The downtown Iloilo I remember

Whenever downtown Iloilo comes up in conversation, a flood of memories returns to me. Some are ordinary, some funny, and some bittersweet. But that is what makes downtown special to me. It is not simply a place I visit. So many parts of my life happened there.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is going downtown with my mother whenever she needed to buy supplies for her store in Dueñas. At the time, when we were living in Jaro on weekdays, and whenever we left the house, our neighbors would sometimes ask me where I was going. I would proudly answer, “Sa Iloilo”—to Iloilo. Of course, we were already in Iloilo City. But to me as a child, “Iloilo” meant downtown. Going there somehow felt like going somewhere else.

I remember walking with Nanay from one store to another as she bought whatever she needed for her business. Two places I distinctly remember were Shanghai Bazaar and Diamond. After she finished shopping, she would sometimes treat me to pizza at a small pizzeria along the sidewalk near Diamond. I believe the pizzeria was Love and Kisses. It has now since moved to Jaro, but whenever I pass that area, I still remember eating there with Nanay. Interestingly, some stores selling classroom charts and visual aids are still there. As a child, those colorful charts were simply part of the scenery. Years later, as a teacher myself, I see them differently.

Christmas downtown also meant something special. During the Christmas season, Tatay and Nanay would deliberately do their shopping in the evening. They would leave us outside SM Delgado so we could watch its Christmas Around the World show while they bought things we needed for our Christmas celebration. I can still remember that mechanical parade of characters moving before us. I remember people calling it as vaudeville. By today’s standards, it might seem simple, but back then, watching those figures come alive was already magical for a young child like me.

As I grew older, downtown became the setting for many of my other experiences. I have been robbed there. I have walked its streets hungry and, on other days, left with a full stomach. I have been caught in the rain. I received remarks because of my weight. I have had even arguments. Downtown has seen different versions of me—from the child following his mother while she shopped to the adult navigating the same streets many years later. Some memories, however, have become more difficult to revisit.

During Nanay’s final days, downtown became one of the places where I would buy some of her medicines. The streets that once meant pizza after shopping, colorful stores, and childhood treats became associated with something entirely different. I suppose places become like that as we grow older. The same corner can remind us of happy memories from one period of our lives and sadness from another. The place remains the same, but we return as different people.

My connection with downtown continues even now, although in a different way. Last May 2026, I toured our Indonesian exchange practice teachers around the area, specifically bringing them to Ledesma Mansion and the National Museum. I could have easily taken them to one of Iloilo’s newer malls, but I deliberately did not since they already have malls back home. I wanted them to experience something they could associate specifically with Iloilo—the old-school charm of the city, its architecture, history, and the feeling of walking through a place that has accumulated stories through generations.

That was also my way of letting them see the Iloilo that I know. Not simply the city of new developments and modern commercial centers, but the Iloilo found in old buildings, familiar streets, and places that have survived while the city changed around them.

Today, Iloilo City has no shortage of malls, restaurants, and modern establishments in other areas. I admit that I enjoy these places too. They are comfortable, convenient, and easier to navigate. The city has changed, and so have the places where we spend our time. Still, I keep going back downtown.

Downtown Iloilo has never needed to win my affection; its crowded sidewalks, weathered buildings, familiar shops, and restless blend of traffic and noise have long felt like part of my own history. Some businesses have faded away, others now bear different names, and new establishments stand where old favorites once welcomed us. Yet every so often, I pass a familiar corner and the years seem to fall away, returning to me a moment I had believed was lost to time.

To me, this is what defines downtown Iloilo. It is more than a district of historic buildings and bustling streets; it is a place that holds many chapters of my life and one that I hope others will have the opportunity to experience.

What about you? What is your most unforgettable downtown Iloilo experience?