TRACING MY BISAYAN ROOTS SERIES [2 of 3]
I have traveled all around the country, and this is the first time I explored our hometown city of Capiz. I’ll share with you my personal discoveries in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines…
1. Historic and Progressive Town of Roxas City
The Roxas City Plaza is alive with its new fountain, which is the most photographed landmark of the city. The Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral stands with the City Hall on its right and the Provincial Capitol on its left (shown below).
The Provincial Capitol of Capiz.
On January 1, 1892, Manuel Acuna Roxas was born in this house in the historic town of Capiz. He was the last President of the Commonwealth and the First President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The Heroes of Capiz were the first Filipinos to stage a revolt against the Spaniards.
Villareal Stadium, a modern stadium with a running oval and Olympic-sized swimming pool.
2. Panay Bell – The Largest Bell in Asia and 3rd Largest in the World
Pan-ay Church in the Heritage town of Pan-ay Town in Capiz, which houses the Panay Bell.
The Panay Bell weighs 10.4 tons.
It was created from 70 sacks of gold coins. (You can still see the gold underneath the bell.)
There’s a total of 9 bells, with the oldest bell created in 1822. The biggest bell was created in 1878.
Its echoing sound can be heard 8 kms away.
“I am God’s voice which I shall echo and praise from one end to the other of the town of Panay so that the faithful followers of Christ may come to this house of God to receive the heavenly graces.”
3. The Biggest Mother of the Holy Rosary in Pilar, Capiz
Young entrepreneurs greet you with P5 flower offerings to our Mother of the Holy Rosary.
One of the biggest Mother Mary statues I’ve seen in the Philippines. It stands on top of the unfinished church. People say that this was created by the Chinese owner as a promise to Mother Mary for healing his son. (Can someone validate this please?)
4. Suhotan Springs in Dumalag, Capiz
Cold springs flowing out of the Suhot Cave in Dumalag.
Very commercialized already with a lot of vendors and huts around the cave.
OAP Tip: I don’t recommend going all the way here just to swim in Suhotan springs.
5. Virgin Beach in Ivisan, Capiz
The virgin beach turned out to be a fishing village…
…with the smell of yummy dried fish that sells for P300 per kilo.
OAP Tip: It is not worth it to go to the Virgin Beach in Ivisan.
6. Baybay Beach and Seafood Grill
Baybay is the black sand beach in Roxas City. This is where we celebrated my Lola’s 100th birthday.
You can see fishermen pulling their wide net and check out their catch for the day.
OAP Tip: The best place to eat in Roxas City is in any of the seafood grill houses in Baybay!
This is the best seafood meal we’ve ever had — Fresh Seafood Grilled the Right Way.
There are two types of squid: the pakpakan (which is the big squid) and the smaller squid (which is yummier between the two).
I never liked Hito because of its greasiness but I love the Capiz Hito, which is called Pantat. We always order and eat this when available. Perfect match for San Miguel beer. 🙂
7. Pasayan and Crab for Breakfast!
I always have steamed shrimps (or what is called Pasayan) for breakfast with garlic rice and egg. I guess this can be called Shrimp-silog…
…and this would be Crab-silog! (Thanks to Nene Ignacio for the yummy breakfast!)
8. Ice Candy – Our favorite dessert in Roxas City
Ice candy is fashionably back in Roxas City. It reminds me of our childhood days.
This is one of the main businesses of Shane. My favorite flavors are Mango, Avocado and Melon.
They sell, on average, 1,500 ice candies a day for P5 each (retail price).
9. Cock Farm in Capiz
The Fighting Cocks business is big in Capiz. Just a bit of trivia: It is called a Cock if the rooster is 2+ years old; it is called a Stag if it is 8-10 months old; and it is at the Bull stage if it is 10-14 months old.
My cuz Boy, holding a fighting cock from the sweater ($5,000) bloodline.
My cuz-in-law Nesting Ignacio, holding a fighting cock from the yellow-legged hatch bloodline. They sell the cocks for P7,000. If you are interested, call Nene Ignacio +63 920 924 2549 or Nesting Ignacio +63 910 833 1119.
10. Olotayan Island
A white pebble beach sand island 30 minutes away from Capiz. One of the undiscovered and underdeveloped islands in the area. I’ll be back in December to feature Olotayan. Have you been to Olotayan?
Live an Awesome Life,
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2009.
blog: www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
prof. blog: AntonDiaz.com
mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627)
email: anton@diaz.ph
Hi anton, shrimps are called pasayan, not kasayan. Love your site!
dear Anton:
your food shots are very good!
thank you for bringing out the best of
Philippine food and destinations!
more power to ourawesomeplanet.com 🙂
hello…me and my family have been there a lot of times but we haven’t been to the Panay bell…
And having alimago and shrimps for breakfast is a big YES!!!!
thanks for featuring Roxas (my dad is from Bolo, Roxas City)
I missed Bohol more after reading your entry kuya..the kasayan,we call pasayan in Bohol, the ice candy and the pantat are also one of my favorites..hayyyyyyyyyyyyy i am really looking forward to be home and hope it will be so soon. more power!
