Bridging the Gap
The Ilonggo-Bisaya as a proud and vain people
Middle-class Ilonggo-Bisaya urbanites have always been described as may bugal and maporma, proud and vain, and are thus given to capricious indulgencies – fabulous clothes, expensive jewelry, top of the line cars, beautiful houses, and the good life. But, they're poor copies of the truly rich in both Iloilo City and in the cities of Negros Occidental, who may not be as flashy, but whose deep pockets are apparent in their magnificently imposing – but never loud – homes. These are the manggaranon, whose way of life is best observed during the fiesta, especially in Jaro. Here, affluent families outdo each other as to who could prepare the most sumptuous dishes and who has the most prominent visitors. Not only are the guests piled with food and drinks, they are sent home with trays or packets of native delicacies and baskets of farm produce. The choice of a fiesta queen is a privilege exclusive to the manggaranon or who else could afford the pricey gown and jewelry, de rigueur trappings of the chosen one? While the manggaranon women attend to the large details of the fiesta, the manggaranon men troop to high-stakes marathon bulang or cockfights where huge amounts are gained or lost by aficionados from all over the country. They would not hesitate to sell their last carabao or pig to defray the expenses of the coronation night for a comely daughter or granddaughter who has been declared barrio fiesta queen.
Well, that's because the Ilonggo-Bisaya are a naturally festive people. At the last count, 37 festivals are held in Iloilo alone every year, and these do not include fiestas in the barrios in honor of local patron saints. All occasions call for serious merry-making – and feasting. The last, it is said, is one of the best ways to know Ilonggos who are singled out for their many culinary delights. One of these is batchoy. The hearty noodle soup is a national icon and a tool of Ilonggo imperialism. Usually advertised as "Original La Paz Batchoy" being native to La Paz district in Iloilo City, it can now be had anywhere in the Philippines – from as far north as the Ilocos region to as far south as Tawi-tawi. It is the observation of many, however, that Iloilo batchoy can never be duplicated elsewhere; it can only be approximated. Batchoy prepared by non-Ilonggos in other places tastes more like the Chinese mami, never the real thing.
That Ilonggos love to eat good food is a reason why Iloilo City and other cities in Western Visayas boast of numerous restaurants and eateries, either homegrown or franchises. Practically every major player in the Manila food business, for instance, has a branch in Iloilo City and Bacolod City.
It is precisely because of this flamboyance that the Ilonggos have been called tikalon, proud and boastful. Historically, the tendency could be traced to Iloilo's former stature as "Queen City of the South" and Negros Occidental as the center of the lucrative sugar industry, where many led enviable lives. Outside of Western Visayas, Ilonggo capital underwrote businesses in Manila and Cebu, especially in the service industries like power generation, transportation and the mass media. In addition, it must be recalled that the last Spanish governor-general of the Philippines and his troops, surrendered to the Ilonggos in Iloilo City and not to the Tagalogs who organized the revolution against the colonial regime.
To this day, most Ilonggos, especially in Panay, live comfortable lives. Compared with the other parts of the Philippines, Panay has been untouched by extreme poverty or ruin inflicted by natural or manmade calamities. This is the reason why the Ilonggo-Bisaya are not religious fanatics. There are no flagellants whipping themselves bloody or penitents carrying heavy wooden crosses during Lent or people walking on their knees from the church door to the altar. Historically, the Ilonggo-Bisaya never had a truly desperate need for divine intervention. For, indeed, not only that the Panay plains are fertile and afford sufficiency in food production, but the island has not experienced serious agrarian problem as it was elsewhere. Most inhabitants are small landholders and generally produce enough food for their own consumption.