Iloilo City and Bacolod City are like twin cities sharing the same culture and yet they are so different. I am from Iloilo and already spent 3 years living and working here in Bacolod City (the capital of Negros Occidental). I can say I’ve seen the best and worst of both. I also happen to have the misfortune of seing the worst of the Negros side from two of my in-laws. So before I was assigned here in Bacolod I already have some negative perceptions of the people here add to that the general perception of the people in Panay of the Negrenses as the ones who are “tikalon” and pompous.
Surprise, surprise! Those are merely perceptions and very far from the truth. There are those who deserve the bad reputation but if you live in Bacolod for quite a while, they are just a few. Negrenses also have some pretty bad image of Ilonggos from Panay. They perceived us as kuripot and “buki” (no sense of style? – don’t know the exact translation).
Historically, rich families from Iloilo migrated to Negros during the 19th century because of the boom in the sugar industry. The fertile volcanic soil of Negros is very suitable for sugarcane plantations thus rich Ilonggos and even foreigners were lured to Negros in search of vast tracks of land. Workers from Panay were also recruited to work in the haciendas as “sacada”. The flow of money enabled the hacienderos and even the sacadas to live extravagantly. They probably flaunted their money for all the world to see. What the heck, they have it at the time so that probably left people from other provinces green with envy. Being monocrop, the fall of the prices of sugar in the world market in the 80’s has greatly affected the whole province of Negros Occidental. Sugar centrals started to close leaving thousands jobless and homeless. Hacienderos and their families still survived. Either they packed their bags and left with their money or stayed and find other business ventures. The poor sacadas are left with no choice but stay and starve. But even so, old habits are hard to break. Others still maintain the extravagant lifestyle even if money is no longer that abundant. This is probably how Negrenses were labeled as tikalon.
Although Iloilo City came to be known as the “Queen City of the South” during the boom of the sugar industry, the sugar crisis did not have a drastic effect on Iloilo. Iloilo and the whole of Panay Island did not depend solely on sugacane. A lot of crops are being cultivated such as rice, coconut and corn. Since the economy of Iloilo is stable, spending habit is basically the same through the years. The Ilonggos from Panay had simple lifestyles, not used to extravagant clothes and opulence hence they were labeled as “buki” by the Ilonggos from Negros.
Having seen both sides of the coin, I think these traits should be taken in a positive light. Negrenses are fun-loving people and very gracious hosts. The City of Smiles title of Bacolod City is very fitting for it best describes the people. Always putting their best foot forward. The Ilonggos from Panay on the other hand are simple and unassuming. They are not easily taken by the appearance of wealth. What they have are hard-earned therefore they want to get the best value for their money.
These are just my observations and opinions. Don’t take my word for it. Get to know us Ilonggos and discover for yourself.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
may tikalon man nga taga iloilo ah. hehe. like our old boss, remember?
when i was younger, i never liked iloilo, kay nabuki-an gid man ko. but, when i studied in miag-ao, i realized simplicity is beauty. haha! 
sadya man sa iloilo ah, in a different way as sa bacolod. 
huod man. kapin pa kay karay-a tana tanda sa miag-ao ti mayad gid pamatian tanda nga hambal. you know ka, i love living here in bacolod. promdi girl gid ko ya eh.
hi! there’s one thing i notice among ilonggos hailing from ilo-ilo. hilig sila mag-hugas kamay kun may sala sila.
ex. Eman of PDA. haha..
lilintian: ay tuod? la ko na ka notice a. basi si eman lng to ya amo na. hehehe
I am from Bacolod and sometimes I felt irritated by the remarks of Ilonggos from Iloilo branding us Negrenses “tikalon”. They seem to have no notion that it was actually the Ilonggos of Panay who became the ultra-rich “hacienderos” of Negros; these hacienderos who are famous for their being so “tikalon”, pretending that they haul money like “ginapiko kag ginapala”. And the most insult is that they got rich in Negros, now they abhor us; proving that they are indeed not only “tikalon” but also”ingratos”!
Hehehe…I know how you feel coz I probably feel the same way when every time I go home somebody mentions that I might become tikalon since i’m already living here in Bacolod or my bf might be tikalon since he’s from Negros. I often find myself defending the Negrenses when I’m in Iloilo and defend the Ilonggos from Iloilo when I’m in Bacolod. I’m getting tired of doing it so I often make no comment. After all, those who are so critical haven’t even tried living both in Panay and Negros.
Nami man ang Capiz, barato ang seafoods. Kun wala ka pamasahe, may libre pa nga sakay sa Capiz Air courtesy of our friendly neighborhood tik-tik. hehehe…pati ah. Joke lang!
