El Talonggo

11 Famous Food Brands From Bacolod and Negros Take the Centerstage in Rockwell Makati on Nov. 4, 5, & 6

2022-10-16T08:16:00.005+08:00

The pandemic has certainly hampered people's wanderlust for the past two and a half years. To date, a lot of Metro Manila residents have not left the city yet for other islands down south. Enter Negros Island, the Sweet Spot of the Philippines. Negros is known not just for being the sugar capital of the Philippines, it is also known as one of the culinary capitals of the country.

From Negros comes the world famous Chicken Inasal which recently was adjudged as the the fifth best chicken dish in the world by Taste Atlas. Other favorites for which Negros is known for are the yummy treats like the original Roli's Napoleones, a dessert made of puff pastry layered with pastry cream and glazed on the top.

For those who haven't had a chance to fill up on Negrense food and delicacies through the pandemic, the University of St. La Salle Alumni Association - Manila Chapter and Rockwell Center Bacolod present the first ever Namit-Namit Food Festival on November 4, 5, and 6, 2022 at the Hidalgo Drive of the Rockwell Center in Makati.

This culinary happening will allow visitors to taste authentic chicken inasal as brought by Bacolod Chicken Inasal, JT's Manukan, and Inasalan sa Dalan. Kansi by Pat-Pat's Kansi, and Sate Babi of Bob's Bacolod fame will be there too. All in all, eleven (11) food merchants from Negros will treat visitors to an array of Negrense cuisine which will surely tickle visitors' palates with the festival of flavors.

Complete list of food outlets in the Namit Namit Food Festival:

1. Manolo’s of Chef Manny Torrejon
2. Bacolod Chicken Inasal
3. Sir & Ma’am
4. Inasalan sa Dalan
5. Pat-pat's Kansi
6. JT’s Manukan
7. The original Roli's Napoleones
8. Quan
9. Bob's
10. Quino's
11. Grem's Deli

The original Roli's Napoleones

11 Famous Food Brands From Bacolod and Negros Take the Centerstage in Rockwell Makati on Nov. 4, 5, & 6

2022-10-16T08:15:00.003+08:00

The original Roli's Napoleones

Famous Delicacies From Bacolod and Negros Take the Centerstage in Rockwell Makati on Nov. 4, 5, & 6

2022-10-16T07:56:00.009+08:00

The original Roli's Napoleones

A new season for The Negros Trade Fair.

2022-09-25T13:45:00.004+08:00

Today will be the last day of the 36th Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta . This is the beginning of a new season for the longest running provincial trade fair in the Philippines. One of the most noticeable changes in the fair over the past few days is the country market feel brought about by the new booth providers. Instead of those industrial aluminum booth frames and flourescent lighting reminiscent of run-of-the-mill tiangges, this year's NTF had a homey feel aligned to the NTF's theme of "Hidlaw" (Longing). The booth frames were of wood and made festive with hanging lights.

The first day saw a lot of buyers coming in early in the morning as the mall opened, extending all the way to the evening "Arima" which was attended by Gov. Bong Lacson and team, Mayora Abby Binay, and Ayala Land CEO Bobby Dy.

The other noticeable change is the participation of LGUs sponsoring a common booth for their Small and Medium sized entrepreneurs who would have had a hard time taking on one booth all to themselves. It speaks of unity and cooperation in a more tangible sense. I liked how Cadiz City got 2 booths to showcase the goods of all the entrepreneurs they had in tow. Various SMEs under the banner of Cadiz City.

The most exciting change though happens today, Sunday. In the past, Masskara Night usually happened on a Saturday night. That didn't happen last night and was moved to tonight, Sept 25. I think this is a good move because it ends the NTF on a really high note with the festivities cranking up the celebration tempo and leading into a segue of revelry for the Masskara Festival in October.

If this turns out well tonight, I'm thinking that this will be the trend in the future...last night of the fair closing the activity on a crescendo and breaking into the Masskara mood. Kudos to the ANP and NTF chairperson, Michael Claparols .

All of these point to new beginnings for the Negros Tradefair . Kudos ANP! Kudos Negros Trade Fair team! Hip, hip, Hooray!

— at Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta.

El Talonggo : Save the dates! The Negros Trade Fair is Back!

2022-08-14T07:48:00.004+08:00

The longest running provincial trade fair is coming to town! The 36th Negros Trade Fair will be held at the Glorietta Activity Center, in Makati this coming September 20-25, 2022

This yearly event, spearheaded by the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) and in partnership with the Province of Negros Occidental, aims to promote the Negrense culture, craft, heritage, and art - as it pulls together producers from various industries who represent the best of Negros.

After 2 years of staying at home, we've missed the fun, festivities, and flavors of Negros!

Nothing beats the experience of witnessing Negrense craftsmanship first-hand and we're excited to bring back the longest-running provincial trade fair organized by the Association of Negros Producers, Inc. (ANP).

Save the date! The annual fair is making its way back to Glorietta this September 20 to 25, 2022.

The blogger, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

Other Posts :

Reviving The Lost Art Of Riding The Boat To Bacolod

This past Christmas season has been highlighted by so many horror stories of air travellers experiencing flight delays, bump-offs, and other inconveniences brought about by airlines which lacked the foresight to staff up given the hectic holiday season. Much noted was the chaos which took place at NAIA Terminal 3 when multiple counters were unable to open......Read More

Remembering the M/S Don Juan - Why The Pain Still Remains for Many Negrenses

I will never forget the morning of April 23, 1980. My mother got off one of those clunky rotary phones to receive such terrible news. The M/S Don Juan was reported to have sunk on its way back to Bacolod, coming from Manila. My mother let loose a loud wail that filled the house upon knowing that her cousin, Tito Batchoy Alunan .....Read More

Silay on my Tastebuds

2022-06-05T11:08:00.009+08:00

I recently visited Silay in my first ever trip outside of Luzon in in three and a half years. Blame it on the pandemic, my family and I have been limited to travels 250km away from home at the maximum. This trip was short but I was really thankful for it for it allowed me to have a glimpse of what life would be like for a Talonggo (Tagalog-Ilonggo) in a post-COVID-19 world, with all the adjustments in terms of travel preferences.

Upon arrival at the Bacolod-Silay Airport, Atty. Eli Gatanela and wife Elena, whisked me away to the hills in Patag for a lunch hosted by Raymund and Yves Javellana. Raymund as we may have known, is the dynamo behind turning the Ruins into one of the top tourist attractions in Negros, once of the 12 most fascinating ruins in the world, and one of the best landmarks in the Philippines, which was recently voted by netizens as the Best Heritage Site for 2016 sponsored by Choose Philippines, the travel website of ABS-CBN.

Raymund and Yves have blissfully relocated themselves in this private enclave of like minded nature and serenity lovers in the cool environment of Patag in Silay. As they prepared a sumptuous lunch, I zoomed in on the callos, which is often present in Negrense lunches. I've written about callos in the past and Raymund and Yves' callos is really up there with the best.

Throughout the short visit to Negros, the culinary highlight this time was the Lumpia I brought home to Manila. My cousin Tina Tronco-Baldevia messaged me the afternoon before I would fly back to Manila if I would want to bring home Lumpia from Silay. All of us in the family love lumpia made of ubod (coconut pith).

In the seventies, I knew that there would be a lunch to be hosted at home because our kusinera, Elenita, would stack up lumpia in the freezer the on the eve of the lunch. I'd open up our freezer and you'd see all the lumpia stacked up in rolls with the green sibuyas dahon jutting out.

I picked up the lumpia from Tina's house on the way to the airport and was excited to have this for merienda when I got home to Manila. For those who aren't familiar with the Lumpia of Silay, this is the unique derivation of the Chinese spring roll created with the ingredients we find in abundance in Negros, the sweet spot of the Philippines.

The Lumpia of Silay is distinct and unlike those in most parts of the Philippines. While most "fresh" or uncooked (sariwa) lumpia elsewhere consists of sautéed vegetables in a white flour-and-water wrapper, and occasionally in some parts garnished with ground peanuts or a sauce, the Lumpia of Silay is different.

