The ball was the main feature of the Kahirup calendar, but there were many activities before and after, such as numerous acquaintance parties for new members, incoming board of directors, advisers and committee members. The organising committee ventured on personalised campaigns, going from one family to another to invite participation and seek support.

The Kahirup Ball was attended by top, well-known Visayan families and friends. The much anticipated Rigodon de Honor was danced by members of the Visayan elite—mostly sugar barons or those prominent in business and government— belonging to the upper crust of Manila society. Over the years the affair gained a reputation for the lavish gowns and heirloom jewellery worn by the women attending the ball.

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Starting Out

The first Kahirup ball was held on November 11, 1928, at the Casino Español with Mario Villanueva as its president. Other venues of the ball were the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club and the Philippine Columbian. In 1938 the ball was held at the newly remodelled Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel and it remained to be held there until the outbreak of World War II. Sergio Osmeña was the club president in 1940 and Benito Jalbuena and Nelly Lacson were the president and the vice-president, respectively, when the war broke out. 

This period is still vivid in the mind of the retired commodore, Santiago Nuval. He recalls being invited to the ball by his landlady, Lulu Reyes, “who was one of Manila’s society girls together with Conching Sunico, Pacita de los Reyes and Clarita Tankiang.” Nuval, who reminisces about attending a ball sometime between 1938 and 1941, says, “Kahirup was where you went to find snobbish Filipinos. That elegance of Philippine society before the war no longer exists today.”

After the war, the Kahirup Club renewed its annual event. The first postwar ball was held in 1948 with Jesus Gonzalez as president and Celia Diaz, Linda Lizares and Jose Gayosa as vice-presidents. Kahirup again glittered with big names in society. For instance, Philippine President and Mrs Ramon Magsaysay headed the guest list of the ball on November 24, 1956. On December 12, 1959, many of the 26 pairs that participated in the Rigodon de Honor were well known in different fields: Eva Macapagal, Pacita Romualdez, Imelda Marcos, Chona Kasten, Eva Estrada Kalaw, Nelly Lovina, Baby Fores, Marivic Concepcion, Ramon Bagatsing, Jorge Vargas, Emilio Abello, Luis Ma Araneta and Teodoro Kalaw Jr.

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Showing Off

Names and faces were not the only ones that glittered; ball gowns were also trend-setting statements. Trining Morelos, in an account published in The Manila Times, said: “Top designers launched their choices for the elegant evenings during the holiday season.” White, black-and-white and brilliant colours in startling combinations were favoured together with rich fabrics like satin, faille, lace and pure silk. Favourites were tunics, ankle-length or uneven hemlines, and waists that were “punctuated.”

The late designer Ramon Valera launched the X-line in Kahirup. Ben Farrales popularised the “tulip” skirt and Ben Hernandez, the “trumpet” skirt. “My X-line,” Valera explained, “opens like a flower at the bodice, nips the waist and spreads out.” Valera’s choice for then First Lady Leonila Garcia was “a neat cut from a rich fabric” of champagne lace over turquoise blue and gold ribbons tracing the lace pattern. For Lovina, he designed a terno (Philippine-inspired ball gown, characterised by butterfly sleeves) in white faille and moiré, with the X-line gown having a white tunic lined with turquoise blue.

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Chiffon and embroidered organza were chosen by Hernandez for Macapagal’s terno in black, white and watermelon red, featuring an unusual overskirt. Fores once wore a terno using 60 yards of pleated white silk organdie with painted cabbage roses as well as real ones adorning the inner skirt. Pressy Chiongbian wore a bouffant emerald moiré, with white drapes on one side and emerald stones to accent the white. Imelda Marcos wore pure silk in magenta and ruby. The tube gown had a half tunic with a train and a garland of pearls and nacre completing the ensemble. Kasten wore a Farrales creation in ivory dynasty satin, with the ankle-length bell skirt accentuated by a diamond brooch. 

Kahirup also offered spectacular dance presentations. In 1958 a modern dance medley and a ballet number by students of Inday Gaston Mañosa highlighted the November 29 annual ball. The palabas (show) was a dance performance and once, the Sony Lopez Gonzalez Ballet Art Studio performed Glazounuv’s “Grand Valse.”  Julie Borromeo did a jazz number accompanied by two-bongo players. The club’s board of directors performed an offbeat dance medley choreographed by Chito Feliciano and accompanied by a six-man combo. In the sixties, particularly, the Kahirup was known to introduce to the country the latest dances all over the world—like the American twist and the Latin pachanga as well as the off-beat mambo.

In 1961 The Manila Times reported that the Kahirup Ball’s décor motif was inspired by the principal product of the South—sugar. Sweetness, therefore, was depicted “in a soft, blue smoke, clouds of blue and green tulle enveloping the [Fiesta] Pavilion chandeliers, rainbow streamers from the ceiling and tinted sugarcane leaves against the walls.” A cocktail called “sugar champagne,” a mixture of sugarcane juice and rum, flowed throughout the evening.  Highlights included a red carpet for guests to walk on and three dance numbers participated in by three generations of club members.

