Rodel C Cuyco: Dreaming on the Plazas of Iloilo

Visiting Iloilo is a dream come true for me. I have been longing to see for myself the well-preserved historic plazas scattered in various Hispanic towns of the province. As a town planner, I am an advocate of creating and preserving public plazas because these are the focal points of the people in the community coming from various age groups and walks of life and it carries the image of the people and of the place. Plazas are the silent witnesses to historic events of a place, both the desirable and the undesirable as we know it.

Myself coming from a place with a low regard for open spaces such as public parks and plazas, I can only dream of sitting down quietly in a plaza of another place like the ones in Iloilo. Thank, God, a few months ago, the universe conspired to make my dream come true. I not only had the opportunity to sit on a bench in just one plaza, but in four different plazas. The people of Iloilo seems to have an innate and impressive penchant for designing best plazas not only in the country but in the whole world.

During my solitary escapade, I first visited Molo Plaza. Pure love and romance consumed my mind as I was walking along the paths and the churchyard. The church façade is an ideal place for making bonds with loved ones. The entire plaza was spacious enough to accommodate people of all ages and their families and loved ones.

When I entered the church, I felt like I was transported to the time when Spaniards ruled the country. It was so wonderful to see the long pews, the antique images of saints, the paintings, and the well-preserved pulpit where the priests would deliver the homily; it was on top so everybody attending the mass can hear it.

Just on the side of the church yard is the gazebo which was surrounded by monuments of Greek goddesses adding more romance to the place.

When I sat down on the big cut-out of Molo Plaza, I can only surmise how it would be wonderful to be born and to live in this place. Across the plaza is the majestic and romantic Molo Mansion which I think is an architecture wonder because of its intricate and balanced symmetry and classic design. It was beside the Molo Mansion that I sipped a cool mango shake, my all-time favorite, savoring each drop of it while awesomely devouring the charm of the Molo Plaza.

My next stop is the Jaro Plaza which is just a few minutes away from Molo. The plaza was obviously newly-redesigned and modernized yet maintaining the old feel. The pathways were huge and it is so wonderful to see students, group of friends and families having their afternoon stroll and bonding moments. Again, I could only dream of this for my hometown. I walked leisurely to the towering monuments that dominate the plaza, one of which is that of Graciano Lopez Jaena, a Filipino writer and reformist who was born in Jaro. What got my attention was the giant Spanish-period belfry made of red bricks which stands like the leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. It was so high anybody could be dwarfed standing next to it. Across the plaza is the centuries-old Jaro Church with its façade blackened by moss thru the passage of time which has grand stairs on both sides that meet on the second level of the church’s façade which holds the grotto of Our Lady of the Candles, the town’s patron saint.

I consider my travel to Iloilo as not complete without visiting the Miag-ao Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with four other Baroque churches in the Philippines. I was so astounded to see the church’s façade draped in various artistic carvings of local flora and fauna as well as images of saints. It was so unique I have not seen one like this anywhere. Whoever were the artists who turned the church’s façade into a whole wall of canvass were truly geniuses. Across the street from the church is the Miag-ao Plaza. It was so huge and designed to evoke not only love but also patriotism as what lies at the center is the monument of Jose Rizal.

While going back to the city, I passed by the town of Guimbal and was amazed by the gates and fences of houses that were uniformly designed and all painted in vibrant yellow hue. I endured the scorching heat brought by the midday sun as I walked thru the town center. The place was all too typical of a plaza complex during the Spanish period characterized by being surrounded by the church, the town hall and on the other side by the hospital and some commercial spaces. The plaza of Guimbal is really one for the books and for me one of the bests in this part of the planet. Again, I have met Rizal in stone at the center of the plaza just steps away from the awe-inspiring marvelous amphitheater facing the town hall. I was really awed and astounded by its charm.

As I laid down to sleep that night, I was so happy another dream came to full view. But I know that my happiness would be more complete once a dream plaza takes shape in my own hometown.