The soul of the Lumpia of Silay is the ubod or coconut pith. The ubod is always fresh as can be. The coconut tree cut down for ubod only hours before, so that the pith is not only white but sweet and juicy yet crunchy. The crunchiness accentuated by shreds of chicharon (pork cracklings) and a leaf of local lettuce.

As for the freshness of the ubod, as far as I remember, in Negros, there were small trees just for ubod sometimes planted between full-size nut-bearing trees. That's farm to table for you, long before farm to table became a buzzword.

I thank Tina for sending me off with a box of Lumpia from Silay. More than a week after we had the last piece of lumpia here in Manila, this Talonggo is still craving for lumpia of Silay - the culinary capital of Negros.

Slater Young Shows Us A Design For a Nice Farmhouse

2022-02-21T07:09:00.004+08:00

This has been on YouTube for a year now but Filipino Entrepreneur, actor, engineer, model and television personality Slater Young, posted a video about a concept house to fit within a PhP 1.5 Million budget. For those who are not familiar with Slater Young, Slater is dubbed as "The Hotshot Engineer of Cebu", having won Pinoy Big Brother 2012.

He blogs on YouTube mainly on design and construction of houses being a graduate of civil engineering degree from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

The video above shows a concept house which most likely could be a farmhouse, perfect for Negrenses. As admitted, this is just a concept and has to be developed further. After looking through it, I myself would like to see more enhancements suited to my needs.

Overall, this concept is a good starting place.

Remembering the Departed in a Post-Pandemic World

2022-02-19T09:58:00.005+08:00

A few days before Valentine's Day 2022, I was able to write something about how my beloved departed parents first met in the 1960s. I posted this on a site called Journals.PH.   Interestingly, this post entitled, Two Negrenses Meet In Manila - A Love Story from the 1960s, shot up to 5,000 views in a few days - and still the numbers are going up.

I was inspired to write about my parents' serendipitous meeting due to an article which I had transcribed into blog format a few days prior. The article I transcribed was the story of the First Wedding in Malacanang. This was a love story in the time of war written by Behn Cervantes and published on printed page in a Fil-Am magazine. The story was never published on the internet so I transcribed it for everyone to appreciate - the story of Eduardo Ledesma and Nena Vargas, whose union happened at Malacanang during the Second World War.

Because of that post on the Ledesma-Vargas wedding, many who were unaware of the role of the late Jorge B. Vargas, Executive Secretary to President Manuel L. Quezon, had a glimpse of the difficulties during the Japanese Occupation. Fast forward to today, we too are beset with a different kind of difficulty in pandemic or post-pandemic times.   The ease of travel is not like before. Visits to the remains of beloved departed in their final earthly resting places are few and far in between.

As of this writing, I have not been to Negros for more than 2 years.   And in my last visits, I was not able to visit my parents' final resting place due to tight schedules.

As most remedies have emerged during these times of COVID-19, the answer finds its way back to digital media. With the inability to visit a memorial park, cemetery, or whatever physical resting place, the alternative is just to have this singular link on the internet where memories of the beloved departed can somehow live. Frankly speaking, it would be more meaningful than marble slabs indicating name, date of birth, and date of death.

With this, family members should consider creating a well written post on the internet, outside of Facebook, where friends and family could pay respects even long after the funeral. As a Digital Media Strategist and Consultant, finding that space and place is easy. The challenge is - who will write it?

Visayan Daily Star Archive Links : February 2007

2022-02-13T13:10:00.009+08:00

Visayan Daily Star Archive Links : January 2007

2022-02-13T11:39:00.006+08:00

Love in the time of War : Remembering the time when Sons-In-Law wrote to their Father-In-Law

2022-02-12T11:49:00.004+08:00

Last week, the post I made entitled "The First Wedding in Malancañang - Love in the Time of War", made it as one of the most popular posts in this blog.

After all, everyone loves a good love story of Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan levels.

With the permission from the Vargas-Ledesma family, I am posting the full letter written by the groom, Eduardo Ledesma to his father-in-law, Jorge B. Vargas, of which the excerpts appeared in the previous post.

1168 Taft Avenue
Manila, P. I.
July 22, 1943

Dear Dad,

With you and mother I claim the pleasure and pride of loving Nena, perhaps differently according to our individual capabilities but with the same degree of intensity. With you and mother I enjoy, (undeservedly I think) the honor and happiness of having her love. Therefore, it is only natural that we should have her felicity and welfare foremost in our hearts. And with this thought, I place before you my case for wanting to go home. You are aware of my personal wishes and opinion—-let us for the time being discard them. Let me address you on one basis we unanimously agree—-our love for her who is your daughter and who is also my wife. It is true that the trip will be a trial for her, in fact for any woman. It is undeniable that life over there will be many times harder. Things that are so easily accessible to her here will be heavensent for her there—if she can have them at all. There will be more responsibilities and consequently more worries; less amusements, more loneliness. At a glance she seems to be receiving nothing and losing everything in a bargain like this. But this placing her in the crucible of difficulties; the abrupt change in surrounding will make her a mature woman and the best of wife. Of this I am convinced. Because I firmly believe, Dad, that behind her childish exterior, underneath her young years, are the blood and sinews of an admirable man who rose from the common ranks to the place he is now, and that of his kind and understanding, his beloved and loving wife. When you come to think of it, Dad, did not those headaches and heartaches of your struggling years with mother leave you the dearest of memories, hold you together in a tighter spiritual bond? You gave me such a vivid and lasting impression when I asked you for Nena’s hand: it was not your reasonableness; it was not your controlled calm; it was not your being so considerate, although any of these was sufficient to make that interview memorable. Rather it was your question, “Will you love her for the rest of your life?”. The answer was “yes,” is still “Yes,” and God willing, always will be “YES!”. So that throughout her severest tests, during her bitterest sorrows, she will not walk lonely and alone. Her tribulations will be mine as well as her happiness. You, who have been married these past twenty-four years, must know as I have merely been told of the lightness of a sorrow shared, the ecstasy of a happiness divided between man and wife.

Then we come to me. I’m human, Dad. Nights, something inside me argues, “Don’t be a fool, stay. Think of the advantages, the security, the ease that is at your disposal.” I’m tempted. Tempted until I recall that advantages, security, ease are not everything; that man does not live on bread alone, and that so long as our love holds we would be contented just as well in a shack as in a palace. And frankly, Dad, would you think better of a son-in-law who took a ready-made position? How would Nena feel? She is not such a kid not to realize the situation. Do I sound so infernally idealistic? The probability is great that I may not earn as much over there as the position over here. The saving factor of the situation is that I feel that we will manage somehow. Again, Dad, would you consider this attitude as arrogance or overdone pride? If so, let me say this: Heaven forbid, but should there be a time when I feel Nena is much better off here than over there, then so help me, Dad, I’ll swallow my pride to the last drop and ask for your help. Yes, Dad, Nena has shown me that true love knows not the barrier of pride. And here’s a promise to you, Dad: Anytime you come to need us, call, and circumstances permitting we will be at you disposal at the quickest possible time. You and mother will be constantly in our hearts, and if I may rashly say, specially in mine who couldn’t have been more nicely treated by you and mother than if you were my flesh-and-blood parents.

So I have sent the telegram inquiring from Mother and Dad whether it would be advisable for us to leave. You have expressed your doubt as to the wisdom of our living there considering Nena’s position. Somehow, Dad, along the way from the tragic saga of Bataan to the fall of Corregidor I have acquired the philosophy that luck or misfortune, life or death, is where we find it; that as mother said on Eddie’s departure, “Let us have faith in God and everything will turn out right.” The answer will come in a few days and Baby will be informed right away of its contents. That, then, is what I have done.

And so, with your permission and what’s more important your blessing, Nena and I would like to return to begin life as just another Mr. and Mrs. Juan de la Cruz. We will not leave, Dad, if you think our departure unreasonable, if you find my reasons unjustified. We want to go with your understanding, your love and your blessing so that when there shall be once more “peace on earth and goodwill towards men”, we can look forward to a glorious reunion forevermore.

