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[Ilonggo Notes] Soaked in history: The Jaro Circle
May 12, 2021 2:25 PM PHT
Vic Salas
If you stand in the middle of Jaro Plaza and then walk 200 meters or so in any direction, you will encounter an amazing variety of heritage buildings, shrines, and homes of national heroes; an imposing, towering belfry and cathedral; colonial Spanish, art deco, and neoclassic architecture; mansions of sugar barons; pioneering educational institutions; and local delicacies known throughout the country. This is the Jaro Plaza heritage zone, as declared by Republic Act 10555 (2010).
Jaro has a rich history. It once had one of the biggest markets in the country, selling the finest embroidery, pottery, and crafts. Relegated to being a district of Iloilo City since 1940, it was larger and more prosperous in the 1850s until the early American era, and was at various times a city or a separate municipality.