People from Iloilo are called Ilonggos. There are two local languages spoken in the province: Hiligaynon sometimes called Ilonggo, and Kinaray-a. Hiligaynon and variants of it are spoken in Iloilo city and a few towns of the province.
Spanish architecture can be seen in old buildings in downtown Iloilo. Chinese Merchants and Indonesians were trading with the Ilonggos long before the Spaniards came. The ruling Spanish government encouraged these foreign merchants to trade in Iloilo but they were not given privileges like ownership of land. The Mestizo a class eventually was born from the intermarriages of the locals and Chinese merchants, Spanish with the local Melayu people. They later emerged as the ruling class of the Ilonggos (see Principalía).
The town fiesta is one of the most important events for Ilonggos. Almost every town (municipality) in Iloilo has a fiesta and festival celebrated annually
Hiligaynon (or "Ilonggo") is an Austronesian language spoken in Western Visayas in the Philippines. Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. It is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, such as Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, and many parts of Mindanao like Koronadal City, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. (It is spoken as a second language by Karay-a in Antique, Aklanon and Malaynon in Aklan, Cebuano in Siquijor, and Capiznon in Capiz.). There are approximately 7,000,000 people in and outside the Philippines who are native speakers of Hiligaynon, and an additional 4,000,000 who are capable of speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency.
The language is referred to as "Ilonggo" in Negros Occidental and in Iloilo. More precisely, "Ilonggo" is an ethnoliguistic group referring to the people living in Panay and the culture associated with the people speaking Hiligaynon. The boundaries of the dialect called Ilonggo and that called Hiligaynon are unclear. The disagreement of where what name is correct extends to Philippine language specialists and native laymen.
[edit] Geography
The Province of Iloilo is the largest marshland in Western Visayas after the Sanderbans. The province is divided into two distinct geographic regions; the highlands of the Madia-as on the western border and the lowland plains which account for a larger portion of the province. Small islands east of its northernmost tip also dot the Visayan Sea - of these, Pan de Azucar and Sicogon are well-known.
[edit] Political
Iloilo is subdivided into 42 municipalities, 1 component city, and 1 highly urbanized city
[edit] Cities
Iloilo City aerial view
Iloilo City
Passi City
Iloilo City is independent from the Province of Iloilo, but remains the Provincial Capital of the Province.
[edit] Municipalities
Ajuy
Alimodian
Anilao
Badiangan
Balasan
Banate
Barotac Nuevo
Barotac Viejo
Batad
Bingawan
Cabatuan
Calinog
Carles
Concepcion
Dingle
Dueñas
Dumangas
Estancia
Guimbal
Igbaras
Janiuay
Lambunao (known for Tinagong Dagat)
Leganes
Lemery
Leon
Maasin
Miagao
Mina
New Lucena
Oton
Pavia
Pototan
San Dionisio
San Enrique
San Joaquin
San Miguel
San Rafael
Santa Barbara
Sara
Tigbauan
Tubungan
Zarraga
