Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, Jack and Rose; All the stories of these classic love affairs is nothing compared to the story behind the beautiful and majestic The Ruins in Talisay City or commonly known as The Taj Mahal of Negros.
By its name, The Ruins, you can tell that its story is a tale as old as time. A love that still lives; a love that does not die; The Ruins has been labeled as the Taj Mahal of Negros for the reason that the story behind why this famous structure was built is actually identical to the story behind Taj Mahal.
A Landmark of A Beautiful Love Story
This remarkable landmark was built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in order to honor, dedicate and remember his beautiful wife, Maria Braga.
The story begins with a handsome bachelor, Don Mariano, who came from a well-off family and has a love for seeing the world. And in an unexpected time and place, during one of his visits in Hong Kong, the surprising happened. It was in Hong Kong where he met the gorgeous Maria Braga. It didn’t take long for him to show his interest towards her and through the course of time, the two got married.
The couple decided to settle in one of the land owned by Don Mariano which is in Talisay. And from then on, through time, Maria bore a child, the two ended up having 10 children. And during the pregnancy of Maria for their 11th child, a terrible accident had happened. Maria accidentally slipped while she was in the bathroom, which caused her to bleed extensively. The accident was really painful for Maria that even traveling to the physician was close to impossible for her. So Don Mariano decided to send one of his horsemen to fetch the physician but it would take two days to get to the physician.
During this time, Don Mariano took care of his wife but even before the physician arrived, both Maria and their child were not able to survive.
Devastated and torn with the death of his wife and child, Don Mariano decided to build a house for his children who are yet married; this is so that he would slowly let go of the grief in his heart. He told his plan to his father-in-law, and he supported this idea by giving Don Mariano extra funds and as well as some design plans as a guide.
And that is the story of this beautiful mansion that even survived during the times of World War II, a story borne out of love and strengthening family bonds.
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| chimney of the Lacson family's azucarera (Spanish Era sugarcane factory), a beautiful structure from the past |
The Ruins Today
Mr. Raymund Javellana, grandson of Mercedes (one of the daughters of Don Mariano), developed The Ruins. The remains of the mansion is now being recognized as one of the 12 most fascinating ruins in the world.
Today, aside from the mansion, The Ruins has a café, restaurant, mini-gold course and stores that are frequented by many visitors and even tourists. You can also meet Roger, the funny tour guide of The Ruins. He became famous because of his funny lines/stints while guiding the visitors. His video while touring a group inside the mansion went viral on YouTube, which leads him to different TV shows and also, became his passport to Big Brother’s house in 2015.
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| A beautiful mansion stunning in the night! |
HOW TO GET THERE
If you’re coming from Manila, fly to Bacolod. From the airport, a shuttle can take you to the exact location.
If you’re coming from Bacolod City, ride a jeep headed north and get off at the tricycle terminal. Your landmark will be Pepsi Cola plant. Then take the trike to The Ruins. You can also take a taxi directly to the exact location of The Ruins but this is quite expensive compared on taking regular commute.
Address
Hacienda Sta. Maria, Talisay City, Negros Occidental
Open daily from 8:30am to 9:00pm
Contact Numbers: (+63) 917-832-6003 or (034) 476-4334
website: http://theruins.com.ph/
Entrance Fee
Adult: Php100.00
Senior Citizens/PWD: Php50.00
Senior Citizens/PWD: Php50.00
Students: Php40.00
Children (below 8 years old): Php20.00
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