Your respectful and loving son,

Nena and Dading moved back to Negros and began their story that begat Eddieboy, Annemarie, Ina, Maggie, Betsy, Tony, Pepe, Lourdes, and Jorge.

The blogger, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

Other Posts :

The First Wedding in Malacañang - Love in the Time of War

2022-02-06T07:44:00.007+08:00

Everyone loves a good love story of Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan levels, especially during this time of uncertainty. We love it because it allows hope to rise within despite all the bad news circulating. And so we dwell on what's positive.

I came across this story posted by Nicky Ledesma in the Facebook group "Negrense Chronicles" entitled, A Quiet Wedding - The First Wedding in Malacanang, written by the late Behn Cervantes for Special Press Edition Magazine, a Fil-Am publication which ran in the mid 1990s.

The shots of the magazine pages were there but it would take a microscope to read the text. So I had to convert the text for you, reader, to appreciate the story. Being a Negrense, I have so many stories to weave around this but will have to defer such so that we can just zoom in on Behn Cervantes' words.

And so it goes...

A QUIET WEDDING
The first wedding in Malacañang
by Behn Cervantes

The bride was a peaches and cream beauty at 19. The bridegroom was all of 22. In the 1940s, theirs was the ideal age range or couples to wed. He was a scion of the Ledesma family from the sugar-rich province of Negros Occidental. She was the daughter of Jorge Vargas, one of President Quezon's top Commonwealth officials. Lourdes Filomena Vargas y Yulo, "Nena" to her family and friends, was one of high society's stunning debutantes. While Eduardo Ledesma y Locsin, Dading to all who were his friends, was a business graduate from the exclusive De La Salle College. She graduated from the elitist girl's school, Assumption Convent. By the standards of the era, the two were good and ready to march down the aisle. Furthermore, the betrothal met the approval and had the blessings of both well-heeled families.

Dading and Nena were indeed ripe for marriage. They had everything going for them. Bonded with such deep love, Dading and Nena decided to wed at 6:30 in the morning of July 23, 1943. They were very much in love.

It was not to be. It was the wrong time.

This was World War II. It was during t thick of the Pacific war. Japan's expansionist scheme had been put into effect, so the Philippines was now occupied by the, Japanese Imperial Army in Japan's fascistic plan to incorporate the fertile, but American, territory to its Greater Fast Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Program.

Jorge Vargas was the top Philippine official during these uncertain times as the deputy official in lieu of the absence of Manuel Luis Quezon, President of the Philippine Commonwealth who had fled the country with General MacArthur.

Young Dading, who survived Bataan and Corregidor was released from prison by the Japanese Kempetai. Life under Japanese rule was worlds apart from the pampered existence the young bride and prospective bridegroom enjoyed just a few years before the war. Their life ahead was uncertain, and its demands many. Nevertheless, the young couple faced the future with the optimism and strength that only comes from an abiding faith that love, specifically their love, would see them through. It would mature, sure to weather this storm and many more tribulations certain to come their way, they decided.

Jorge Vargas, as the top Filipino official during this war-torn period, was naturally, under heavy surveillance by the Japanese Army's intelligence section, the Kempetai. As it was for his future son-in-law, as well. No matter what the cruel games of destiny, love conquers all and proceeds toward its own chartered path. He set the pace for this life-changing event that would unite him with his Nena.

On May 18, 1943, an anxious Dading wrote his brother Nick: "I'll see her so she can ask her parents for a day when I could talk to them."

That meant he was set to ask for her hand in marriage. When the young suitor did, all the honorable Jorge Vargas asked was: "Will you love her for the rest of your life?"

The young Ledesma's answer was an unequivocal, "Yes, and God willing, will always be, yes!"

Tradition required the father of the prospective bridegroom to formally ask the future bride's father for the final consent. Since his own father, Jose Ledesma y Ledesma, due to the scarcity of transportation during the war, was stuck in Silay, Negros Occidental, Tay Joaquin, his uncle in Manila, would do the honors.

In the meantime, the organized suitor took matters into his own hands and harnessed the help of his supportive siblings. In a rush of letters to his brother Nick, he stated: "I'm writing letters in such a way that taken together they will give you a complete picture of my plan."

To a sister, he insisted: "Please, Inday, I want to get this over with now that I've made up my mind."

However, he asked Nick to: "Just keep your fingers, leg and toes crossed. I'll wire. If I say, 'practice singing O Promise Me!' then it's okay. If I telegram 'prepare castor oil', then you'll know what happened."

Nevertheless, he asked Inday to keep his plans secret: "Promise me, Inday, mum's the word."

But, he kidded Nick to practice O Promise Me because: "Nena wants it sung in swing, tango classical, rhumba, boogie-woogie and waltz".

Then, with a sense of urgency, he wrote Nick again requesting: "... tell Inday to have my suit cleaned. If I wire, 'send suit,' that means it." The Japanese authorities had introduced clothing rations so Dading couldn't buy the shirt he needed for that all-important occasion. In the meantime, he had already bought socks, handkerchiefs and a belt for his wedding outfit. Regarding the wedding plans, he confided to his sister, Inday: "I think Nena and I prefer a quiet one."

Nena was the first' Filipina to wed in Malacañang Palace. Before the Philippine Commonwealth was put into power, only the colonial government heads resided in that palace beside, the Pasig River. For decades, Spanish governor generals and their families replaced their Spanish colo-nial counterparts and lived stylishly in this grand old palace constructed with the best of Philippine hardwood and European furniture and chandeliers. Filipino servants served them American and European cuisine. Centuries-old acacia trees and flame trees gave comfort and shade to the residents and the important international visitors allowed inside its decorative iron gates.

When Manuel L. Quezon was proclaimed President of the Philippine Commonwealth, he and his family moved in and lived there. With the onset of World War II, the American government deemed it necessary that he and his family escape to the United States via Australia.

General Douglas Mac-Arthur advised Quezon and his family to join him when he fled to Australia just before the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor. He also brought along Sergio Osmefia, the vice president, so Jorge Vargas was left as the top official in the absence of President Quezon.

The Vargas family had access to Malacañang Palace. It was decided the wedding of his daughter Nena would be held there. The wedding was big society news. Manila's 400 were intrigued by the romantic union of this youthful couple during such perilous times.

Precisely because everything seemed against the love-struck pair, those who loved—them spared nothing to create the romantic atmosphere which would help make the event forever a glorious memory for the youthful couple.

Nevertheless, festivities were restrained by war conditions. Nothing could be as it was. The couple realized there would have to be limits to the festivities and, alas, even their happiness. Sadly, the bridegroom's family could not attend this memorable occasion owing to travel limitations and the dangers involved in inter-island journeys at this particular time. The Ledesmas were isolated in the family homestead in Silay much to the disappointment of the bridegroom and the Ledesma clan, but there was nothing they could do.

Tay Joaquin Ledesma, the surrogate father, stood in lieu of the groom's parents. He was also one of the two principal sponsors. Marina Yulo Vargas, mother of the bride, was the other. Mons. Guglielmo Piani, the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, officiated the solemn and elegant exchange of marital vows. However, all ceremonial matters were simplified and brought down to bare essentials. The times required it.

The lovely young bride wore a Valera creation, a simple satin terno with hand-embroidered butterfly sleeves that showed off her cameo beauty. A diaphanous tulle veil trailed her as she slowly marched down the sampaguita-scented aisle on the arm of her distinguished father, Jorge Vargas. He wore a formal black suit. His wife, Marina, was naturally, in an elegant terno.

The guests wore the prescribed attire for such an occasion with many of the ladies in the best of Philippine ternos complete with the accompanying pañuelos and serpentinas. Members of the High Commission and their wives were also in attendance, but their attire befitting the era whenceforth of which they were the proud members of, a raging war notwithstanding.

The ceremony was held in the the reception Hall of the Palace where an altar had been ingeniously improvised and decorated. The aisle was decorated with thousands upon thousands of chained sampaguitas, while the huge hall of dark and shiny Philippine hardwood was tastefully bedecked with gardenias, lilies and tube-roses. The Viennese chandeliers were lit, casting a resplendent glow on the hall and the guests. A soft dewy breeze blew in from the Pasig River as O Promise Me was sung.

