
Don Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni House Museum
Rizal St • Tues-Sun 9am-5pm • P50 •
T
034 495 5093
Hard to miss at the northernmost end of Rizal Street is the pink
Don Bernardino-Ysabel
Jalandoni House Museum
, known throughout town as the Pink House. Built in 1908 it
gives some idea of the luxury of the time and features displays of antique law books
and Japanese occupation currency. The price includes a guided tour - ask them to show
you the huge metal vat in the garden, which was used to make muscovado sugar.
Manuel and Hilda Hofileña ancestral house
Cinco de Novimbre St • Open by appointment; call
T
034 495 4561 or the tourist o
ce
The first ancestral home in Silay to open its doors to the public, the
Manuel and Hilda
Hofileña ancestral house
is one of the last vestiges of the city's artistic history. The house
holds a gallery of works collected by Manuel and Hilda's son, Ramon, which includes
contemporary Filipino painters and masters such as Juan Luna and Amorsolo. Also on
display are countless fascinating antiques and curiosities which include part of a
meteorite fragment, one of Negros's oldest pieces of pottery and (allegedly) the world's
smallest dolls, visible through a magnifying glass.
Church of San Diego
Zamora St, on the north side of the public plaza
Built in 1925, the
Church of San Diego
is a dramatic sight, with a great illuminated
crucifix on top of the dome that is so bright at night it was once used by ships as a
navigational aid. Behind the church are the ruins of the original sixteenth-century
Spanish church, now converted into a grotto and prayer garden.
Guinhalaran
About 10min by tricycle or jeepney from town (P15)
Silay is known for
pottery
made from the red clay endemic to the area. In the barangay
of
Guinhalaran
on the National Highway you can visit the potters and watch them
making high quality jars and vases, which are for sale at bargain prices.
