Why Visayans Should Blog was a topic that Talonggo himself, Lloyd Tronco, discussed in last year's Visayas Blogging Summit. It was a breathtaking collection of trivia on why Visayans should keep an account of our heritage, online.
As a spectator among the audience, my love for history and my roots got stoked when I heard that Golf was initially introduced in Iloilo. This is the reason why age-blackened Golf Balls have been found in the Sta. Barbara area. Sta. Barbara is that stretch of yet-undeveloped space that leads to the Iloilo International Airport. Through Lloyd Tronco's talk, I was fascinated at the significance that Western Visayas used to have in history.
It was through Mr. Tronco's speech that I realized that being a blogger, a Visayan blogger, is significant. Through blogging, we can actually keep a time capsule of sorts. Through blogging, we can keep pieces of the past and display them online for the future youngsters to see.
I recall my elementary days, visiting Museo de Iloilo. While I was fascinated more about the Paleolithic (?) human jaw that had gemstones and gold fillings, it was a good way to learn about how my ancestors lived. I learned that Iloilo had a train system back in the Spanish Era. I also learned that Iloilo City had been burned down to prevent the Americans from making it as an operations base for its military efforts. (Source) Field trips as a child were very crucial in forming my understanding of my city's past.
There were trips to a local home that had a collection of Japanese "Mickey Mouse Money," which was a term for the currency that virtually had no value. There was that trip to Magdalena G. Jalandoni's home, which gave a peek into the life of a historic writer.
Today, I pass by these homes on occasion. While Miss Jalandoni's residence has been preserved as a heritage site, the home with the Japanese money looks like a regular residence now. Iloilo has a lot of these homes. Others have been preserved, most have fallen into disrepair. These places should be preserved like Miss Jalandoni's old home. But if time, modernization and globalization will need for these places to be moved out of the way, only blogs and history websites will carry the snapshots of our culture's history.
And this is the main reason why Visayans like Talonggo should blog. We are here to help preserve our history, for posterity. Bisaya/Ilonggo/Negrense ka ba? Mag blog na!
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