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First Lady Leonila Garcia wore a gown of Dognin lace in sapphire blue, re-embroidered with velvet cords and bits of turquoise. Her daughter, Linda Garcia-Campos, was in a white satin terno, the skirt hand-painted and re-embroidered with beads. Club president Nita Kabayao wore a creation of fuchsia dynasty silk with a bell-shaped underskirt of jewelled printed material. Chito Madrigal wore a diamond collar to accent her gown of draped chiffon in frosted shocking pink. Jesusa Sonora (the real name of the actress Susan Roces) was on the board of directors that year.

Organisers of the Kahirup Ball in 1962 set a target to raise P20,000, half of which would go to charity. The palabas for that year was the “Roaring ‘20s” dance number choreographed by Rally Calvo and a waltz choreographed by Anita Kane. The attire was terno for the ladies and black tie and tails for the gentlemen. Only foreigners were allowed to come in ball gowns.

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The next year, the ball held in February 16 was as impressive. Minnie Osmeña and Toto Confesor Jr were at the helm of the club with Elvira Manahan and Judy Araneta-Roxas as advisers. For the ball, authentic grass skirts were flown in from Hawaii by Philippine Airlines for the Hawaiian dance number choreographed by Borromeo. Also presented was a semiclassical dance, “The Merry Widow Waltz.” 

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Besides the ball itself, several social and fundraising activities were also held that year. One was an acquaintance party in August at the Capri International in the Rufino Building dubbed “New Year in September,” where masks were worn and shed at midnight. The Loonilarks, Mad Quentette and the Technicolours provided the music. On September 15 a reception and ball were held at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club for the Central Bank’s “Operation Respect the Centavo,” the club’s public service programme. A Polynesian dance number was performed by, among others, Borromeo’s sister Rose and the beauty queens Lalaine Bennett and Maggie de la Riva.

On December 14 and 15 a fashion show, “Carols and Elegance,” was presented by the Fashion Guild of the Philippines at the Philamlife Pavilion. Proceeds of this fundraiser benefited St Anthony’s Orphanage Infirmary in Manila. Osmeña and Confesor explained in a news story that “this fashion show for a cause marks Kahirup’s new policy of reconstructing a new image which connotes a more constructive end.” Participating designers were Benjie Kosloff, Carol Guerrero of Gigi Carroll, Imelda Reyes of Nellie’s, Victoria Galang of Madonna’s, Puring Lim of Slims, Tony Abeto and Pedrito Legaspi. The models included Tingting Cojuangco, Chuchay Tuason and four beauty queens. The Loonilarks and a skit by Fr James Reuter provided the entertainment.

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The Kahirup Ball in 1964 shared the limelight with the elite Mancomunidad Pampangueño Dance. While elaborate preparations were going on, Manila Mayor Antonio J Villegas sent a warning to officials of the two prominent society clubs to cancel their scheduled anniversary dances in Manila, the Daily Mirror reported. He warned that if these pushed on, he “would attend these parties as the head of the raiding party.”

Shifting Gears

The mayor’s action had its backing from Article 25 of the New Civil Code, which states: “Thoughtless extravagances in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency may be stopped at the instance of any government or private institution.”

Mayor Villegas told the heads of the two organisations that if they must hold their dances, they must choose a site outside of Manila as his constituents may be offended by such show of affluence. He also cited the survey of the Social Welfare Office showing that 12 per cent of the city’s population eat only once a day and 14 per cent eat only two meals a day. The Code Commission, in explaining the Civil Code provision, recognised that a person has the right to use his property provided he does not injure others. Its explanatory note stated, “When the rich indulge in thoughtless extravagance, they may unwittingly kindle the flame of unrest among the poor because of glaring inequality.”

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Officials of the two big clubs responded by assuring the mayor that they would only wear minimal jewellery. Kahirup officers said their annual ball “would be simple and frugal in line with the administration’s policy of simple living in keeping with the present financial difficulties of the province,” and that they would contribute even more funds to charitable organisations.  Despite these promises, University of the Philippines students still picketed the affair to demonstrate against the extravagant display of wealth.

The incoming president of the Kahirup Club, Mariter Jalandoni, together with Toto Piccio, promised to devote more time to civic work and to go slow on socials. They launched a Christmas fund drive among wealthy Visayans and for the first time personally distributed gift bags to Manila’s indigent families. The programme of social activities was balanced with civic work so that the members were always aware that life was not just one big ball. Ironically, while they promised to cut frills for the Kahirup Ball held on February 27, 1965, they gathered the biggest attendance from Visayans from Manila and the Visayas. The reception line was headed by Angeles Villareal, Esther Aldeguer, Garcia-Campos, Gretchen Oppen-Cojuangco, Senator Fernando Lopez, Cebu Mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr, Emilio Abello, Trino Montinola and Mamerto Piccio.