Nothing within the bounds of good taste, despite the harsh limitations imposed by the war, was spared the couple. They were to treasure loving memories of this occasion, a war notwithstanding.

The Vargas and Ledesma families, being members of Philippine high society, partook of the good life and were accustomed to the best and most lavish, but, they also had a social conscience. War demanded austerity, so on this occasion, their well-heeled guests were fed only cake. The money intended for the wedding's breakfast was instead donated to the Philippine Red Cross.

The bride's exquisite gown was donated to a Carmelite Monastery where its ample yardage was turned into bandage material, in great demand during those war-torn years. The picture perfect wedding was everything a young bride could dream of and more. It had all the required elements of romance, but danger also hovered over them and the whole country. This uncertainty could darken their future.

However, Dading and Nena had founded their relationship on the oldest and strongest of forces—love, so together they forged ahead to wherever fate and their love would lead them. After the ceremony, the couple drove to Assumption Convent in whose chapel Nena offered her bridal bouquet to the Virgin Mary, a tradition maintained by Assumption alumnae. The young bride, kneeling in front of Mary's statue after she offered her bouquet, prayed for the love and strength she needed for the challenges which assailed her. She had grown up in comfort with all things available to her. Now, she would start a new life under difficult conditions and would need spiritual help along with the support and love of her young husband.

After all, Nena and Dading would start a life together during a most precarious period. Nothing was certain. Where would food come from? Work? How could they raise a family under these perilous conditions? A million and one worries beset a young married couple during normal times. Theirs were compounded by the complexities and uncertainties of war. Nothing was predictable, except their love for one another. That would keep them strong. It would anchor them and make them face the future with hope and optimism. They could create a life of their own during these terrible times.

Dading had made a difficult decision. It was going to be arduous caring for a wife in Manila. How about the family they soon intended to have? So Dading decided to take his young bride to the family homestead in Silay. However, this would mean he would have to wrest her away from the comfort of her home and the love of her family. Naturally, It would be difficult to separate the young bride from her doting family, especially since she would have to deal with her father whose task of running the government under foreign command required all the support he could have from his family. He wrote Nena's father:

I place before you my case for wanting to go home... It is undeniable that lofe over there will be many times harder. Things that are so easily accessible for her here will be heavensent for her there - if she can have them at all. There will be more responsibilities and, consequently, more worries; less amusements, more loneliness. At a glance, she seems to be receiving nothing and losing everything in a bargain like this. But placing her int he crucible of difficulties, the abrupt change in surrounding will make her a mature woman and the best of wives. Of this I am convinced.

However, he assured the anxious father that "... throughout her severest test, during her bitterest sorrows, she will not walk lonely and alone. Her tribulations will be mine as well as her happiness. You who have been married these past twenty-four years must know, as I have been merely told, of the lightness of a sorrow shared, the ecstasy of a happiness divided between man and wife."

As a final assurance Dading stated: "And so, with your permission and what's more with your blessing, Nena and I would like to return (to Negros) to begin life as just another Mr. and Mrs. Juan dela Cruz. We will not leave, Dad, if you think our departure unreasonable, if you find my reasons unjustified. We want to go with your understanding, your love and your blessings so that when there shall be more 'peace on earth and goodwill towards men', we can look forward to a glorious forevermore."

In September of 1943, a mere two months after the wedding, Dading and Nena sailed aboard a Japanese boat for Negros Occidental, their chosen home. The Ledesma family welcomed the young bride with a big party where a young soprano, Conchita Gaston, was among those who entertained the Manila debutante. Their new home was just behind the old family house in Silay. The young couple settled to start their life together as Mr. & Mrs. Eduardo Ledesma. Nena and Dading, to all their friends.

On July 18, 1944, Nena bore Eduardo, Jr. Then, Ana, Marina, Ma. Regina, Margaret Mary, Elizabeth Christine, Antonio Andres, Jose IV, Lourdes Filomena and Jorge Roberto.

On July 23, 1993, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, the memories of that war-torn morning in 1943 intact and glorious forevermore.

On October 11, 1996 Dading passed away. Nena, however, lives ever empowered by his love and conjugal partnership that experienced "the lightness of a sorrow shared, the ecstasy of a happiness divided between man and wife." And in her heart, Nena knows that "yes" as Dading loved her that morning of July 23, 1943, he did so, as she promised her father, for the rest of his life.

---

Post Script : I mentioned to Nick Ledesma that there exists a copy of the full letter written to Jorge Vargas, and that what appears above are only excerpts. Perhaps with the permission of the family, the full letter could also be posted here in El Talonggo.

The blogger, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

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"Dear Coco" - Rowena Guanzon writes to her niece (1998)

2022-01-29T20:49:00.012+08:00

The past few days, news channels and sites have been abuzz with items on COMELEC Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon.

Many have been amazed at how vocal and fiery this ex-Mayor from Negros Occidental could be. Nevertheless, an article from Guanzon's newspaper column in 1998 lends us a glimpse on Commissioner Guanzon's roots and colorful background.

The column was entitled, Dear Coco, addressed to her niece, Coco - the daughter of Didoy Cruz Fullon.

Dear Coco,

I am, as your mother must have told you, your aunt, because we are third cousins. Not a very thoughtful aunt, because you are now thirteen and still have no idea what my side of my family looks. like But all is not lost, for this year I am determined to make up for lost time. It is time for you to know where your rebellious and sometimes near psychotic spirit comes from When you come to Negros we must spend time for story telling

Your family and mine are an interesting bunch. But just like any family, there are the good and the other side of things. I am grateful to your mom for giving us credit for your intelligence, because I am sure I can hardly take credit for your good looks.

Your great grandfather Justice Jesus G. Perez and my grandfather Mateo Casten Guanzon were first cousins, because Mateo I was the older brother of Filomena, your great grandfather's mother. If you were worried about dysfunctional genes you might have inherited when you saw our lovable, small but terrible grand aunt Luz Guanzon Perez-Zayco, you are right.

Lola Luz did get her artistry and esprit from her Guanzon side. Her hands and fingers were graceful on the piano, but she had a mean left hook too.

She had an elephant's memory, and a tongue, that could be tender but at the same time capable of sending her enemies on warp speed to Dante's inferno. Although we rarely saw her, she was a significant part of our family. We are proud to be related to her.

"My father is so enamored of her and her character that he named our youngest sister Maria Luz, a doctor, after her.

Lola Luz was buried last Saturday, and we had a last look of her small but proud face. We, the politicians in our family, your uncle Ysidro Zayco included, inherited from Lola Luz her genuine love for people. She loved politics. She would go around town campaigning, and could spend a whole day in the market without getting tired. She was a great storyteller too.

Ask Ali, she will tell you how Lola Luz told them her love story with Lolo Icoy, like it was a chapter from Romeo and Juliet. But when she got mad, she really got mad. Oh well, with that kind of character, charm and intelligence, there has got to be a trade-off.

At her request, Lola Luz is buried in the same ground as her father, mother, brother and sister, and not with her husband. As you can tell, she was extremely loyal to her family. The "lapida" (tombstone) of her maternal grandfather, Capitan Maximiano Guanzon is also in the same mausoleum Maximiano's father was Pedro. It is said that they came from Pampanga. It was Maximiano and his son Mateo who led the revolt against the Spanish soldiers in Kabankalan during the revolution. It wasn't much of a fight, for there were only a handful of the Spanish guardia civil. But you can check Father Cuenca-Martinez' book, A History of Negros for this, if you are interested. When the Americans Spaniards as our colonizers, father and son Maximiano and Mateo were accused of being rebels and were tied to and made to walk behind horses from Kabankalan to Bago.

It was only through the intercession of a Luzurriaga that they were released.

Your lolo Susing had the entrance road to Kabankalan named after Maximiano, so you have Guanzon Street there Tita Heidi remembers her father's Tio Mateo as having large ears. She said he often wore black and white shoes with a white suit. Tito Nonoy, aka Ysi, said that lolo Teo looked tall when he was a boy. I think it was more of the bearing than the height, for tatay said he did walk ramrod straight, with a cane for effect.

