ILOILO  CALLE REAL and its WEALTH OF BUSINESS

by PJ Arañador

Iloilo City being a  first class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines  is the center of excellence and  hub of education, culinary, religion, healthcare, tourism, culture, industry and economy in the south of the country rivalling closely with Cebu City.  

After the World War II, many from Mindanao, Visayas and Palawan did business in Iloilo.  Being one of the prime cities in the Philippines  second to Manila  (  later overtaken by Cebu at the turn of the century ), its economy  economy was prolific and diverse with foreign and local commercial establishments along the  whole stretch of  Calle Real which was lined with the most beautiful colonial buildings in the country. 

Smuggled goods from Borneo and neighboring countries in the south were rampant in Iloilo City  after the world war. Its  efficient ports and fine harbors  were stop over points from Mindanao to Manila allowed this so along with the backdoor shipping entries.  

Trading among the Muslims and the Ilonggos prospered as the latter acquired huge estates of land in Mindanao consequently became extremely wealthy through agriculture and dry goods trading. Iloilo boosted with the highest numbers of jewelry and pawn shops in the country, pioneering the selling and trading of gold and silver many of which sustained their turn of the century brand until today. 

To prosper the businesses,  Iloilo had already telephone network system, electricity and banks operating in the metropolis in 1894 and later railway trains in 1950's. Iloilo holds the highest number of "firsts" in country many were infrastructure to drive commerce aggressively. 

One of its major past industries was textiles, Iloilo was the first province to export textiles. It became the textile capital of the country during the Spanish period.  The textiles from cotton, abaca and pineapple fibers were handwoven in the districts of Molo, Villa, Arevalo and Jaro as well as the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Miagao, Dingle, Badiagan, Janiuay, Calinog and many more and take to the British built Muelle Loney for exports. It produced the iconic "hablon" ( in photo), "jusi", "piña", abaca and cotton weave in "patadyong".

The decline of the  textile industry was attributed to the on-set of the lucrative sugar industry in Iloilo at the turn century as the British imported milled cotton to Iloilo, thus, competed with the local production. 

Iloilo's Calle Real will remain as the remnant of  the glorious  old business district of Iloilo. Even until today, it is teaming with commerce including migrant traders from Mindanao and foreign businessmen from India, China and Asian countries which replaced the Spaniards,  British and Americans.  

Iloilo is the last capital of Spanish Empire in Asia and the Pacific before the Philippines was ceded to the United States in 1898 through the Treaty of Paris.

TRIVIA.  By 1800's, Iloilo was probably already the biking capital of the Philippines during the Spanish Asia which title is more formalized to the city today. 

The city has the longest and most spacious bicycle lanes in the country. I am amazed with the turn of the century photo of Calle Real, the Escolta  of Iloilo City and known as the Royal Street of the city, with its already  wide street traversed with bicycles along with horse-driven calesas and luxury cars. 

PHOTO Textile design for hablon by PJ Aranador in indigenous geometric patterns  over red or  black base for an international runway virtual  show at Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries.  

VIRTUAL SHOW DETAILS 

 Iloilo handloom textiles  hablon at the Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries. Virtual World Premiere Oct. 16, 2021 7 to 9 pm GMT +8 in YouTube Channel: TENUN Fashion Week

https://www.youtube.com/.../UC.../channels

b) Facebook live on our Facebook page: TENUN Fashion Week

Designer Apparel and Accessories PJ Aranador

Artisans Salngan Multipurpose Coop Oton Iloilo Province Elsie Balidiong 

Marketing Arm Panublix Noreen Marian Bautista 

Photo Algie Casuela Panaguiton Jr. 

HMUA Benny Che 

Model Elisha Ackerman 

Thanks to Permanent Ambassador of the Philippines to the ASEAN Amb Noel Servigon 

Iloilo Provincial Office for Culture, Arts and Tourism Bombette Golez Marin  #hablon #tenun ,

LET THE YOUNG BE IN HABLON

by PJ Arañador 

Hablon is the indigenous handloom textile of Iloilo since the Spanish period in the Philippines for over 300 years. It is now much alive today.

In the beginning, “ hablon” was handwoven to make thick blankets. Ilonggo folks in the past interchanged the word “ habol” for blanket or the act of weaving itself. “ Hablon ” is the finished product. Its root word is “ habol”. 

