Jadon Kilayko: Bacolod coming of age

JADON Kilayko became aware of the changes during his trips home to Bacolod.

- JUPITER KALAMBAKAL

Roads he had known since childhood now passed warehouses and roadside developments. Some sugarcane fields remained; others had been cleared. Land that once stretched in long, open rows now stood beside buildings and paved lots.

"My hometown does not look like home anymore," he said.

He grew up in Negros, where sugarcane farming was part of everyday life. The tapasero, or sugarcane worker, was a familiar sight in the fields. That image stayed with him and later became the basis for Sero, the character appearing throughout his recent exhibition.