Have you tried eating the STICK FISH from those sugbaan or grill restos/dampa in Roxas City?
I miss the freshest seafoods there, steamed, grilled or buttered, sarap!
the buildings are amazing! 🙂
Thanks Jigs for the comment 🙂 Indeed I was surprised as well..
The seafood in Capiz are simply the best in the country. Yeah, we call it pasayan in Hiligaynon. There’s really a lot of differences in the local language depending on the location, so I’m not really sure if they call it pasayan in Capiz. For instance, what we call in Hiligaynon as “kan-on” (cooked rice) is called “humay” (means palay in Hiligaynon)in some parts of Capiz. I love how Capizeños would start their sentence with “Man hay”. I’ve also been to Pilar and Panay. There used to be a sort of “mummy” in Pilar. I don’t know if it’s still there.
yep, i was going to say that. pasayan. 🙂
….i really appreciate the hardworks & the genuine dedications of the philippines our awesome planet filipino blogger na si anton diaz & his families kaya nga sa kahit ayaw nya o gusto nya i will personally build their own family statue as my personnal gift-presents to them my way{deep appreciation}in his hometown few years from now at i am not in a hurry on that expression of appreciations lol![but seriously}i meant what i just said….but i also want the older man in green t-shirt-green hat selling ice candy in plastic container and these young lovely bisayan entrepreneurs{children in the picture}holding yellow bell flowers & other colorful bougainvillas roses to ‘directly”personally’ blog here meaning leave their names & any transparent local visayan-capiz address in this our awesome planet blog site ONLY if they would’nt mind kasi i would like to send them some new & used items like books clothings bathroom sets kitchen items etc.{via large packages]shippings will take around 40-45 days & will be delivered straight to their homes also i would like to experiment on a diff. kind of donation like a brand new refrigerator{ice candies} and maybe later i would like to donate a small bamboo house where they can use it as their own local store of any handcrafts handworks like paintings seld made drawings-komiks o colorful mats-banig o plant-flower nurseries around the bamboo store but ONLY ‘if’ these courageous-creative ‘hard working’ old & young bisayan entrepreneurs in the pictures{older man in green t-shirt & young children selling flowers}do not mind my donation ‘ideas’ kasi maraming filipinos ang na-o-offend coz sometimes they see gifts-donations from fil-foreigners na parang under estimates sila but the-my direct persons to persons donation offers ay only kung walang magagalit o ma offend as soon as they place their name-addresses in this particular site about capiz{bisaya}TOPIC here lol
thanks for this entry. this is one part of the country i’ve always wondered about – the only thing i knew until this post was the seafood. now i have more reasons to visit 🙂
The Virgin Mary in Pilar was actually built as a thanksgiving for the healing of the daughter and not the son. She was my classmate in college and she said that after she was healed from a very rare disease, her brother actually asked for a sign from God if He wants the family to build this. While the brother was praying, a rainbow appeared on top of that hill in Pilar and so they built this statue of Mama Mary.
i’ve been here once but didn’t get to roam the city. this is where my friend lives, have you visited espacio restaurant? she owns the place.
I love how traditional/old-fashioned the manong sells the ice candy…with lots of newspaper!
….btw….the large packages are ready one huge box i did yesterday is more than 200{two hundred}kilos mostly hand-shoulder-travel bags from the singer/actress ‘ORIGINAL’ collections name BEYONCE KNOWLES{has chains initials LETTER D}self help home renovations cocktails/bars mix drinks books home repairs hand crafts gardening hard bound books cooking pans original but used bally shoes channel accessories from 28 years ago channel items are way less expensive now unlike 3 decades ago where my braided thin leather/metal belt with mini purse hanging in it costed more than almost 2 thousand american dollars for one small belt{was a gift i chose inside store}but now i just go to discounted-cheaper stores to buy sale items lol the 2nd one i am still looking for something to add sana may filipino na yung package deliveries are ‘free’ of charges if all packages-items are for donations kasi if that is the case{free of delivery fees-charges}means i can donate all used but still working great home appliances stucked in our back garage like ref gas/electic range washing/dryer machines computers type writers vacuum cleaners{4} irons kitchen-table wares floor/table lamps large furnitures etc.etc.all beautiful-working pieces coz if that is not the case i will not keep them in the garage but throw them instead but only bcoz i do not like the colors o styles anymore but i am not in a hurry coz i am still waiting to see-read in this site some of those childrens name/addresses the old man in greens{ice candy vendor}so i can send them asap but i cannot send anything unless they blog at least one of their names/addresses here in filipino anton diaz & family’s OUR AWESOME PLANET blog site also the money for the refrigerator{ice candies}will be directly door delivery to their home within 24 hours i’ll send first a sample in small amount of 5,000,00 to make sure the money will be recieved first not lost just like the last packages i gave as late christmas presents to-for my 70’s old high school closest o favorite schoolmates that was not collected coz was intercepted & not recieved by the right/proper intended recipients so i am waiting to read true-correct names/addresses so i can mail what i would like to give-donate as presents-gifts coming from a ‘bored’ housewife here in america oh & do not worry coz NO string attach my intentions are genuine purely & ONLY as i stated here so i am waiting lol
It’s my province..so Great!
