Bridging the gap
Leisure activities in Iloilo in the early 1900s
By the closing decades of the 1800s, the town of Iloilo had emerged as the commercial center and cultural capital of Western Visayas. This was due to the premier role that it played in the sugar industry as its nerve center and life vein serving as transhipment point and storage. Its status was raised to a city by the Spanish crown on October 5, 1899 and on February 7, 1890, its ayuntamiento or city government was established.
With Iloilo becoming a city, its physical appearance further underwent significant changes. New public and commercial buildings, besides residential ones, were constructed. The city, thus, expanded to provide all the supporting facilities and institutions which included retail and wholesale houses, banks, warehouses, machine shops, commercial firms, printing presses, newspapers, educational institutions, foreign consulates, social clubs, theaters, bars and nightclubs, and even gambling houses.
To Iloilo City flocked not only farmers and merchants from the interior towns of the province, and of the neighboring provinces of Aklan, Antique and Capiz but also hacienderos from Negros and Panay as well. They visited Iloilo to sell their products, buy consumer goods, purchase equipment, negotiate crop loans, check on prices of sugar and other products, and avail of the form of entertainment that Iloilo clubs, theaters and other venues had to offer.
Among the popular entertainment or leisure activities that were available in Iloilo City in the initial decades of the 1900s were the zarzuela, circus and magic, movie, concert and exhibit, vaudeville, carnival and sport competition.
Zarzuelas were musical stage presentations that were the favorite of people from all walks of life in the 1900s. They were performed in fiestas, civic and social celebrations, carnivals and in regular theaters in the city. They were so popular that they even found their way into school programs.. Other activities that were also much sought for at that time and were usually staged during the patronal fiesta in the public plaza were circuses and magic performances. The performers were mostly coming from Manila or from outside of the country.
The first movies shown in Iloilo were the silent films which were short features of the Cinematografo Pastor shown in a camarin or a warehouse, and in the movie-houses located in Ledesma and Mabini streets. The city was also host of visiting musical troupes, some of them from abroad, that staged concert performances in many venues in the city. In addition vaudeville came to Iloilo City during the early American rule. As a form of entertainment, vaudeville consisted of specialty acts including those of acrobats, magicians, singers, dance teams and playlet performers.
Iloilo was furthermore host to a number of carnivals where a variety of spectacular shows and exhibits were presented as forms of entertainment. Popular among these were magic tricks, sword skills juggling acts, and the display of the latest in technological gadgets for home, office and personal use.
As one can see, social life in Iloilo City and the whole Western Visayas in the early 1900s was never boring and uneventful. The availability of a host of entertainments or leisure activities is indicative that the Ilonggos are of the outgoing type, fun-loving, and are willing to spend time and money to enjoy life.