Calle Real

Pinoy Kasi : Calle Real

First posted 01:27am (Mla time) May 26, 2006
By Michael L. Tan
Inquirer



Editor's Note: Published on Page A15 of the May 26, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer



THERE’S an excellent exhibit, “Handurawan,” at the 3rd Floor of SM City mall in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, running up to May 30. Part of the National Heritage Month celebrations, “Handurawan,” which means a glimpse of the past, is actually several exhibits rolled into one, organized by the University of the Philippines (UP) in the Visayas.

One photo exhibit focuses on the “nikkei-jin,” people of Japanese descent, on Panay Island. The exhibit is the product of laborious research conducted by Prof. Maria Luisa Mabunay of the UP. I have written about her work in a previous column.

Another exhibit looks at the “patadyong,” that versatile cotton weave, with 20 samples of different geometric designs, each with their own name -- like “binuskay gamay” [small pebbles], “pulahan” [lots of red] and the “linibat” [literally, cross-eyed, referring to asymmetrical designs].

A third exhibit is devoted to photographs of Iloilo’s old buildings in the central business district, around what used to be called Calle Real (Royal Street, or translated by a 19th-century British writer as High Street) but since renamed J. Basa Street.

I was fortunate to be with Leo Quintilla and his wife Zen. Leo is a historian and an anthropologist teaching at UP. He had pulled me out of the hotel to visit some heritage sites in Iloilo. The instant tour included a sunset peek at the ruins of the old Casino Español and dinner in an old house, reincarnated as Afriques restaurant, and a drive around the central business district.

The district, which includes Basa, Mapa, Guanco, Aldeguer, Guanco and Iznart streets, is home to many old buildings built from the 1920s to the 1950s, mostly in Art Deco style. Many are still functional, the first floor used as shops, and the upper floors as residences. The combinations are wonderfully eclectic -- one of my favorites has a bakery on the first floor, while the second floor has residences with wide windows through which you can peek in to catch exquisite woodwork.

Model

Iloilo could be a model for other Philippine cities when it comes to the preservation of heritage sites, which they define as any place more than 50 years old. The city government has passed a World Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance, together with guidelines for conservation planning and development.

That same day I was in Iloilo, a local newspaper, The Informer (with an Inquirer look-alike masthead), publicized a campaign to save Calle Real. That article led me to the website of the Canadian Urban Institute (www.philippines.canurb.com), where I was able to download a hefty 10 megabyte document describing the conservation ordinance and providing guidelines.

The document should be required reading for college students, in or out of Iloilo. The city government, in partnership with local architects and conservationists, has done its homework describing the historical context of the buildings, from Iloilo’s sleepy beginnings as the village of Arevalo in the 16th century, through its urban development in the 19th and 20th centuries. There’s a catalogue of heritage buildings, from religious houses to Lucky Auto Supply, with architectural drawings and descriptions of the façades.

The document gives a rather glum description of the current situation in the central business district. While many buildings are intact, many are deteriorating. Others have been “maligned” by ugly signs (one photograph showed a “Wanted GROs” sign posted on one of the old buildings). The guidelines are almost confessional, admitting that the city government’s own skywalks (overhead pedestrian bridges) have “blighted” the historical landscape.

Incentives

The conservation law offers some hope by forbidding the buildings’ alteration or demolition without permission from the city government. There’s a list of prohibited uses for the buildings -- new warehouses to funeral parlors, and “recreational activities, lewd shows, betting and gambling stations, massage and saunas.”

The ordinance offers incentives by way of tax exemptions, for property owners who will spend for conservation. This is where the guidelines come in, with suggestions on everything down to garbage bins. The guidelines explain what can be done in the area of architecture -- for example, the space between buildings, and the preservation of “arcaded sidewalks” for pedestrians. Reading that section on the sidewalks reminded me of how so many of these old buildings are actually so much friendlier to people—the building owners sheltering passersby from the sun and the rain. Of course, their intentions were also to attract possible shoppers, who would pause and look at their display windows, but the arcaded sidewalks were so much more humane, and aesthetically pleasing, than our malls today.

Public, private

Yes, I did realize the irony of a heritage exhibit in a mall like SM City, but maybe the exhibit did speak, too, of how heritage preservation need not clash with modernity, or with commercial interests.

Easily, as the central district goes through a renaissance, the city gains as well. Property values are bound to soar and businesses prosper. This could mean the district becoming too upper-class or too “touristy,” and that, too, would be a shame. The city government might want to think of ways of keeping it friendly to all Iloilo residents or tourists, rich or poor alike. There are plans for sidewalk cafés and a night market, properly integrated, of course, into the overall design of the area. Providing fairly low rentals could make the market friendlier to all classes.

Iloilo’s conservation guidelines keep going back to the point of making a heritage site more people-friendly, not necessarily just for shoppers and consumers. The guidelines emphasize convenience for pedestrians as they walk through, and the removal of any obstructions that might prevent them from appreciating the heritage sites.

In a way, that conservation ethic is reflected as well in the “Handurawan” exhibit, which gets people to appreciate a whole range of our heritage, from the designs on the “patadyong” to the fine architectural details of old buildings.

Conservation is, of course, more than visual stimulation. The revival of Calle Real can be catalyzed, too, by breathing in culture, allowing it to become a venue for cultural events. Iloilo is, after all, home to so many great artists, from the Kabayao family of musical virtuosos, to the painter Rock Drilon.

With well-planned public activities and public education (a good start is the way they’ve offered a raffle for MP3 players to people who send in comments on the conservation guidelines), Iloilo’s residents -- young or old, rich or poor -- will understand they’re conserving not just buildings and public space, but their identities as Ilonggos, as Filipinos. Eventually, they’ll feel they have stakes in keeping all of Iloilo a city of Royal or High Streets.