Gaston is French and the first Sugar Baron in Negros who introduced the sugar mill.

Here’s the record of the history fyi:

Yves Leopold Germain Gaston was the patriarch of a large family with roots in the City of Silay, in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. He was originally from Lisieux, France, but settled in the Philippines, where he engaged in the production of cane sugar, the primary product of the province.

Gaston first moved to Calatagan, Batangas in 1837 to help Domingo Roxas, a prominent businessman, set up his sugar business. It was there that Gaston met Prudencia Fernandez, who would later become his wife. When his partner’s business did not prosper, the Frenchman decided to try his prospects first in Iloilo and from there, he ventured to Negros. He eventually arrived at the port city of Silay and he found the soil conducive to planting sugarcane. He brought in an iron mill or “horno economico”, which at that time virtually unheard of.
Balay Negrense on Cinco de Noviembre Street, Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

The iron mill allowed him to begin commercial production of export-quality sugar. The Spaniards endorsed his residence in the Philippines due of the impact of his technology on the economy. He had become a sugar baron and was exporting the product alongside Nicolas Loney, the first British vice-consul in the country who, because of his efforts to promote sugar, became known as the “Father of the Sugar Industry.” Gaston later decided to bring his family to back to France. However, on the way, he fell ill and eventually died. His wife and three children, not knowing a word of French, returned to Silay and permanently settled there, continuing the family business. The sugar industry soon peaked, and sugarcane became the staple crop throughout Negros Occidental.

To tell you the truth, I was disappointed they’d set up that cafe inside. It was hard to take wider shots without seeing the tent and tables in the photo, not to mention the mesh they stretched over the top, which ruins (no pun intended) the view of the sky. I wish they’d put the cafe outside in the garden, instead, so that diners could still have the ruins as backdrop, but leave the structure itself untouched.

I hope you had time to at least drive around Silay, MM. Everywhere you look are beautiful old, well-preserved houses and buildings. We were lucky enough to have entered a couple. Those hacenderos sure lived like royalty! No offense to those from those families, but that lifestyle was bound to end. Even in Europe, most of the gentry have had to sell their castles and land, and start *earning* their money. Still, it’s lovely to look at what they built and imagine what it must’ve been like to live like that.