The Ruins

The Story of Mariano Lacson and Maria Braga, and a monument to love that would 
stand the test of time.

(www.theruins.com.ph)

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.

(Maria Braga and Don Mariano Lacson)

Mariano and Maria had ten children. In 1911, while nearing the full term of her 11th pregnancy, Maria had an accident. Both mother and child were lost.

(According to Roger, the tour guide, Maria slipped in the bathroom causing her to fall and it was already four days late when the doctor arrived from Silay. Back in those times, it will take you two days to travel from Silay to Talisay and two days going back since the only mode of transportation before is by walking barefoot or ride horses) 

Heartbroken and inconsolable, Mariano decided to build a mansion in remembrance of Maria, right in the middle of his 440 hectare sugarcane 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.

(Roger told us that this post was a mixture of cement and eggwhites. )

(Two letter M's facing each other, the initials of Mariano and Maria, were molded on every posts of the mansion)

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 mariied, they should leave the mansion. Mariano himself abide by it, moving to a cottage nearby when he decided to remarry years later to a second wife. (They had three children)

 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 (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 fro three days, but the fire would not consume all of it, leaving behind remionders of a glorious past, and the lover's two initials, 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.

(The 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 fascinating Ruins of the world.)


It was really a great experience to see "The Ruins". I thought I'd be going on a solo trip but the three girls together with ms. Belle joined me and It was more fun to be with them. We had so many bloopers along the way but that was part of our mis(adventures) and everyone had wonderful memories to cherish. :)