I have to check this, but it is said that he went to the Ateneo, something which none of us has done. I think he was a spoiled only son. He was a good friend of the Zuluetas of Iloilo, who also went to Americans took over from the school in Ateneo, and so it was not surprising that, as a result of his vacations there, he married their relative, Emilia Casten.

That is why my younger brother is named Casten, and so is his son.

The male Guanzons looked alike, as you can see from the pictures, which I will send your mom. Try to keep it for your next generation, for this is one way we can stay con nected. You are lucky, I must say, for having the Perez genes, for your ancestor was a Spaniard, and had fine features. I suspect that our ancestors were Chinese Filipinos I would fancy having some European blood too, but it doesn't go with my nose, so it is just as well that I have the skin of the great and noble Malay race.

Your mom and I went to law school together. I hope that someday you and my nephews and nieces will get to know each other well, and will be happy to claim each other as relatives. The distance may be a minor obstacle, but with e-mail, we can stay connected And then there is always the Christmas season, or New Year. Come and spend some time with us during your break. I am sure that you and I will find that although our relation may seem distant, we are alike. Let me guess. You have a strong sense of independence, and like things to be orderly. You like to study only what really interests you. You get angry when someone is treated unfairly.

If you also have a mean left or right hook, then you are really lola Luz's great grand daughter and my niece, blood of my blood.

"It's Still September" and other favorites from High School

2021-09-28T21:05:00.005+08:00

I used to play these songs on my tape recorder (how ancient) when I was in high school. These were the "end of the day" songs in our room at the Boys' Dorm.

"It's Still September"

"Our Moments Together"

"Night Drive"

Negros Season of Culture features the Heritage Soups of Negros

2021-08-29T09:36:00.002+08:00

As August draws to a close and the -Ber months are knocking on my door, I look back to the last two months of my activity on the internet. For the past sixty days or so, I have been uploading articles and recipes of the heritage soups and recipes from Negros Island. This task has been done in conjunction with my duties in the Negros Season of Culture wherein I maintain the website ( www.negrosseasonofculture.com ) which basically is a global messaging system that promotes the cultural assets of Negros as shaped by its rich heritage and traditions, the unique identity of the place, and the talent of its people.

A large part of Negrense culture finds its way back into the kitchen, and here we find that a lot of the favorites of Negrenses through the decades come in the form of a soup. Thus, this focus on soups entitled "Warmth In a Bowl".

At this point in time where "Warmth In a Bowl" ends its run, the Negros Season of Culture would have featured Chicken Ubad with Monggo, Kansi, Laswa, Chicken Binakol, Bas-Uy, Tambo, Fish Tinola, Pancit Molo, KBL and Linutik.

All of these features serve as a pleasant reminder of the days in Negros when these would be enjoyed with family in our ancestral home. The articles are a perfect response to all of us who cannot visit Negros at this time of the pandemic. Our best bet to travel back home to Negros Island is through our food - and this is made possible with the Negros Season of Culture's "Warmth In a Bowl" series which also places the spotlight on three young and creative chefs of Negros.

To make your virtual travel back to Negros easier, I am posting below the photos of the soups which serve as links to the recipes and stories.

Bon Appetit and happy virtual travels back to Negros through your palate!

Laswa

Kansi

Fish Tinola

Chicken Ubad with Monggo

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

6 Reasons Why You Should GO FOR IT!

2021-08-10T15:11:00.001+08:00

In this time of pandemic when most of our plans went awry due to the continual lockdowns and quarantines, we've been more introspective and have been evaluating the balance between planning for the future and living in the present.

For those who have been wanting to do something for a long time, here are six reasons to go for what you've been wanting to do all along:

1. Life is short.
2. It's all or nothing.
3. Who cares what other people think?⁠
4. You are strong enough to do the hard things.
5. Doing what you love makes success more likely.
6. When you are brave, your efforts will reward you.

Negros Island!...The SWEET SPOT of the Philippines!

2021-08-08T17:22:00.001+08:00

El Talonggo

2021-06-28T08:22:00.000+08:00

El Talonggo is the first and probably the only online magazine dedicated to the Tagalog-Ilonggo.

There are quite a number of us who were actually born in Luzon with parents coming from Iloilo or Negros Island, but through the years have been cris-crossing the Islands, at one point growing up in Manila, then moving back to Negros, studying in Iloilo, then going back to Manila. You get the picture.

Being Talonggo is quite a sub-culture of its own. There is a mindset that is embedded in provincial life while active and adaptive to the frenetic pace of the big city.

I invite you, reader, to explore the world of the Talonggo. So much is written in this blog about Culture, People, Places, and quirks which some of you may relate to being Ilonggos/Negrenses.

#talonggostories

Stay Safe and Healthy, Bacolod people!

Stay safe and healthy, Bacolod people!

-el Talonggo

The Foreigners Who Shaped The Sugar Industry : Fr. Fernando Cuenca

2021-06-27T09:10:00.008+08:00

Yves Germaine Gaston was a Frenchman who first visited Negros in 1844 was one of those who helped shape the sugar industry as we know it. Meantime, halfway around the globe in 1844, a young Spanish priest by the name of Father Fernando Cuenca de San José, was being ordained in Monteagudo, Spain (June 6, 1844). Fr. Cuenca was just 20 years old but at that time ecclesiastical law allowed ordination even at this young age.

In 1848, the young priest Fr. Cuenca led Mission 45 of the Recollects from Spain to the Philippines. The arrival was providential for at this time, there was a vacuum in the spiritual administration of the island of Negros. Governor General Narciso Claveria passed to the provincials of the four religious orders the option to take up the spiritual administration of the island of Negros to any of them. Two days after Governor Claveria's call, the Recollect Provincial replied accepting the island and promising to send six priests within six months.

Among those priests was Fr. Fernando Cuenca, who was assigned in Minuluan, the name for the place now called Talisay City.

Apart from establishing the parish in Minuluan, Fr. Cuenca helped shape the sugar industry Negros. Although sugarcane was already being cultivated in Negros by the time Fr. Cuenca came over, he is credited with pushing for its expansion. He identified the areas that were best suited for the crop. It was the time when large tracts of land were without owners and the government urged the landless in other province to come to Negros. Being from Spain, he tapped the Recollects vast knowledge of farming and provided technical assistance to hacienderos who were just starting the industry in Negros. He was also one of the first persons to establish a mechanized hydraulic sugarcane mill in the island. He also imported sugarcane 'patdan' (canetops for planting) from other places and distributed them among the different towns of Negros. He helped organize parishes to incorporate migrant workers into their communities and also find them jobs with the numerous hacienderos around the area. He was also a close associate of the father of the Philippine sugarcane industry, Nicholas Loney. When Nicholas Loney would dole out his famous sugarcane loans, Fr. Cuenca and other Recollect priests would act as guarantors of the loan. With these affairs, it was without wonder that Fr. Cuenca was rumored to even have his own hacienda in Minuluan (Talisay) where he would supervise the cultivation of sugarcane himself.

Father Cuenca was credited with the foundation of the three traditional barangays of Talisay City: Concepcion in the South that he dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, Dos Hermanas in honor of his two sisters left in Spain, and San Fernando in honor of his namesake, both barangays in the north-east.

Aside from blazing a trail for the sugarcane industry, Fr. Cuenca helped develop Bacolod's spiritual culture as well. In the 5 decades that he was in Negros, he opened 56 parishes. He was also a famed healer and healed both poor and rich alike. He had such high profile clients that they would come from neighboring islands and even nearby countries just to have him minister to them. He also had a hand in developing the coffee industry in Negros as well as propagating lanzones in Barrio Concepcion in Talisay. He was a very popular priest with the people and he was one of the only priests that weren't harmed by revolutionaries in the Philippine Revolution of 1898 (other priests and Spanish were killed outright).

He loved Talisay very much and was one of the people who laid the foundations that led to the construction of the San Nicolas de Tolentino parish in Talisay. He died in Talisay in 1902 and a local legend has it that the water well he dug there in the 1850s never ran out of water even in hottest of summers. Fr. Cuenca's well can still be found at the parish. It is located under the present day convent of San Nicolas de Tolentino.

