Don Angel Mascuñana & Family
Talisay, Negros Occidental, Philippines 1936
This was filmed by an American family friend using an 8mm Bell & Howell movie camera. It was during a town fiesta of Talisay sometime in 1936. The narrator is Indalecio or "Dodoy" one of the younger sons of Don Angel, who was one of the little boys in the film.
This rare film shows the life of a sugar baron in the island of Negros, particularly from the town of Talisay during the U.S. Commonwealth Period - old folks call peace time, just a few years prior to the Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation.
The Film Highlights:
The Art Deco mansion of Don Simplicio Lizares under construction designed by architect Juan F. Nakpil.
The old town plaza of Talisay with its bandstand and the old town church.
The luxury vintage cars -
The people’s way of dressing - the elite and the townsfolk
The lavish lifestyle of the Spanish-mestizo Don Angel Mascuñana and his family in his turn-of-the century mansion, that unfortunately no longer exists today. It was burned down by the guerillas in 1945 shortly before Liberation (So the Japanese could not occupy the house), like many of the other houses in Talisay. According to family accounts, the women were divested of all their jewelries, including those who sought refuge there. The mansion, including all its furniture and furnishings burned for three days. Only three of the grand houses remain intact today.