Silay’s Ancestral Houses: The Glory of the Past
by: Jericho Paul Santos
January 2013--A physical structure has no significance to the community if it does not have some corresponding stories that help shape the people surrounding it. This reason has contributed to the preservation of the family structures in the city of Silay.
The city of Silay in Negros Occidental, 14 kilometers North, was one of the cities in the province that reaped the success of the sugar industry boom. Its golden age was between late 19th century and the early year before the Second World War. The houses were the seat of the privileged clans of the city. But the damage of the War and the decline of the sugar industry led to the return to its laid back atmosphere.




This ancestral house is home to one of the finest paintings by Filipino artists. Currently, it is still an occupied residence of the charismatic owner, Ramon Hofileńa. Antiques of the Hofileńa family are seen inside the house along with their old dining sets and family portraits and wood printing in Negros was first contained in this house.




Fernandez Doreen. Feasts and Feats: Festschrift for Doreen G. Fernandez. Quezon CIty: Ateneo de Manlia University. 2000.
Libosada, Carlos. Domestic Tourism. Manila. Anvil Publishing. 2003.
Maramba, Asuncion David. Seven in the Eye of History. Manila: Anvil Publishing. 2000.
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