I was born in Luctogan … I spent my primary grades in Ivisan and we used to visit Suhot, my mother’s clan is from Dumalag … but not that beautiful then. I’m sure to plan my tour when am back. Haaayyy … nostalgia
Thanks for the comment. Tara uwi na 🙂
Yeah interesting to see it nga… it is a thriving business pa rin in the
province.
Not yet. What’s good in espacio…
anton
Thanks Aimee for this correction 🙂 I’m still learning bisaya
Yeah, I forgot to visit that “mummy” sabi nga nila buo pa yung katawan
talaga.
anton
Thanks for this correcting the information, Tweety!
Thanks for the greeting, Dee!
You’re welcome :)!
Hi Anton,
You’re from Capiz pala, but I was surprised that this is the only time you explored your hometown. But it’s never too late, hehe… I thought Capiz doesn’t have anything to offer but with your photos, you made it look beautiful. My hometown is Aklan by the way, magkatabi lang. And like you, I always pass by Aklan whenever we go to Boracay but we never explored the province itself. =)
Yes, it was my first time unfortunately but not anymore. I plan to visit
when ever I can.
anton
My father is a Capiznon, and we used to go there every summer when my brother and I were kids. Looks like it had changed a lot since I’ve been there. Thanks for sharing this! Will definitely go back soon. 🙂
Oh, and I agree, the seafood there is heavenly! I can eat a whole bandehado of “pasayan” (shrimps) or crabs in one seating, as long as they come from Capiz. 😀
tito anton kL po etoh anak ni ate pandora..ung “Kasayan” po it should be “Pasayan”.. 😀 hehe
Yeah changed it na… bakit ko pa naisip na Kasayan, hehe
wow nakakagutom naman yan 🙁
WOOOW. I havent even been there! To think Manuel Roxas is my grand-uncle! How nice of you to make a feature. =]
great posts and shots! i miss those sugbahan along baybay. too bad, you were not able to try the diwal (angel wing shells). Ivisan is known for their fresh oysters too. we would buy a sack of oysters along the highway for about P500 only!
wow, suhot cave and cold spring sure has changed from the way i remembered it. we used to place all the watermelons underwater to let them cool, even the beer and sodas.
there are a lot of cutflower farms as well in Capiz. My aunt owns one.
though discouraged by the catholic church, there is also the “aswang” festival every october in roxas city.
there is also the version of the ati-atihan. that’s why you can party from october to january from cebu to bacolod to iloilo to roxas and to kalibo by attending each festival.
peejay
yeah I wanted to do the aswang festival before.. hehe.
My family’s from Roxas City, Capiz too! 🙂 You should’ve seen the place 10 – 15 years ago… Baybay was so clean and peaceful!
pwerte kanami agtang mo anton. daw pang airport na! hahahaha
Simply Captivating Capiz
Thank you for presenting this wonderful photos of our province. More power to Awesomeplanet.com! 🙂
Im from Capiz and i agree that we have the best seafoods. You should try angel shellfish. Its the best. More new from capiz can be found here. http://capiznews.com
These are some of my pleasant memories while growomg il as a young boy in Roxas City:
1. Eating barbeque monay & sab-a for snack along the
grill stands beside Rox & May theaters
2. Eating binakol (brothed hens often with their
Unlaid eggs & innards, stuffed in used milk tin cans
and slow cooked on barbeque stands
3. Feasting on unli supply of succulent tahong, pi-os, &
talaba w/c were then considered then as poor
man’s fare in Capiz. A can of Ligo sardines was
more preferred . A bulging sack of tahong was
only sold then for 150 along the roads of ivisan
Capiz folks started liking these shells when we
learned of how tagalogs relished on these sea
foods cooked in various concoctions. And I only developed gusto for these food when I learned of their english names: tahong is mussels, talaba is actually oyster and pi-os is scsllolpd. Funny how these shells turned pricey when dubbed in french or english menus hahaha.
Well there are many more but eill continue some other time