The patterns are traditionally done manually on paper which is  tedious while today with computer aided design I create the patterns of  design with digital technology. This speeds up the process while  it relates to the Gen Z and the millenials. However, weaving is still handloom using the traditional footpedal  called the "teral" or " tedal" which preserves the charm of the old world craft.

Hablon is similar to Abel of Ilocos region.  Hablon usually uses a blend of polyester and cotton  today unlike the abel that remained using all cotton until today.  Perhaps with its promixity to the source of Chinese cotton  yarn or thread in northern Luzon. Although Iloilo still weaves blends including the luxurious and expensive "jusi" which is mixing silk and piña or pineapple fiber.

Habol  which means in Ilonggo to weave was all cotton in 1700's until the British  built the international port of Iloilo called Muelle Loney, named after the British investor who built it when England had its presence in Iloilo at the turn of the century,  who bought milled cotton to Iloilo and the industry declined drastically. 

The high profit in sugarcane business for Ilonggos, who were the first to export sugar to Australia, and the rest of the world, shifted the economy from textiles to sugar. At that time Iloilo was the textile capital of the Philippines which was from 1700's to 1900's.

Hablon is also refered as " Binisaya" or " Visayan" handloom textile using foot pedal unlike in Mindanao most of them uses the backstrap loom. My aunts in Badiagan Iloilo used to gift us with hablon and it was made of thick wool when the American missionaries in Iloilo bought wool yarn. We used them only as blanket. They were colorful.

Hablon can be refered to both "patadyong"  ( checkered print)  and "hablon" ( inserted pattern) or " turn of the century Filipino archetype Damian Domingo  stripes).  Patadyong was for everyday use in tube dresses while hablon for special occasion garments like terno or barong. 

While in the Cordilleras the inserts are usually after nature like rice, plants, mountains or animals, hablon has the more European prints that include fine suiting type pattern of pin stripes or bold nautical like prints. I made highly engineered pattern for my past collections now in my archive. 

 The one unique  charcteristics of hablon is that it is a chameleon fabric which means it changes its color ar different angles. 

PHOTO Textile design for hablon by PJ Aranador in indigenous geometric patterns  over red or  black base for an international runway virtual  show at Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries.  

VIRTUAL SHOW DETAILS 

 Iloilo handloom textiles  hablon at the Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries. Virtual World Premiere Oct. 16, 2021 7 to 9 pm GMT +8 in YouTube Channel: TENUN Fashion Week

https://www.youtube.com/.../UC.../channels

b) Facebook live on our Facebook page: TENUN Fashion Week

Designer Apparel and Accessories PJ Aranador

Artisans Salngan Multipurpose Coop Oton Iloilo Province Elsie Balidiong 

Marketing Arm Panublix Noreen Marian Bautista 

Photo Algie Casuela Panaguiton Jr. 

HMUA Benny Che 

Model Elmar Banate 

Thanks to Permanent Ambassador of the Philippines to the ASEAN Amb Noel Servigon 

Iloilo Provincial Office for Culture, Arts and Tourism Bombette Golez Marin  #hablon #tenun ,

 HABLON of ILOILO. Diversity in fashion. Least we forget. 

*Wovens that tell stories of far distant places. 

*Textiles that transgress various culture and beliefs.  

*Crafts that unites people.

 Iloilo handloom textiles  hablon at the Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries. Virtual World Premiere Oct. 16, 2021 7 to 9 pm GMT +8 in YouTube Channel: TENUN Fashion Week

https://www.youtube.com/.../UC.../channels

b) Facebook live on our Facebook page: TENUN Fashion Week

Designer PJ Aranador

Artisans Salngan Multipurpose Coop Oton Iloilo Province

Marketing Arm Panublix Noreen Marian Bautista 

Photo Algie Casuela Panaguiton Jr. 

HMUA Benny Che 

Models Jared Las Elisha Ackerman Rochell Geron Elmar Banate Elijah Villarina 

Salngan Elsie Balidiong 

Thanks to Permanent Ambassador of the Philippines to the ASEAN Amb Noel Servigon 

Iloilo Provincial Office for Culture, Arts and Tourism Bombette Golez Marin #hablon #tenun ,

 The OLD WORLD &  CONTEMPORARY FASHION. Connecting the future with the past. 