Fr. Cuenca's Recollect legacy lives on in many ways today aside from the parish in Talisay. His colleague, Fr. Mauricio Ferrero began construction of the Bacolod Cathedral in 1876. The cathedral remains the corner stone of the Catholic faith in Negros island up to today. Also, his Recollect brothers purchased the University of Negros Occidental from Dr. Antonio Lizares and Dr. Fransisco Kilayko in 1962. This university then became University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos (UNO-R) and it was thusly proclaimed as the first Catholic university in Negros island.

Sources: Clash of Spirits - Filomeno Aguilar, Jr. , Modesto P. Sa-Onoy - Daily Star Sept. 16, 2014, Modesto P. Sa-Onoy - Daily Star August 5, 2014, The Evangelization of Negros and the Augustinian Recollects - Dennis V. Madrigal, Recolletio - Emmanuel Luis A. Romanillos

From "Brick and Mortar" to Digital : A Negrense Remembers The First Negros Trade Fair in 1985

2021-05-30T20:58:00.023+08:00

MAKATI, Philippines - In the beginning there was no Negros Trade Fair. It would be a few years on into the tradition started by a few a ladies from Negros Occidental plus a gentleman who had the vision of creating a sustainable program to alleviate the plight of more than 150,000 displaced sugar workers from Negros Island in an awful time that saw 84 percent of Negrenses living below the poverty line and 60 percent of their children languishing in malnutrition. Back then in 1985, the popular trade fair we know today was called as the House of Negros.

What was it like in 1985? This year is one that means a lot to me. The numbers 8 and 5 are two digits which permeate my life. Too many significant events took place in my life back then. First, I graduated from the Philippine Science High School in March of 1985. This was the last significant milestone attended by both my parents.

March 1985 - Six months before the first "House of Negros" which would eventually become The Negros Trade Fair.

The situation in the country back then was awful. Ferdinand Marcos lifted martial law a few years back but really, it did not make much of a difference. The nation was still virtually under martial rule. The fateful fall of the sugar industry, Negros' main crop, had begun a few years prior. World sugar prices plummeted and government took control of sugar trading crippling the economy of Negros in a major life-changing, lifestyle-denting and peace-shattering way.

On that same trip to see me graduate, my dad underwent some tests at Manila Doctors' Hospital over a few things he had been complaining about. Later on as the summer of 1985 rolled in, it was known that he had amyloidosis, a rare disease in which abnormal protein, known as amyloid fibrils, builds up in tissue, affecting only 1 in 1,000 people. No known cure for amyloidosis back then - no known cure for amyloidosis today.

My late dad, Larry Tronco, an artist and advertising executive, passed away on the 30th of September, 1985 at the age of 56. Skipping my first sem finals at the University of the Philippines, I flew home to Bacolod to attend to my father's funeral. Thereafter, I came back to Manila to pack my stuff as I was poised to move to Bacolod for the rest of my college years.

Enter the House of Negros. Fourteen Negrense women and one gentleman, with their natural entrepreneurial savvy, organized the House of Negros Foundation and the first House of Negros. The House of Negros was organized at the Makati Carpark at the behest of Bea Zobel from Ayala Land, Inc. with goods coming from Negros Island. Daniel "Bitay" Lacson, Jr., then Negros Navigation President and CEO, shipped the goods from Bacolod to Manila for free.

Looking back, I recall two pioneer products which were exhibited back then but are no longer around today. These were the intricately painted jars with sugarcane field scenes of Penthouse Gallery and the handcrafted leather shoes of Brownman in Bacolod.

At the House of Negros, the ladies from the nearby villages of Dasma, Forbes, Urdaneta, and Bel-Air, came to see, buy, and be fascinated with the wares created out of the makeshift workshops in Bacolod. Day 1 of the House of Negros at the carpark behind the Intercon Hotel went well. Unfortunately, Day 2 of the House of Negros was greeted with the strong winds coming in from Typhoon Saling, which was the strongest storm of the 1985 season.

Some of the wares got wet with the wind and rain coming in through the side of the carpark. Suffice it to say that it was a literal baptism of what is known today as the longest running provincial trade fair in the Philippines. Symbolically, it was a baptism within a literal, meteorological, economic, and political typhoon.

I remember getting drenched as I was walking to the carpark from across Rustan's in Ayala Avenue, where the MMTC blue bus would stop.

1985. A year I will never forget. High School graduation, the passing on of my father, the beginning of the Negros Trade Fair as we know it today.

Thirty-six years on, The Negros Trade Fair, as the longest running provincial trade fair has made its mark, not just in the island from where it sprung but globally as well.

Members of the Association of Negros Producers, now export their wares, fashion items, art pieces and food on a global scale. Many celebrities and politicians make it a habit to drop by the Negros Trade Fair, one of whom was the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala with Negros Occidental Governor Maranon at the Negros Trade Fair.

This year, the Negros Trade Fair has come a long, long way from those days of 1985. We are now in the digital age and The Negros Trade Fair has also evolved accordingly. The 35th Negros Trade Fair is now online. The pandemic which broke out last year has also helped hasten the move to use digital channels for fulfilling the year on year presentation of Negros products.

Whereas in the past, the Negros Trade Fair would be limited to physical space and "brick and mortar" selling, the Negros Trade Fair is now reaching a global market through digital media and its e-commerce platform called www.shopnegrostradefair.com .

Check them out today. You'll be awed at the presentation of TEAM ANP on its user-friendly platform.

Negros Trade Fair Online (photo from Millie Kilayko)

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

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What you need to know about this year's Negros Trade Fair (2021)

The Association of Negros Producers will be holding the 35th Negros Trade Fair this year, 2021. It's been 36 years since the first Negros Trade Fair happened at the now demolished car park behind the Hotel Intercontinental at 1 Ayala Avenue. It was 36 years ago but the Trade Fair this year will be on number 35 because there was no Negros Trade Fair last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.....Read More

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Boosting My Immune System with an Intravenous Drip

MAKATI CITY - COVID 19 infections are on the rise and after reading the news on the Pinoygolfer Facebook group about the closure of a few golf clubs because of an irresponsible player who was eventually found out to be positive for COVID19 after he had already gone ...Read More

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In Search of the Real Callos a la Madrileña

As it was, out went our travel plans for 2020. Last year would have been the year that I would find out what the real Callos a la Madrineña would taste like. My wife and I had planned to visit Madrid in October. Obviously, that didn't happen. ...Read More

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The 35th Negros Trade Fair Online Brings the Best of Negros to Your Doorstep

2021-05-30T06:22:00.012+08:00

The 35th Negros Trade Fair Embraces The Digital Age

The Negros Trade Fair is proudly the country’s longest running provincial trade fair happening each year in Metro Manila. It has been 36 years since the first Negros Trade Fair was held in Makati, Metro Manila in 1985. This year, the Negros Trade Fair is going online with the launch of the Negros Trade Fair online marketplace, and e-commerce site, www.shopnegrostradefair.com , which will run from May 29 to June 30, 2021. The online marketplace is an e-commerce website created by the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) featuring the best products and services that Negros has to offer. It will highlight the culture, lifestyle, land, history and stories behind many of its traditions.

The e-commerce site, www.shopnegrostradefair.com, will be a platform for small to medium scale businesses to showcase a selection of products created with skilled craftsmanship and a taste of renowned Negrense cuisine. Sellers from various sectors such as natural and organic food, garments, fashion accessories, furniture, décor, houseware, agriculture and tourism represent the industries which provide for and sustain the people of Negros.

The Negros Trade Fair will also launch an on-site selling event in Bacolod City at a new location aptly named The HUB. The on-ground trade fair will be open to the public from May 1 to June 4, 2021. The HUB will showcase quality Negrense-made products and will serve as a center for entrepreneurship for the province.

The Negros Trade Fair also celebrates the dynamic partnerships formed over the years with the Provincial Government of Negros, Governor Eugenio “Bong” Lacson, Association of Negros Producers, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, private business sectors, sponsors, and media partners, who collectively share the common goal to promote the province and strengthen small and medium enterprises in Negros.

