Oro, Plata, Mata: Stairs of Heritage

MANUEL SEVERINO HOFILENA ANCESTRAL HOUSE

Years and years ago, the famous curator Ramon Hofileña lived in New York City and worked there at an enviable address on Fifth Avenue. When he came home to permanently settle in Silay City, Negros Occidental, after being gone for 15 years, he opened up his family’s ancestral house to visitors, he would dramatically sweep his arms to draw attention to the street where he lived, which is Cinco de Noviembre, and say, “This is now my Fifth Avenue.”

Built in 1934 in the graceful Modern Style with Art Deco touches, the two-storey house was the family home of Manuel Severino Hofilena and his wife Gilda Ledesma Hojilla.

The Manuel Severino Hofilena Ancestral House was the first house in Silay to be opened to the public as a lifestyle museum in 1962. Built in 1934 in the graceful Modern Style with Art Deco touches, the two-story house was the family home of Manuel and wife Gilda Ledesma Hojilla and their nine children, Hena, Ramon, Herminia, Melida, Marilou, Rolando, Lourdes, Cecilia, and Rene. The house reverberated with music for everyone had to learn how to play a musical instrument and be trained in the arts. It was this exposure to the finer stuff of life that molded the mind and sensibilities of the famous curator and in-house guide of this oft-visited house.

The family ascended these steps to enter the house quickly after alighting from their car.

The staircase is older than the house itself for it was removed from Gilda’s ancestral house located just beside this residence.

Except for Lourdes, the children were all born in the house and the pitter patter of little feet would be heard through the decades across the shiny narra floor, and up and down the balayong (ironwood) staircase. The staircase is older than the house itself for it was removed from Gilda’s ancestral house located just beside this residence.

The wood is so hard that termites could not chomp their way through. So far, the succeeding generations of termites remain defeated and are probably gnashing their mandibles from frustration. With the wood so unyielding, it is a wonder how carpenters were able to construct the house and its interiors. The craftsmen who worked on the cutting, hewing, shaping, and carving of the balusters, the handrails, and the steps deserve so much recognition for their remarkable skills of producing this functional work of art using manual tools.

View from the second floor of the house, with framed artworks at the house’s wall.

As a modern house, the descanso (landing) is no longer the grand affair found in much older houses. Still, a few artistic touches grace this tiny space – a small bone-inlaid chest and a Japanese print.

A visitor to the Hofileña ancestral house will climb the smooth, polished wooden steps and enter an amazing world of art. The second floor is where one can view Ramon’s precious collection of Philippine masters, such as Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, Manansala, de la Rosa, Hechanova, Juan Luna, Ocampo, and even a Jose Rizal.

Text by: Betsy Gazo

Photos by: Bem Cortez