The spot is the intersection of Calle Iznart, JM Basa and Ledesma in Iloilo City where  Plazoleta Gay is nested in downtown Iloilo City, Philippines

. 

The old world ambience could have rivalled the iconic fashion streets of  Rue du Faubourg  and Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, France by the merits of its stunning visual background of outstanding colonial architecture. Afterall, Iloilo is dubbed as the Paris of the South in the past. 

Calle Real or the once known as the Royal Street  of Iloilo will always give us imprints of its glorious  history  imbibed with  international influences. 

The aristocratic air of the  “  La Muy Leal Noble y La Ciudad de Iloilo" por la Reina Regente de España ( "The Most Loyal and Noble City” or “La Muy Leal Y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo” by the Queen Regent of Spain) through which a Coat of Arms from the Royal Decree of 1896 recognized the  loyalty of the Ilonggos  to the Spanish crown, still remains in alleys of Calle Real lined with breath-taking colonial edifices. 

Plazoleta is Spanish for small square. Plazoleta Gay does not refer in honor of gay people but rather it was  named after the last Spanish Alcalde Mayor of Iloilo City, Jose Ma. Gay who resisted  the revolutionary forces and government of Governor-General Don Diego de los Rios which thus ended  the last duly constituted Spanish authority in the Philippines in Iloilo—the last frontier of the Spanish empire in Asia. 

Perhaps, Plazoleta Gay marked with an obelisk monument  can be the kilometer zero of the city much like the archaic women fountain in front of Casa Real, the kilometer zero of Iloilo province. 

Plazoleta Gay symbolizes the melting pot of foreign influences in the city—the coming of the Chinese as early as 1600’s  by which today the FIlipino-Chinese Arch was erected in the site. 

It also symbolizes the American settlers  in Calle Real at turn of the century bringing western style of  commerce including the first department store in the country down the street of JM Basa in Hoskyn’s  leading to Calle de la Rama and Muelle Loney where the British created pioneering industries and commerce ahead of any place in the country before the World War II. 

Ergo, Iloilo became part of the only important key cities in the country along with Manila and Cebu in 1900’s.  

Iloilo was the textiles capital of the Philippines during the Spanish period but when the British imported cotton at the international port of Iloilo at the turn of the century, the

handloom weaving  industry was replaced by  sugar  ending the exports of textiles and commenced the shipments of local sugar internationally which created so much wealth to the Ilonggos while the balance of keeping the huge weaving workforce  diminished which included the affluent districts of  Molo, Arevalo, Villa and Jaro in the city alone, not counting those in the suburbs such as Miagao.

Today, with the efforts of designers,  traders , government and NGO’s, Iloilo’s textile industry is on its way to its rehabilitation. 

Hablon is a prime textile representing Iloilo which takes another turn of international exposure within an organized and formal virtual  global commerce at the Tenun Fashion Week participated in by  ASEAN countries this coming October until December 2021. 

as written by

PJ Arañador

Photo: An iridiscent hablon contemporary column gown with  hand painted metallic ombre of silver and gold embellished on it ruffles. PJ Arañador is an international lifestyle designer whose design philosophy embraces a sense of origin, time and space. He is a social entrepreneur with his body of works murmuring the authenticity of traditional techniques in artisanal crafts while interpreting them in contemporary forms. 

VIRTUAL SHOW DETAILS 

 Iloilo handloom textiles  hablon at the Tenun Fashion Week for ASEAN countries. Virtual World Premiere Oct. 16, 2021 7 to 9 pm GMT +8 in YouTube Channel: TENUN Fashion Week

https://www.youtube.com/.../UC.../channels

b) Facebook live on our Facebook page: TENUN Fashion Week

Designer Apparel and Accessories PJ Aranador

Artisans Salngan Multipurpose Coop Oton Iloilo Province Elsie Balidiong 

Marketing Arm Panublix Noreen Marian Bautista 

Photo Algie Casuela Panaguiton Jr. 

HMUA Benny Che 

Models Rochell Geron IMG 

Salngan Multipurpose Coop 

Thanks to Permanent Ambassador of the Philippines to the ASEAN Amb Noel Servigon 

Iloilo Provincial Office for Culture, Arts and Tourism Bombette Golez Marin  #hablon #tenun ,