It’s all just a case of generalization and stereotypical immaturity, we should just take light of things like this. We are just one culture and we should help each other out and not bash each other, classic case of sibling rivalry, hehe.
Iloilo and Negros needs each other to really progress again, just like what happened during the golden ages. Together we can compete with the major urban centers in the country but divided, we’re just mere mid-sized cities.
BUT, I could never deny that I’ve known of Ilonggos from Negros nga pag abot ya palang ga bagyo na. THOUGH, I must admit nga may ara man sina sa Iloilo and anywhere else you go … only that mas associated ini siya sa Bacolod, kay kung may tikalon man guid pwerti guid ya.
With regards to Ilonggos from Iloilo being Buki, we’re just being practical. We consider SM and Rob as an extension of our backyard, I’m just loving the fact that you can go to SM or Rob with your “pang-balay” and you will never get the feeling of raised eyebrows (except if there are some Bacoleños who happen to be all dressed up because they had to “tabuk” to go shopping)
@RedOctober: all of these are kantiawan lang naman. Indi lang pag dibdiba a.
As for your remarks na mga Ilonggos from Iloilo lang naman ang tikalon, well they are the pioneers here in Negros, kon wala sila wala man economic opportunities for families from Mindanao to escape the poverty there and eventually find work here in Negros.
We have businesses in Negros & Iloilo and I must say, grabe gid ya ka garapal ang corruption sa Iloilo! Dapat sa Negros ang mas grabe kay mas palagastos ang mga Negrense di bala? Pero ang mga Govt officials sa Negros ya ga hulat lang sang diutay nga tip, sa Iloilo ya name their price gud ya! I’m sorry if I’ll offend my fellow Ilonggos, but I have to say this again- grabe ka GARAPAL kag ka KAPAL MUKS gid da ya mga officials sa Iloilo, daw diyos da ang kwarta!
Masyado na ka serius, back to kantiawan: One of my favorite kantiaw of Ilonggos to their Negrense cousins is – “Gina piko kag gina pala niyo tuod ang inyo kwarta pero ang mga utang niyo gina buldos! Hahaha…
@Max – Hehehe…No comment na lang ko sa corruption but ang ma observe ko lang kag nanamian sa mga local officials diri sa Negros is that most of them, expecially the younger ones, are very dynamic.
The new kantiaw now is that “Sa Negros ang piko kag pala ginakwarta.”
hehe ako agree gd ko sa ginhambal ni chymera.. na ang panay kag negros kilanlan na magbangon uli..stop teasing with each other,, kng may kwarto lng ko uli ibangon ang prawn industry sa negros kay daw ka namit gd kaon lukon….hehehe..btw kng sa tikal lng man ok lng man na sakon..basta may ipabugal lng man dba?..kag kng sa dialect naton tikalon man gd pamatian….heheheehehe
@leiryll – agree gid ko sa imo. ma label lang nila tikalon mga ilonggos (both iloilo & bacolod) kay man confident kita ya. insecure lang na sila. hehehe
People also forget the Ilonggos in South Cotabato (most notably in Koronadal). They are the nicest type of Ilonggo I know: friendly and malambing!
To describe them:
1. Simple and money-wise like the Ilonggos in Iloilo
2. Friendly like the Negrenses
Fuse them together and you’ve got great people!
I’m not familiar with the Ilonggos in Capiz though. Ilonggos in Guimaras are just the same as the ones in Iloilo City.
Yes, there are a lot of places in Mindanao with Ilonggos though I haven’t stepped foot there. Even Palawan has a lot of Ilonggos. Nice to know they have the best traits of the Ilonggos.
yugs! tanan ta tikalon ah…have nothing against iloilo kay roots ko halin da…magpalangga-anay kita tanan! pero daw nabilin na ang iloilo sa bacolod. hope makabawi man ang iloilo.
animo ilonggo!
peace! *bow*
Re: underoath
Actually, it’s not meant to dis anyone but Iloilo City is still richer than Bacolod. Both are in the Billionaire’s league, but if we see a per capita comparison, with Iloilo’s 450,000 or so population to Bacolod’s 500,000+ population, Iloilo is richer per capita (maybe even in the gross income as it posted a P116M surplus in 2008). But, in the provincial side, Iloilo province still lags behind Negros Occidental province (Iloilo is like a small group of tiny towns grouped together while Negros is made of big chunks with a lot cities in it). I don’t know the per capita though but both are in the Billionaire’s League. Anyway, this is not meant to dis anyone as I love both Ilonggo-types (just not their negative traits though). I agree with what some people said…it’s time to stop dissing each other. Iloilo and NegOcc, and of course Antique, Guimaras, Capiz and Aklan, should all be united as one Western Visayan region.