The theme of celebration for Silay City's 55th Charter Anniversary last June 12, 2012 was ‘I AM PROUD TO BE A SILAYNON’.
This theme is a celebration of togetherness and achievements in all levels of Silaynon endeavor according to Mayor Jose "Oti" L. Montelibano. Here is a short documentary about Silay's past, a project of the city's Tourism Office in tandem with the PIO. Watch it and know the reason why I am very proud to be a Silaynon.
Researcher/Director/Editor: Neil Solomon Lopez Locsin
Silay City became a city on June 12, 1957 by virtue of Republic Act 1621. The city then has 2 main fiestas, the Charter Day Celebration every June 12 of the year, and the Feast of San Diego de Alcala, it's patron saint, every November 13. But frankly, I don't remember any merrymaking or commemoration of the Charter Day when I was growing up. To me and for most Silaynons of my generation, the parish church's fiesta was always the one that the people celebrate.
However in the last 20 years or so, the Silay Charter Day Celebration has gradually taken over the parish fiesta as the primary festival of the city in terms of scope and grandeur. For the June festivities, the city government has week-long events that focus on the rich culture and history of Silay, while the November fiesta has activities that highlight the religious aspect of the celebration. For the last 4 years, Hugyaw Silay, Inc., an NGO whose objective is the promotion of tourism, culture and arts of the city, has been managing the charter celebrations of the city. The main features are the Lin-ay Sang Silay and the Hugyaw Kansilay Streetdancing Competition.
I am more interested in the street-dancing competition because the first and last time I saw it was when it was first introduced in the 90's. This event disappeared for a while until it was again revived in 2008 by the current city administration. The present-day competition is bigger and more dramatic depicting the ‘Legend of Silay’ through dancing, using a lively original musical composition of "Hugyaw Silay" and colorful costumes. The costumes must be made
of indigenous materials. Each group is led by a maiden who represents Kansilay, a main character in the legend of how Silay got its name. Other characters of the folklore like the fairy, Diwata and the warrior, Lawaan are also represented.
The video above was taken during the opening of Panaad Sa Negros 2012 last April. Source: YouTube of Silay City Public Information Office.
‘Hugyaw Kansilay Festival’ of Silay City was chosen by the Department of Tourism as the official entry of Negros Occidental in the Kasadyahan Regional Cultural Competition in Iloilo City last January 2, 2012.
Silay City is full of heritage houses but most of them are still residential homes, lived in by the descendants of the original owners or bought by others who continue to live in them. There are few however that have been converted to museums or offices. This action is called adaptive reuse, referring to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for.
Among the first of those ancestral houses for adaptive reuse was that of Maria Ledesma Golez which was bought by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation or RCBC in 1992. I remember attending birthday parties in this house, going up the stairs at the left anterior part of the building. In fact, I have some memory of the living quarters upstairs and I still have a picture of myself at the age of 5 or 6 years at their balcony. The first floor used to be a soda fountain where they sold really good siopao. RCBC remodeled the interiors of the first floor into their Silay branch while the second floor is used as a storage area. The exteriors have been preserved well.
The next two ancestral houses were bought by the Silay City government and converted into offices. These are the Angel Araneta Ledesma Ancestral House which is used as the Arts and Culture Office of the city and the Armin Jalandoni Ancestral House which is now the Sangguniang Panglungsod building. These are both found in Plaridel Street, where I and my cousins would stroll on weekend afternoons. This street has been renamed to Generoso Gamboa Street.
Another heritage structure that has been converted is the Lope Severino Building which is now owned by two separate individuals. The left wing of the building was bought by an Indian businessman while the right wing was bought by the Baldevia family. Both owners converted their properties for commercial use. The second floor of the Baldevia side is a pension house with function rooms available for rent while the other side is rented by a religious group.
A few old buildings that were dilapidated or structurally unsafe were completely rebuilt like the Cine Silay now known as the Jison Building and the North Elementary School Gabaldon building. In the past Silay's main street was lined with beautiful buildings. They were used as commercial areas in the first level and residential areas in the second. Many of these buildings are still there, having withstood the test of time with new owners and a new life. But there were a few which were burned to the ground in the late 60's or early 70's and nobody will remember them...like the other Severino house fronting that of the Lope Severino building, the Hofileña building besides it (now with a new building rented by Mang Inasal), the house of the Lecaros family where Rising Drugstore used to be and one that I vaguely remember, the building besides The Bernardino Jalandoni house which their family also owned.
I hope that when architects are hired to plan for new buildings in Silay, they will always consider the aesthetics of a heritage city in mind. They can create modern day structures without sacrificing the old world charm of Silay.
