The book ‘Houses that Sugar Built’ documents the magnificently designed mansions and heartwarming stories of the families of sugar barons in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Pampanga.

Words Francine Y. Medina
April 23, 2024

The province of Iloilo in Western Visayas evokes visions of grandeur and fond memories, having been once a central business district with a thriving sugar industry from the 1890s to the 1930s.

The sugar barons of Iloilo City spent part of their wealth by building magnificently designed mansions where they hosted intimate family gatherings and lavish parties—with government officials and other VIPs in attendance.

The sugar boom may be long gone, but many of the stately mansions have been preserved as a legacy and heritage of their owners.

London-based writer Gina Consing-McAdam remembers her family’s ancestral residence, the Yusay-Consing house, where summer days were spent exploring farms and sugarcane fields, and playing hide-and-seek and ghost-hunting, while their elders played mahjong.

Her memories and a photographer friend’s curiosity inspired her to write a book about the Yasay-Consing Ancestral House and over 20 more homes of haci- enderos in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Pampanga.

The book, Houses that Sugar Built: An Intimate Portrait of Philippine Ances- tral Homes, boasts striking photographs by McAdam’s curious friend, Irish-born and UK-based Siobhan Doran.

The backstory is that in 2014, Gina’s family sold the Yusay-Consing house
to SM Prime Holdings, which showed efforts in what she described in the book as “a shining example of adaptive reuse. Its restoration and revival as the Molo Mansion – a thriving retail enterprise, cultural hub, and event space – has returned the house to its former grandeur.”

Among the houses featured in the elegant coffee table book are: the Nelly Garden with a sprawling front lawn and grand-sized receiving and dining rooms; Balay Remedios, designed with Art Nouveau interiors, and now a dining destination serving the best of Iloilo cuisine—a celebration of the city as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy; the Lopez Boat House, a 1930s Art Deco home with interesting nautical details such as port holes for windows and decks; and the Celso Ledesma ancestral home, also known as the Eagle House, with eagle sculptures perched on its fence.

In the book, Gina documented won- derful stories of how the houses became truly priceless with the love and soul of their owners and families.

Gina talked to Art+ on the making of her book.

DESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEY IN DOING THE BOOK.

In London, Siobhan and I have previously worked on a book. And she had also done one called Savoy: The Restoration, about the world-famous hotel in London built in 1889. Siobhan did the architectural shots of the restored hotel. At the same time, I also did a book on another old luxury hotel built in the 1700s, the Lanesborough Hotel that used to be St. George’s Hospital. When the hotel was renovated, Siobhan was invited to document it while I was asked to write about it.

One time, while Siobhan and I were having dinner in my house (in London), she saw a photo of my family’s ancestral home, now the Molo Mansion. She asked if there are more houses like that, and we started talking about documenting those houses and making a book out of it.

The houses we featured are either owned by family, friends, or friends of family friends. We started working on the book in 2019, but then Covid-19 took over the world and we had to halt the project. We resumed after three years.

WHAT WAS THE PROCESS LIKE?

Siobhan is so exacting. She only used natural light in her photography. There were many times when she had to return to the houses because the floor wasn’t shined, or the day was too gloomy. All her photographs are beautiful.

For my part, it was always a meaningful experience talking to the houses’ elder owners – sadly, three of the ladies have passed away – as they reminisced on the good old days of their homes. It wasn’t so much about the grand dimensions of their place, but more of the way they lived there as a family, surviving World War II, their family’s next generation, and how time has changed them and their homes.

For accuracy of the architectural details and history, I also did my research and we made sure that we interviewed the direct heirs. Part of my creative process was transcribing all the interviews by hand. I suppose it’s part of capturing that moment of remembering by the people we talked to.

WHAT DID YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT DOING THIS BOOK?

My father passed away quite young, and interviewing my aunts was like being close to Daddy again. It was connecting with my roots all over again. The stories made the journey so joyful. I mean, I would start with a question and the elders would talk and the stories flowed. They trusted us with their stories. Many things have been written about their homes, but not much about their experiences. They opened up to us.

WITH THE BOOK’S SUCCESS, HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF DOING A PART TWO?
We didn’t have that in mind. If it comes, it comes. We’re thinking of documenting the farming community because it’s a dying breed. And now, we’re being encouraged to do a book on houses that coconut built, and houses that coffee built!