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

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What you need to know about this year's Negros Trade Fair (2021)

2021-05-29T11:35:00.009+08:00

MAKATI, Philippines - The Association of Negros Producers will be holding the 35th Negros Trade Fair this year, 2021.

It's been 36 years since the first Negros Trade Fair happened at the now demolished car park behind the Hotel Intercontinental at 1 Ayala Avenue. It was 36 years ago but the Trade Fair this year will be on number 35 because there was no Negros Trade Fair last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

So here are the changes happening in a nutshell. :

•There will still be an on-site event but it will not be in Makati. It will be in Bacolod at the newly constructed ANP Hub near the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol.

•There will also be an online trade fair through this site : www.shopnegrostradefair.com .

•The dates of the 35th Negros Trade Fair will be May 29 to June 30, 2021.

The 35th Negros Trade Fair is a step for Negros Producers towards embracing The Digital Age

The Negros Trade Fair is proudly the country’s longest running provincial trade fair happening each year in Metro Manila. It has been 36 years since the first Negros Trade Fair was held in Makati, Metro Manila in 1985. This year, the Negros Trade Fair is going online with the launch of the Negros Trade Fair online marketplace and e-commerce site which will run from May 29 to June 30, 2021. The online marketplace is an e-commerce website created by the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) featuring the best products and services that Negros has to offer will highlight the culture, lifestyle, land, history and stories behind many of its traditions.

The e-commerce site, www.shopnegrostradefair.com, will be a platform for small to medium scale businesses to showcase a selection of products created with skilled craftsmanship and a taste of renowned Negrense cuisine. Sellers from various sectors such as natural and organic food, garments, fashion accessories, furniture, décor, houseware, agriculture and tourism represent the industries which provide for and sustain the people of Negros.

The Negros Trade Fair will also launch an on-site selling event in Bacolod City at a new location aptly named The HUB. The on-ground trade fair will be open to the public from May 1 to June 4, 2021. The HUB will showcase quality Negrense-made products and will serve as a center for entrepreneurship for the province.

The Negros Trade Fair also celebrates the dynamic partnerships formed over the years with the Provincial Government of Negros, Governor Eugenio “Bong” Lacson, Association of Negros Producers, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, private business sectors, sponsors, and media partners, who collectively share the common goal to promote the province and strengthen small and medium enterprises in Negros.

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Artist, Writer, Entrepreneur and Designer. He is a Negrense based in Metro Manila, thus the name Talonggo (for Tagalog-Ilonggo).

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In Search of the Real Callos a la Madrileña

2021-03-28T08:13:00.005+08:00

In search of callos in Spain in 1992

METRO MANILA, Philippines - On the eve of another Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), I am reminded of all the plans we had prior to the first ECQ in March 2020 when the Coronavirus known as COVID-19 was in the early part of its rampage to wreak havoc on the world. The world was placed on a standstill as one after the other, governments worldwide declared lockdowns, immobilizing its citizens to prevent contamination.

As it was, out went our travel plans for 2020. Last year would have been the year that I would find out what the real Callos a la Madrileña would taste like. My wife and I had planned to visit Madrid in October. Obviously, that didn't happen.

Apart from the usual reasons we have to satisfy our wanderlust, there were two reasons why I wanted to head out to Madrid. First, my late father, Larry Tronco, had once lived there. In the early part of the 1950s, he stayed there as a student being sent on a scholarship by the Spanish government to study art with his contemporaries, Cesar Legaspi and Arturo Luz.

Larry Tronco and Cesar Legaspi in Madrid 1953

I wanted to breathe the same air they did when they studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1953. Yes, this same academy of art where Juan Luna studied and honed his craft.

The second reason was to savor the unadulterated and un-Filipinized Callos a la Madrileña. Callos nowadays has become so widespread that while each and every dish could be declared as "namit" (Hiligaynon for 'delicious'), one could never tell which recipe is closest to what they cook in Madrid. Yes, it could be callos alright. The question though would be, is it Madrileña?

Early encounters with callos

I wasn't much of a foodie as a young child. I didn't actually pause to taste and savor. I just ate - period. However, my early encounters with the dish would be in the following places : Casa Armas, Madrid, and Alba's. I was too young to discern any nuances in taste, but yes I had it there.

When we moved to Bacolod, in the mid-1970s, I would chance upon some servings of callos at parties. But none of the servings of callos really made me exclaim how good the dish was. For me, callos was just another secondary option to put on the plate as children would immediately go for what's easy to eat like fried chicken, morcon, or croquetas if ever it was presented on the buffet table.

Discovering the real callos

I began to be more discerning with the taste of my food when I left Bacolod at the age of 13 to study in Manila. In 1981, I would encounter callos over and over again at the school canteen. I lived in the Boy's Dormitory at the Philippine Science High School and food over there wasn't really awesome. Not that I'm complaining, I just understood the economics of it. The kitchen just had to churn out food at the most economical level for the dorm residents. So once in awhile we would have some callos. I suppose tripe wasn't really that expensive to buy from the market back then. Add some tomato sauce and voila! - we'd have Callos a la Cantina! That blend of callos, now forms my baseline for the way I would rank any callos dish I taste. It's like Callos a la Carinderia but oilier.

Still thankful that there was food to eat, this spurred me to make my tongue discern what's good and what's exceptional. In 1982, Alba's opened a restaurant around the corner to our place in Poblacion, Makati. There, I tried Callos a la Madrileña. It was good. Yes, it was good. Even today, it is good. Definitely far from the baseline of Callos a la Cantina.

So, if Alba's callos is good, what then is exceptional? Well, it's too late now to have what would be considered as exceptional callos because La Tienda on Polaris St., on the Bel-Air/Poblacion border has long shut its doors. My dad used to go there whenever he would visit Manila because it was just a short walk from the house. I guess he just wanted to practice his Spanish too with the owners. Apparently, speaking Spanish while eating Callos a la Madrileña makes the whole dining experience richer.

My Gold Standard in callos

In the latter part of 1982, my dad came from Bacolod to visit me as was his custom every two months. We met at the house on a Friday, after my week of school was done and I would spend the weekend with him. He showed me a brown carton filled with small to medium sized tin foil trays of frozen callos. "This is for you to heat here in the house when you're hungry", he said. We opened one tray and heated it. After placing it on a serving plate, we helped ourselves to it.

My eyes popped out with this callos! To say that this callos was delicious is an understatement. "That is the real Callos a la Madrileña", he said. And so I took his word for it. After all, he was the one who lived in Madrid. He was the the one who had done the rounds of Casa Armas, Alba's, Madrid on EDSA (then Highway 54), and La Tienda. Perhaps he had also done his own search for the real Callos a la Madrileña in Manila.

By now, you're wondering, who cooked the callos in the tin foil. Yes, I'll tell you. It was the late Mr. Jose Magalona, the producer of Delmar Foods in Bacolod. He cooked the callos which for me is the gold standard in Callos a la Madrileña.

Crazy for callos since 1982, I tried callos in Andalusia and in Catalunia years ago. I have yet to try the real Callos a la Madrileña and I was raring to do it last year. Then of course, with COVID19 still immobilizing us, my wife and I are left to produce our own. She's the chef and I'm conveniently the food critic. We're almost close to the gold standard in callos having recently discovered the source of the remaining missing ingredient to approximate what my late dad referred to as real callos. Until then when I taste callos in Madrid, this callos in my pot shall be named, Callos a la Corona.

Lloyd Tronco is an Artist and Writer who has been addicted to callos since 1982.

Shake Shack's first Filipino-themed branch uses designs from Negros Island!

2021-03-08T06:36:00.010+08:00

MAKATI City, Philippines - Last Friday, I went out on a date with my wife. Burger monsters that we are, we decided to try out the latest branch of Shake Shack in Greenbelt 5. Though this branch opened last October 29, 2020, we've only been able to visit it this March due to the pandemic.

After ordering and waiting for the order to come while my wife was outside in the al fresco area, my eyes were immediately drawn to the lighting fixtures which gave the entire place that elegant Filipino touch. As an artist, designer and frustrated architect, my eyes are always drawn to the details that enhance the look of a place.

