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The history and cultural
exchange of the Spaniards in the Filipino
island of Boracay
by Sofia Lamberto
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this Article • About
the Author • Bibliography/Sources
It is an island truly beautiful, sometimes
sinful, always controversial. This makes it intriguing and
causes people to return again and again, if they cannot linger
for a lifetime. Its rich History dates back in the early 17th-8th
Century.
Boracay is more than just another Island
and Resort by the Sea. She was a shy island, with a secretive
and secluded past hidden behind the history of time, the soil
molded by the hands of a woman and her loyal peers that made
the island into a paradise. The island is indeed a creation
of the Almighty with a past.
As history books tell stories of times
past, few is ever written or told about the island's history
prior to its popularity in the seventies. Many would write
about it but with always the same tone - its past being shaded
or unknown.
Others would tell tales about how the
island was discovered - film crews, German writers, backpackers.
Some people considered themselves lucky
for having had the time spent with the settlers and old people
in Boracay. Accounts of fisherfolks and Ati indeed were mentioned.
There is one account that they revealed - about who they often
referred to as the "First Family" of Boracay - they
were considered as among the first settlers of the island
who lived among the Ati.
No wonder there are Villas and Cottages
named in her honor.
No wonder there are structures which
stood and are named in his honor.
The Location:
The Island belongs to the Western Visayas
group and is located in the northwestern tip of Panay, in
the west Visayas of Region VI, neighboring the Sibuyan Sea.
The island has three major Villages namely; Yapak in the North,
Balabag in the middle, and Manoc-Manoc in the south, and numerous
small barrios or barangays or sitios, all linked together
by a maze of paths, labeled into five commercial stations.
The Origin:
The name Boracay is attributed to different
origins. One story says that it is derived from the local
word "borac" which means white cotton with characteristics
close to the color and texture of Boracay's white sugary and
powdery sand. Another credits the name to local words "bora,"
meaning bubbles, and "bocay," meaning white. Yet
another version dating back to the Spanish era says the name
is derived from "sagay," the word for shell, and
"boray," the word for seed.
The Language:
Akeanon is predominantly spoken in
Aklan. Other than Tagalog/Filipino and other local vernaculars,
English is widely spoken in the island.
The Livelihood:
The source of living was mainly fishing.
Then later farming was introduced by the local settlers so
that coconut and tobacco plantation and vegetation provided
for the livelihood of the Boracaynon settlers. They would
trade copra with Aklan and in some parts of Luzon for rice
and other goods. In the 1960s and 1970s, families from Panay
and neighboring towns became frequent visitors to the island.
The Settlers:
Antropological studies suggests that
the Ati were the original settlers in the island but interbred
and/or crossbred with other people we now called the "Boracayons".
The couple:
Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol and Sofia
Ner Gonzales
They settled in the island in the 1900s
when Lamberto became a Judge in Buruanga, an old name for
Malay. Sofia had a small lot in the area where they constructed
a small shelter. Later on, a number of islanders sold their
lots to the couple, until a relatively large area was occupied
by the family.
It was reported by the locals and documented
by the Bureau of Lands sometime in 1920 particularly by the
Office of the Land Inspector in Buruanga (now Malay), District
17, that it was Lamberto who founded the barrio of Yapac in
1913, a portion of the island he bought from some islanders
in addition to the already owned lot by Sofia adjoining thereto.
At that time, Yapac only constituted seven houses and one
barrio church.
Lamberto, or Lamber as he was fondly
called by the islanders, was a good provider, he worked hard
to earned his own keep and to give his family a good life.
Sofia, or Sofing, as she was fondly called by her fellow Boracaynons,
was a green thumb, a good administratrix and a good employer.
While Lamberto work, she and her workers would go around and
about the island planting trees and vegetables. She was able
to plant thousands of coconut trees along with corn and tobacco.
