Iloilo City, The Old Queen City of the South

For one thing, I always thought that my Cebu was THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH. I checked and the old queen city of the south was ILOILO City. This was when the city was an important trading area for sugar coming from Negros. But when the sugar industry collapsed, so did Iloilo's position as a prime city in the Visayas.

I frequent Iloilo City because its my husband's home and we do visit it at least once a year. Coming from Cebu, I can't help but notice how different this city is from my tropical and rugged home.

For one, Iloilo is flat. As in, one cannot see a mountain jutting out from view. I've always wondered how this terrain would influence the way people here live. Iloilo is near the sea and has a wide river running within the city proper thus the numerous bridges one passes by while driving within the city. I liken Iloilo City to the swampy parts of Florida -- there's water everywhere. The Ilonggos are lucky, with this terrain they have abundance in seafood, food crops and drinking water.

This terrain may have influenced how people in Iloilo live, never hurried, relax, peace-loving (as noted by the tonality of their dialect) and quite contentented. Who wouldn't be with a home like Iloilo City!

Mrs Jane B.