Have you seen a world of smiling masks where hundreds of dancers dressed in colorful costumes are dancing in the streets to the beat of the drums? If not, then you should witness Bacolod City’s Masskara Festival for even once in your life.
Dubbed as the “City of Smiles”, Bacolod City fastly became one of the top tourist destinations where thousands of people here in our country and across the world join Bacoleños as they annual celebrate the famous Masskara Festival. Through the years, the festival never fails to disappoint tourists because it always has something new to offer while maintaining its traditions.
Do you want to experience the happiest festival in the Philippines? Masskara Festival is a three-week-long celebration every October 1-20. Highlights of the event happen on the third weekend of October nearest to the 19th, the city’s Charter Day.
Masskara Festival features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the streets to see colorfully-masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin music beats in a display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina. But since last year, the music has already been changed to live drum beats making the festival more appealing and inviting.
Other must-awaited events of Masskara are the Electric Masskara – considered as one of the country’s happiest and longest street parties celebrated for three nights (October 19-21); the Masskara Art Shows – launched during the Masskara Art Weekend (October 5-7); the Majica Masskara – annual art event of the festival that showcases an art scene of Bacolod; the Giant Masskara Puppets – one of the latest features of the festival, standing between 12 and 14 feet tall and created by the students of the La Consolacion College – School of Architecture, Fine Arts, and Interior Design; Tanda! Sing Na, Dance Pa – a sing and dance competition; The MassKara Dance Showdown; and Search for Masskara Queen 2012 organized by ABS-CBN.
The 2012 Masskara Festival Logo is a statement on Bacolod’s vibrant, dynamic and thriving art scene made by nine artists and three creative consultants.
A Smile behind the Mask – A Hopeful History
Masskara came from two words: Mass, which means “many, or multitude,” and Kara, a Spanish word for “face.” Thus, MassKara is “a mass or multitude of smiling faces.” Every Filipino knows the famous festival, but only few have the knowledge of its origin and why it is named Masskara.
Negros Occidental, “the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines”, was once suffered from sugar crisis because of the introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup in the United States. April 22, 1980 was a date scarred by a great sense of loss and grief. Negros Navigation’s luxury liner MS Don Juan, carrying many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 lives were lost in the tragedy.
This tragic event is the reason of the birth of Masskara Festival. The city’s artists, local government, and civic groups hold a festival of smiles that will show how the people of the city survive from the tragedy.
MassKara – A Festival to Experience
Festivals have been part of the lives and tradition of many Filipinos and Masskara in Bacolod City is one of the most exciting and colorful festivals to experience. It mirrors how colorful Bacolod is and banners the island’s soul – the unyielding spirit of a true Bacoleños – just like the storms that test the people's strength and perseverance.