Historic Iloilo mansion finds new life as a museum, dining spot

Standing prominently along the Jaro Plaza Complex in Iloilo City, Iloilo, the Jalandoni-Montinola Ancestral Home, also known as the Arguelles-Jalandoni House, is more than a grand mansion. It is a cultural, religious, historical, and architectural landmark whose rooms hold nearly a century of family and community memories.

Completed on 10 January 1927, the house combines neoclassical and neo-Gothic elements with an arcaded lower level, features seen in American-era buildings in urban centers such as Manila and Iloilo. It remained a family home until 2020. In 2024, it opened as Agatona 1927 Museum Café.

While its exterior reflects the grand residences of affluent families in Iloilo and Negros Occidental, its interior follows the layout of the older bahay na bato. The main entrance opens into the zaguan, the ground-floor space traditionally used to store carrozas and household supplies. A grand staircase with two flights connects this level to the wooden-floored second story. Parts of the zaguan are rented out to businesses, while the second floor houses the museum and café, retaining the rooms, family furnishings and private chapel.

Papal bull

In her later years, the house’s original owner, Agatona Arguelles-Jalandoni, regularly heard Mass in the chapel when she could no longer attend services at the nearby church. A doorway was specially built to give her direct access from her bedroom.

The arrangement was authorized through a papal bull issued by Pope Pius XII in 1950, granting her permission to hear Mass in the private chapel, which has a neo-Gothic retablo and images of saints.

The house sustained partial damage during World War II and was subsequently restored.

Faith and philanthropy

The family has a tradition of philanthropy. Arguelles-Jalandoni assisted priests and nuns of the Archdiocese of Jaro in various ways. The family also observes “beatico publico,” an annual gathering on the first Sunday after Easter, when people from poor communities are invited into the mansion for a meal. The practice may be seen as a way of giving back to the community, offering thanks for blessings received or honoring a solemn promise to the divine.

The family also owns a processional image of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Jaro’s patron saint. For most of the year, the image occupies a special niche between the two flights of the staircase. On 1 February, eight men carry it to the church for the fiesta procession. After the procession on 2 February, eight men carry it back to the house.

According to the house’s octogenarian owner, Regina “Jean” Jalandoni Gustilo, the image “would smile” upon its return, as though an important task had been accomplished.

Rooms of memory

The main bedroom holds an Ah Tay bed once owned by Gustilo’s maternal grandmother, everyday objects belonging to the family, and outfits worn by Gustilo, including one by National Artist for design Patis Tesoro.

Family portraits, a pair of chandeliers, a sala set, and historic documents furnish the sala. Old dining sets and tableware are displayed in the former dining room, which now also serves as a souvenir shop. An adjoining room has been converted into a café serving Filipino meals and Ilonggo favorites, including barquillos, bañadas, pancit molo, and dinuguan. Among the must-tries is the ice cream flavored with pineapple juice and baye-baye, a common Ilonggo rice cake.

Two other rooms serve as intimate event spaces. On the wall of one is a gallery of photographs of notable visitors to the house and café.

At Agatona 1927 Museum Café, opening the family home to visitors gives its heritage a place in everyday life. Over a meal or a leisurely walk through its rooms, guests encounter a Jaro whose stories endure in the things — and traditions — a family has chosen to keep.

Agatona 1927 Museum Café is at the corner of Plaza Rizal and Arguelles streets, across Jaro Park, also known as Graciano Lopez Jaena Park. Admission is P350, of which P200 is consumable.