Her main product was that of tobacco and copra. It was written
that she was able to produce first class tobacco which were
traded from all over Luzon. In 1987, she was esteemed as “The
Woman Behind The Greening of Boracay” in The Sunday Times
Magazine. The same was reprinted in 1998 by a local paper
in Panay.
It was an early demise for Lamberto.
He died sometime in 1924, a year of mourning not just for
the family he left behind but also for the Boracaynons. He
was, to them, a father, a trustworthy “Amoy” and a friend.
He left behind a young widow to tend their orphaned children.
Despite her broken heart, she maintained that composure of
a strong willed woman, continued to take care of the island,
made it into something the world would call "Island Paradise."
With the help of a nephew Josefino
Sta Maria Tirol, Sofia was able to place her portion in the
island under the Torrens System. In 1929, Sofia was granted
a title in her favor and for the Heirs of Lamberto Hontiveros
Tirol. At that time, Aklan was still part of Capiz, so was
Malay, so that the Ordinary Registration Proceedings for Titling
over Panay was lodge in the Courts of First Instance in Capiz
Area. In 1931, Honorable Enrique Altavaz of the General Land
Registration Office issued giving formally a torrens title
over a large portion of the island.
Sofia's ground work gained her the
appreciation she much deserved. In 1987, in a magazine (The
Sunday Times Magazine, November, 1987), an article was written
about the woman behind the greening of Boracay. The article
was about Sofia Ner Gonzales. Today, the island remained to
be as Sofia intended it to be: an Island Paradise. She would
have wanted it the way it was: with all the coconut trees
standing almost everywhere, including bended cocos that gave
the island the unique scenery peculiarly exclusive to Boracay.
Sadly, those trees are no longer there. Environment and legal
issues beset the island. Government intervention seem to aggravate
the matter. Nonetheless, Boracay remained one of the best
beaches in the world.
Modern Day Boracay:
1970 marks the beginning of the Modern
Age of Boracay Island. Even though electricity arrived in
the late 1980, visitors came pouring in, bringing along their
own amenities, especially water to drink. In the early fifties,
or right after the War (WWII), business, great and small,
began to blossom in the island. On some parts, dirt or rocky
or smooth roads gave way to paved ones.
Sofia would have wanted the island
to stay as it was, with millions of trees resting peacefully
and happily on white sugar-coated sands of the island, with
few joyous people relaxing by watching the calm and serene
blue ocean touching the blue heavens... But times changed
and the rest had to change with time. Some of its secrets
are now in the open. Its privacy may have been lost with the
deluge of visitors it attracts every year, but it doesn't
seem to matter. People from all over the world continue to
flock to its brilliant powdery white sands and shores and
aquamarine waters.
Rapid growth of the Island began in
1970, and the population has grown. Today, this beautiful
sea island continues to offer Visitor and Resident alike a
beautiful oasis featuring miles of blue beaches, World Class
golf, recreation and a renewal of spirit as one finds himself
surrounded, and enriched by, the peaceful beauty of nature.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
Gratitude and Appreciation
to the Heirs of Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol and Sofia Ner Gonzales
for sharing their ancient journals, letters, case files, official
documents and old accounts from government offices and islanders
of the island. Special Thanks to the government agencies for
providing data to verify this story before its publication.
Most of all, gratitude is greatly owed to the heirs of Boracaynons
(Aguirre, Sacapano, Victorio, Supretan, Archal, Ambay, Vargas,
Peroginog, and Sualog, among others) who corroborated the
stories written above and used as a source for this brief
history. Acknowledgement is likewise due to Haide Tirol Solidum,
Teresita Tirol Rojo Corpus, Carissa Tirol Carpio Dimacali,
Rosette Tirol Solidum Aster, Divina Tirol Marte Villanueva,
Ma. Sophia Tirol Solidum Taylor, Jessica Tirol Andan, Antonio
Tirol Carpio, Jocelyn Tirol Dignos, Roberto G. Tirol and the
rest of the Herederos de Lamberto H. Tirol y Sofia Ner Gonzales,
Thank you.
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