CALLE REAL, ILOILO, PHILIPPINES (May 18, 2022) I was invited to Iloilo to deliver a talk during the graduation of Senior High School students of Ateneo de Iloilo, but decided to come two days sooner to enjoy some sights there that I had never seen. And I’m glad I did. Not even the cab driver knew where Calle Real was. I guess that’s because the street is officially named J.M. Basa even if Calle Real better suits it. It is, after all, located in the old downtown district of the city and is likened to Manila’s Escolta. I alighted at the one end of the road and walked the rest. Famous during the Spanish era, the street was recently given more life by the Iloilo Cultural Foundation, which initiated the restoration of several buildings in the area. These building once belonged to the elite of Iloilo, who took residence on the upper floors while their businesses flourished on the first. It is easy to imagine how bustling the area must have been then. Calle Real and Escolta are the only two heritage central business districts in the Philippines that still stand.
