ILOILO, Philippines – If not in the news or social media for its gastronomy title, bike awards, museums, or the esplanade, recent publications have helped put Iloilo squarely in the sight of tourists, balikbayans, and investors.
These have taken on a more traditional format — that of a book specifically of the type you display on a coffee table – usually an oversized hardcover, profusely illustrated or photographed, intended to reflect one’s taste and identity, and given as a gift or souvenir.
Its own charm and allure
In this digital age, the publication of physical books may have suffered a decline, with the slack taken up by e-books, but for coffee table books (CTB), there may be an uptrend.
One website, www.inkppt.com, offers a possible explanation. “In a world increasingly dominated by screens, coffee table books offer a sensory experience that digital formats cannot replicate. The act of flipping through the pages, feeling the weight of the book, and appreciating the print quality and craftsmanship appeals to our desire for tangible connections and authentic experiences. This contrast has led to a renewed appreciation for coffee table books as objects of art and design, enhancing their status and appeal in contemporary culture.”
Of course, considering the cost, the space needed to display it, plus the coffee table itself and at least a couple of chairs, a CTB can be considered a sign of relative affluence if not indulgence. I’ve been guilty of this, for I’ve bought paperbacks or softcover editions of books I really liked, and later on bought the hardcover versions; the likelihood of re-reading the more expensive version is low; often the paperback versions are given away!
But CTBs are not utilitarian — they signal something personal, something that says, “This is me”. And that’s probably why there will continue to be a market for CTBs.
Spotlight on Iloilo
Probably the first contemporary CTB on Iloilo was produced by Marite de Luzuriaga in 1992, and printed in Hong Kong. Iloilo the Book, a 224-page, 9 x 12” photobook featuring shots snapped by members of the Photographic Society of Iloilo.
A century before that, the first Filipino photographer, Felix Laureano, came up with Recuerdos de Filipinas (Memories of the Philippines), published in Barcelona, but with over half of the photo essays featuring Iloilo, where he also had a photo studio. This book was about two-thirds the size of your usual oversized CTB.
In 2007, the Lopez Foundation published Iloilo = A Rich and Noble Land, intended to celebrate the Ilonggo creative and entrepreneurial spirit, and instill pride of place in its past, when it was “Queen City of the South.” The Lopez family had been at the forefront of the city’s developments from the 1900s until the ’70s and had diversified their business interests into Metro Manila, Negros, and other provinces, eventually building up an empire spanning print and broadcast media, power generation, water, sugar, and transportation.
There were then grand plans for the city, after its post-war decline. Clearly things were picking up, and the book buttressed those claims. The book itself is 9.5 by 12.5 inches, weighs almost a kilo, spanning 278 pages. Featured writers included historians, urban planners, and economists.
Many consider this book as a landmark publication, against which all others were to be compared. In 2009, Reynaldo Gamboa Alejandro and Vicente Roman Santos conceptualized a different
type of CTB, titled Estilo Ilonggo. This focused on Ilonggo lifestyles and their food — not just in Iloilo but also in predominantly Ilonggo-speaking areas. The 252-pager measured 9 x 12 inches, and featured heirloom recipes, interviews, and insights into the characteristic “Ilonggo style,” and iconic Ilonggo brands.
A year later, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Iloilo Business Club, a commemorative publication, Ilonggo Initiatives, the Changing Face of Business in Iloilo, was published, which included profiles of many prominent business people in Iloilo. This was a relatively slimmer volume (135 pages), 10.5 x 11.5 inches, and also in hardcover.
In 2012, the city government under then-mayor Jed Mabilog, and with the support of fellow Ilonggos congressman Jerry Treñas and Senator Frank Drilon, released photobook A Walk through Iloilo City that juxtaposed past and present photographs of Iloilo. This was published in hardcover, measured a modest 8 by 11 inches, and was distributed widely and given to visiting dignitaries.
The city government has latched on to the idea of themed publications to promote the achievements of the city and the current administration. It is also apparent that the books serve another purpose — a subtle form of propaganda, and to reflect aspirations. Iloilo’s bid to become an “art capital” is part of the raison d’etre for the Iloilo Art Book 2021-2022.
Different forms of art
But in the past 16 years, since Rich and Noble Land was published, the changes in Iloilo city’s landscape have been dramatic, if not spectacular.
An international airport, business park, upscale condominiums, an international convention center with a 4000-person capacity, bypass roads, a power plant, expanded drainage and floodways, bicycle lanes, award-winning esplanades, revised transport systems and modernized public vehicles, a dozen museums, at least eight heritage houses open to the public, a revived central business district (also known as the Heritage district), re-designed plazas and public spaces, massive public markets renovation, to name the most prominent.
Iloilo’s art and culture writers have, on their initiative, come up with the Iloilo Art Review. Before Iloilo’s successful approval as a UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy, the city government also produced Love Lokal, a listing of food establishments and known restaurants in the city. Flavors of Iloilo, a compilation of tested recipes from Ilonggo chefs, authored by Chef Tibong Jardeleza, initiated by City first lady Rosalie Trenas, won a National Book award in 2023.