Shake Shack at Greenbelt 5

I immediately took photos of the lighting fixtures and posted it on my Facebook account.

The T5 strip LED is neatly enclosed in the creation of Hacienda Crafts.

The enclosures to the lamps are simple yet mesmerizing.

I posted as a caption to the pics, "I'm fascinated with the Filipino touch at Shake Shack Greenbelt 5. Nice enclosures for T5 LED tubes." I then tagged a kindred spirit in design and in "Negros Island Love", former Association of Negros Producers President, Mary Ann Colmenares.

She in turn commented that this was produced by Hacienda Crafts of Joey and Ina Gaston in Negros! I was blown away by this idea that a Negros-based company had been picked for inclusion in the overall design of this premier burger place known as Shake Shack.

It's that strange feeling of awe that makes you say "WOW!", because you are so happy that a design and production company from your home island has broken into the limelight of a global brand, and at the same time makes you smile because at the back of your head you know that with the design prowess of Negrenses, it would be just a matter of time that this would happen. You know, that self-fulfilling smile you draw with satisfaction when you say, "Siling ko gid haw", which for the benefit of non-Hiligaynon speakers, the nearest translation is "I told you so" but multiplied 10x with glee.

Arurog vine enclosure for a regular LED bulb

And so I messaged Joey and Ina to ask for the back story. It goes that Ina Gaston met the architect handling this project at one of the Negros Trade Fairs a couple of years ago.

Recently though, Hacienda Crafts got this inquiry from the architectural firm where the architect was connected, asking Ina if they could produce lamps for Shake Shack. It was only much later that they were told that this was the first Filipino inspired branch in the country. Ina says, "The designs were provided and we suggested to use the “Arurog” vine, a material indigenous to Negros island."

Joey says, "We were flattered when they asked us to work with them."

The work is truly World-class! I mean, this is Shake Shack, and THIS IS Greenbelt 5! Ina says she hasn't seen her work in its actual setting but from the pictures, she says it looks good.

I think good is not enough a word to describe it. Fabulous and Fascinating would be best!

My congratulations go out to Joey and Ina Gaston, and the Hacienda Crafts team! You really make us proud, bringing out, the best of Negros Island!

Negros Island is the Sweet Spot of the Philippines!

Why Negros Island Celebrates Independence Day on November 5

2020-11-04T08:21:00.013+08:00

The 5th of November is a special day in Negros Island. This is the day most associated with the Negros Revolution. Independence in the province was gained on this day.

Thus, Negrenses as Filipinos celebrate 2 Indepence Days. One in June 12 which is the day of Philippine Independence and November 5.

The Negros Revolution, now commemorated and popularly known as Al Cinco de Noviembre or Negros Day, was a political movement that in 1898 created a government in Negros Island in the Philippines, informally ending Spanish control of the island and resulting in a government run by the Negrense natives, at least for that part of the archipelago and for a relatively short period.

Chronicle of the revolution

November 3

General Aniceto Lacson rode to Silay. A committee headed by Lacson and acting for the province included Gólez, Leandro Locsin and Melecio Severino assembled and decided to begin the revolt on November 5. They then advised Juan Araneta of their decision.

November 4

Juan Araneta, from one of his haciendas in Ma-ao, advised all the southern mayors to begin the revolt the following day. In the afternoon, a woman from Kabankalan Norte (the present-day barrio of Eustaquio López) in Silay told priest Tomás Cornago of the impending revolt, even though the planning for the same was held secretly. He inquired of his friend, Doroteo Quillama, cabeza of the barrio, seeking to verify the report. The cabeza claimed no knowledge of the revolt. That same afternoon, groups of armed men passed the haciendas of Silay, and proceeded towards the town. The guardia civil in Silay were, however, unable to report this to Bacolod; the rebels had cut the telegraph lines in Talisay the day before.[1]

November 5

The revolt began in Central and Northern Negros in the morning and by the afternoon had spread to other towns such as San Miguel and Cadiz. In Silay, Lt. Maximiano Correa, commanding the Spanish garrison, had ten Spanish cazadores (Spanish, literally, "hunters") and seven Filipino civil guards. They were entrenched inside the municipal building, but surrendered without a fight when they realized that the townspeople were determined to burn the building to the ground should there be resistance. The Silay parish priest, Eulogio Saez, a businessman named Juan Viaplana, and José Ledesma persuaded the Spanish forces to lay down their arms, but in order to save face, the lieutenant had it appear in the official records that the capitulation was the result of a bloody battle with "dead and wounded littered all over the field of battle".[1] Ten Mauser and seven Remington rifles were surrendered by the garrison. Later, a flag similar to the design of the Filipino flag embroidered by Olympia Severino and her sisters was hoisted by the victorious townspeople.

In Bacolod, the governor of the province, Isidro de Castro, sent a force of 25 cazadores and 16 civil guards to engage a swarm of rebels seen camping near the Matab-ang River. After a brief skirmish, they withdrew, leaving two of their number dead. The Governor decided to make a stand in the Bacolod Convent (presently the Bishop's Palace, the rectory of the San Sebastian Cathedral), where hundreds of Spanish families had taken refuge. They waited for the attack, but it did not come.

November 6

In the morning, the rebels advanced upon Bacolod. Lacson and Gólez approached from the north, crossing the Mandalagan River. Araneta with a thousand bolo-men took positions at the Lupit River in the south-east of Bacolod. The wily revolutionaries augmented their lightly armed forces with "cannon" made of bamboo and rolled amakan, and "rifles" carved out of wood and coconut fronds. The bluff worked; de Castro was persuaded that it was useless to defend the capital.

José Ruiz de Luzuriaga, a rich businessman who was deemed acceptable to both rebels and Spanish authorities was sent to mediate. At noon, a delegation from each of the major belligerents met at the house of Luzuriaga. The rebel delegation included Lacson, Araneta, Gólez, Locsín, Simeón Lizares, Julio Díaz, and José Montilla. In an hour, it was agreed by both sides that "Spanish troops both European and native surrendered the town and its defenses unconditionally, turning over arms and communication" and "public funds would be turned over to the new government".

Historical marker commemorating the surrender of Spanish forces in Bacolod in 1898. Installed at the Fountain of Justice in 2007.

November 6, 1898, therefore, is the day that the revolution in Negros concluded.[2]:476

The Spanish signatories of the surrender document included Isidro de Castro, Braulio Sanz, Manuel Abenza, Ramón Armada, Emilio Monasterio and Domingo Ureta. Those who signed for the Negros revolutionary forces were Aniceto Lacson, Juan Araneta, Leandro Locsin, Simeón Lizares, Julio Díaz, and José Montilla.[6]

Forty-seven eminent Negrenses formulated and ratified a constitution to create a new republic. Signatories included among others Aniceto Lacson, Juan Araneta, Simeón Linárez, Antonio L. Jayme, Eusebio Luzuriaga, Nicolas Gólez, Agustín Amenabar, Rafael Ramos and Rosendo Lacson.[3]

The newly established Negros Republic would last for approximately three months. American forces landed on the island unopposed on February 2, 1899, ending the island's independence.

November 5 was declared by President Corazon Aquino as a special non-working holiday in the province through Republic Act No. 6709 signed on February 10, 1989. During this day many of the museums and other historical edifices in Silay and Bacolod are closed to the public.

General Aniceto Lacson's House in Matab-ang, Talisay.

Notes and references

1 Sa-onoy, Modesto P., Parroquia de San Diego, Today Printers and Publishers, Bacolod City, Philippines, pp. 49-50
2 Foreman, J., 1906, The Philippine Islands, A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
3 "Zamboanga: The Greatest Republic in History (Part 10): The Uprising in Negros". Zamboanga Today Online. 2005-08-09. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
4 Jose Paolo Ariola (November 7, 2006). "El cañon de Cinco de Noviembre". SunStar Philippines. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
5 "Negros Occidental to commemorate Al Cinco de Noviembre". Sun.Star Bacolod. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2009-10-12.

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