As they say, people from Iloilo may not be as gregarious as their Bacolodnon counterparts who celebrate the good life with much gusto and much more moolah. It is even more prounounce right now that there is a Casino in that Negros Occidental city, and none in Iloilo. Apparently, Ilonggos take more pleasure in simple joys.
But still, as I went around, with my cousin Rolle Depakakibo and nephew Thad Depakakibo through the narrow residential streets of Iloilo City, one can certainly imagine the ritzy lifestyle that Ilonggos may have had in the distant past, particularly during the 1950s and 60s. The old stately mansions of Iloilo are still there to be admired. The almost palatial Lopez family (ABSCBN and then Meralco Owner) ancestral homes still has that gleam and glamor as it features a beautifully manicured green lawn. It is said that it even has its own elevator – definitely an obscurity during that era.
The iconic Lizares Mansion has that gothic appeal, but is said to imbue colonial architecture. But definitely the ornate facade and beams create a rococo – almost baroque feel to the viewer. The Lizares residence has been converted to a Dominican School, Angelicum.
Another home worth a look is the Ledesma Family residence that features statuaries of eagles around the perimeter walls. Definitely, smaller than those of the Lizares’s or Lopez’s, but it does catch attention to those possibly wanting to go to nearby Guimaras Island Province as the wharf is just nearby.
let's go pinas!! 