Metro Iloilo is also expanding to include five “first towns” outside the city limits, as well as Guimaras, which in a few years will have a bridge connecting it to Panay and Negros.
Thus, from 2023 to 2024, the city government spearheaded the production of Padayon sa Pag- Uswag: Iloilo City Rises (Onward with Progress), a legacy book meant to be a chronicle of Iloilo’s progress over the past decade and a half, toward the goal of being one of the three most advanced cities in the country by 2030. The book was launched in May 2024, at the Iloilo Convention Center.
Iloilo City Rises (256 pages, 9.25 x 12.25”) has seven main chapters, all written and photographed by Ilonggo: “A Livable, lively Urbanscape,” “Heritage and Modernity”, “Ahead of the Curve”, “Pagpalangga” (Caring), “Classrooms of the Future”, “Living with Harmony with Nature” and “Rhythm and Pulse.” The book highlights the Iloilo city of today — rapidly modernizing but very conscious of the past, economically advancing while preserving and rehabilitating its lifeblood waterways, an educational center caring for the disadvantaged with social services, and celebrating its renowned festivals and cuisine.
Other authors are Rhick Lars Vladimer Albay, Ma. Luisa Mabunay, Ted Aldwin Ong, and Hazel Villa. The photographers are Moshe Aranas, Carlos Garcia, Ruperto Quitag, Antonio Rojas Jr, and Ernesto Villanueva Jr. The foreword was written by former Senator Frank Drilon, and the “End Word” by Mayor Jerry Treñas, who first broached the idea for the book. An appendix also lists all the city’s different major national and international awards since 2019.
Taking its inspiration from Rich and Noble Land, the book was edited and designed by award winners in the publishing industry: Editors Ani Feleo and Gou de Jesus, and book designer Felix Mago Miguel. Former tourism secretary Narz Lim headed the production team; Ani, Felix, and Narz were also on the team for Rich and Noble Land. Publishers are the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Incorporated (IFFI) and Kasingkasing Press. The private sector and Ilonggo legislators in Congress supported the initiative. The books are sold by IFFI.
Iloilo City Rises is dedicated to a captain of industry, the late Oscar Lopez, who died at the age of 93 in 2023. His 2007 foreword presciently notes, “I believe that Iloilo city will become the Queen city of the South once again, able to compete with all others for economic primacy…. I believe that for city and province of Iloilo, the best is yet to be.”
But Iloilo’s not done yet; a CTB on Ilonggo Gastronomy will be published before the end of the year, also featuring Ilonggo writers and chefs. Beyond recipes, it will highlight four key components of gastronomy, as articulated by creative artist and food writer Ige Ramos: geography, ingredients, ethnicity, and technology.
Few Philippine cities have been featured in the same way — via a locally designed, written, and produced CTB. Alas, it is not easy to produce something informative, substantial, well-designed and photographed, and stylish. I’ve seen one done by a province that will remain unnamed, since that publication, while ostensibly about the province, has the look of a family photo album.
Another CTB, while not having “Iloilo” in its title, extensively features Ilonggo domestic architecture, notably in the form of houses of sugar planters in Iloilo and Negros. Published internationally by Oro Editions in 2023, it has already won prestigious awards for its photography.
Houses that Sugar Built by Gina Consing McAdam and Siobhan Doran, with photography by Doran, is 260 pages, hardbound, and is 9 x 12 inches. A total of 23 houses are featured – Iloilo city has 11, 10 in Negros Occidental province, two from Pampanga.
This book is both social history, period domestic architecture, and design, all sumptuously photographed.
Budding industry
CTBs aside, the Iloilo book publishing industry is alive and well. Local publishing house Kasingkasing Press has been instrumental in promoting Ilonggo literature and reading, organizing the annual Iloilo Mega book fairs that grow larger each year. Serving up a menu of symposia, book launches, author readings, and allied cultural events, these are supported by the National Book Development Board and local sponsors. Bookshops such as Fully Booked just branched out to Iloilo, and the colossal Big Bad Wolf Book held its first fair in Iloilo last year.
Noel de Leon of Kasingkasing Press notes that the publishing scene in Western Visayas is exceptionally dynamic compared to other regions, reflecting dedicated efforts and initiatives in publishing as well as the collective endeavor of organizations of writers. Numerous indie authors, illustrators, and comic artists actively produce and publish; Kasingkasing Press alone has published about 45 books, including alternative formats like chapbooks.
De Leon emphasizes that independent publishing remains the most promising path for ensuring that the work of local authors is presented in a professional and respectful format, and eventually read; books from Iloilo are now also being represented in national books and rights catalogs, facilitating exposure of local authors to international markets.
Mayor Treñas has another worthy initiative — having a library in each of the city’s six districts (three of which are now operational), while personally leading reading sessions for school children.
This brings to the fore another Iloilo city tagline — “the city that reads.” Hopefully, in the longer term, these efforts could improve reading comprehension, and creative and critical thinking skills of Ilonggos and the generations to come. – Rappler.com