There were many dance performances. Apart from the 28-pair Rigodon de Honor which opened the evening, there was a lively Maria Clara number, a medley of modern dances and the Latin American “La Cumbia Merengue” with 14 pairs under the direction of Archie Lacson and Pompoy Dinglasan.

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In 1966 Kahirup presidents Pompoy Dinglasan, the first male president from Capiz province, and Maricel Coscolluela organised the 42nd anniversary ball. The reception line included Vice-President and Mrs Fernando Lopez, House Speaker Cornelio Villareal, Ambassador Oscar Ledesma and Secretary Eduardo Romualdez. The dance numbers included the “In Crowd,” more popularly known as “the jerk” and the “Jalajala” with Fatback music. The highlight of the evening was the “Cariñosa” featuring the Bayanihan Rondalla, which also played “A Sociedad de Kahirup” by II Jocson and V Balmori, last played in 1923. Beneficiaries of this year’s drive were the Iloilo Fire Victims, St Anthony’s Orphanage, Tala Leprosarium, several seminaries and free schools.

In 1967 Kahirup elected its presidents Ramiro Lopez Jr from Bacolod and Marla Yotoko, the first female president from Roxas City, capital of Capiz, birthplace of the first President of the Philippine Republic, Manuel A Roxas, her uncle. With this term came the endorsement for art and culture specifically, the financial support of Visayan artists and art exhibitions as well as an aggressive Metro Manila sustaining civic project with the Central Bank for “Operation Respect the Centavo.”

The year’s officers made sure the Kahirup’s 44th anniversary was on its way. Held again at the Fiesta Pavilion, the reception line included Vice-President and Mrs Fernando Lopez, Speaker Cornelio Villareal, Senator Eva Estrada-Kalaw, Senator Salvador Laurel, Congressman Mariano Acuña, Congressman Ramon V Mitra, Secretary Ramon Bagatsing, Secretary Eduardo Romualdez and Governor Rene Espina. A nostalgic Visayan medley and a graceful cotillion were performed by the young members, a prelude to the highlight Rigodon de Honor where, ironically, Manila Mayor Villegas watched his wife Lydia, a Kahirup adviser, dance. According to Yotoko, “It had always been a well-known fact that favourite charitable institutions were beneficiaries of funds from every annual ball and that Kahirup charities were bigger than its socials; but these relevant humanitarian issues were conveniently ignored by critics of the press or a handful of leftist student pickets outside the Manila Hotel.”

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Closing Down

In 1968 Richie Garcia and Sotto took over the helm of the club. But all things must end. So did Kahirup on March 1, 1969, as it celebrated its 45th anniversary with a Sapphire Ball. That year’s beneficiary was the ESCOPA community of the disabled in Quezon City. Victor Puey and Lina Santos were co-presidents. There was still a new set of officers following Puey and Santos, but Kahirup retired and slipped into the Visayan sunset.

Several factors contributed to Kahirup’s subsequent demise. For one, martial law was declared on September 21, 1972, and President Ferdinand Marcos openly fought what he called the oligarchy in his launch of his New Society. Among the prominent people arrested and detained were southern stalwarts Eugenio Lopez Sr and Eugenio Lopez Jr. Many businesses were confiscated. The sugar industry was having a hard time surviving. Kahirup thus became inactive when the Negrenses thought it best to lie low. According to Sotto, “Kahirup ended because it was no longer relevant to the times. The poor got poorer and the rich got richer. Also, jet travel came and everyone was everywhere.”

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By then, the great divide between the rich and the poor was manifest in the country. The contrast between the sumptuous lifestyles of the Negros hacenderos and the poverty of their workers, known as the sacadas, epitomised the vast social and economic gulf separating the elite in the Philippines from the great mass of the population.  The plight of the sacada was depicted in the national and international media and even became the subject of Peque Gallaga’s movie Oro, Plata, Mata.

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The shares of Philippine sugar exports plummeted from 20 per cent in the fifties to 7 per cent in the eighties. By then, Philippine sugar exports to the United States decreased by 40 per cent, bringing a crisis in the sugar industry. The coverage of areas planted with sugarcane decreased drastically, causing a dramatic fall in labour requirements. The loss of livelihood aggravated social problems and the privileged Negrenses rallied once more to respond to the deteriorating economic and social conditions in their backyards. They established soup kitchens to stave off hunger in farms where sugar had once been planted and subsequently closed down. They sought alternative livelihoods and explored available human and natural resources. The pandan wild grass was developed into a household craft, becoming a best seller and the source of income to many families. New exports were created and developed and groups, like the Association of Negros Producers, were established to develop and promote local crafts and produce.

Negros began to rise from the slump, manifesting the spirit of Kahirup in a different way. Visayan society is now peopled with a younger generation who may not appreciate the pomp and pageantry of their parents and grandparents. But the memories of those glorious, unparalleled years live on in the mind, heart and soul of a magnificent era.

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