Sunset At The Ruins

Part 6 Of Our Negros Occidental Tour

A true blue Bacolodian, Maryann Galeno our birthday celebrator and tourist guide extraordinaire timed our destinations perfectly, from a stopover at Pendy's for yummy bites of half moon to three-click-photo-ops in the middle of the highway amidst sugar cane plantations. By five o'clock in the afternoon, we were making our way to the famous Ruins in Talisay City. Likened to the Taj Mahal, the mansion was built in 1911 by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in honour of his first wife Maria Braga who died in an accident while pregnant with their eleventh child. At the onset of World War II, to prevent the invading Japanese forces from using it as headquarters, Don Mariano ordered Filipino guerrillas to burn the Italianate style mansion. What was left was its concrete skeleton.

That afternoon, as the sky changed hues with the setting sun, sitting on the grass, we watched the sand coloured ruins turn into vibrant gold. Breathtakingly beautiful, a monument to love.

From left: Bia Ruiz-Ang, Tracy Poblete, Beth de la Rosa, Maryann Galeno, Gwen Tiu-Tangcueco, Dinny Lazo and the author.

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