The Ruins “For Burning Love”

Ruins was opened to the public in January 2008 by Mariano Lacson’s great grandson, Raymund Javellana, The mansion has been acclaimed as one of the 12 most fascination Ruins of the world.

After celebrating  a fabulous and wonderful wedding and Chinese New Year, we passed by "The Ruins in Talisay City, Neg. Occ."  before going back to Manila.  We went through a long bumpy path and at the end it was all worth it when we reached the Ruins.  We paid P60.00 each at the entrance. The sight was breathtaking.  The afternoon sun provided the perfect lighting for the picturesque view of the Ruins. The fountain near the entrance enhanced the scenic grounds of the old mansion.

The structure of The Ruins is of Italianate architecture with neo-Romanesque columns. The couple’s initials M and M are molded onto the mansion’s posts; despite its damaged state is still a marvelous sight to behold. Beautiful garden and fountain tiered with water lilies greets the visitors.

The story of Mariano Lacson and Maria Braga, and a monument to love that would stand the rest of time. Born to Lucio Lacson and Clara Ledesma in 1865, Mariano Lacson was the youngest of eight. One of his brothers was the revolutionary general, Aniceto.

The bachelor Mariano was an avid traveler even then.  In one of his visits to Hongkong, he met and fell in love with a Portuguese lady from Macau. Her name was Maria Braga.  The fairy tale romance culminated in marriage.

Mariano and Maria had 10 children.  In 1991, while nearing the full term of her 11th pregnancy, Maria had an accident.  Both mother and child were lost. Heartbroken and inconsolable, Mariano decided to build a mansion in remembrance of Maria, right in the middle of his 440-hectare sugar plantation in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.  It was, in fact, designed to be a monument to their enduring love affair.

Maria’s father, a ship captain, introduced European architectural influences into the design of the mansion, from the over-all Italianate inspiration to the shell details on the roof.  The structure of the house was of solid concrete.  Interior floors were dressed either in tiles imported from Spain or 20-meter-long hard wood planks that were cut a meter wide.

Until the eve of World War II, the mansion served as residence of Mariano and all of his unmarried children.  Mariano set the rule that as soon as his children married, they should leave the mansion. Mariano himself would abide by it, moving to a cottage nearby when he decided to remarry years later.

The garden of the mansion was tended by Don Mariano’s daughter Angelina. Imported lilies filled the garden and around the fountain. A Japanese gardener was hired to maintain the gardens until he disappeared just before the war. It was found out later on that the gardener they hired was an informant to the Japanese Military

The bombs of the world war eventually fell. As dictated by the exigencies of the time, the United States Armed Forces in the Far East, or USAFFE, recruited guerilla soldiers and instructed them to burn down structures that might be used as headquarters by the Japanese.

Eyewitnesses recount, the mansion of Mariano Lacson smoldered continuously for three days, but the fire would not consume all of it, leaving behind reminders of a glorious past, and the lovers’ two initials, (two letters this time as if seared and branded on every post of the house.

In 1948, Mariano Lacson died his monument to love in irreparable ruins. 

sources: The Ruins in Talisay City, Neg. Occ. 

                 Ilonggos Net