Bacolod City
A Smile Away
By Michael David C. Tan

PHOTO DETAIL, BY GEORGE TAPAN, COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

In the Philippines’ 7,107 islands, too many claim to explode in colors when celebrating their fiestas.  And no wonder since, indeed, we boast of being among the most extravagant, literally and figuratively, when celebrating anything – no small thanks to the various elements to influence our culture, particularly the Hispanic fervor  with religion and traditions, coupled with America’s Hollywood glam.  One only need to think of, say, Cebu City’s Sinulog to know that religion and wild parties could go hand in hand, or of Davao City’s Kadayawan to know that given a twist, what used to be pagan forms of thanksgiving could still be used in the modern world.

More than anywhere else, however, this is truer in Bacolod City, where things couldn’t be any more colorful as the Bacolodnons celebrate life’s blessings, every day though more so during the annual MassKara Festival.

A CELEBRATION LIKE NO OTHER

Bacolod is known as a party capital (arguably of the whole country).  And not for nothing.  Having had traveled extensively, I have long discovered that if it is fun (real fun, not media-created) you want, this is the place to be, with its crazy (and illegal) drag races dangerously re-creating scenes from The Fast and The Furious, dining out with a twist that create an ambiance of Blade Runner (every peculiarity in tastes is catered to), and nightly parties a la Studio 54 (most clubs are grooving from Thursday to Sunday – yes, even when the people of other places already stopped partying to prepare for the next week, Bacolodnons are still partying from dusk ‘til dawn!). 

What makes all these even more amazing is the fact that, for a while, Bacolod was probably the most desperate place in the country.  In the 1970s and 1980s, Bacolod, like most parts of Negros Occidental, was troubled by drought and famine, coupled by the crushing of the price of sugar (the region’s major product) in the world market.  Worse, as if to prove that when it rains it pours, various tragedies also happened, particularly the sinking of MV Don Juan, which took the lives of many passengers, thus traumatizing the local shipping industry (the city is another major shopping port in the south).

It was actually the gloom seemingly enveloping the city that compelled the Bacolodnons to put up a brave face by coming up with a celebration that represented smiling in the face of adversities and looking at a brighter future.  Thus, the MassKara Festival came into being.

MassKara plays with the words mass (a multitude of people) and kara (corrupted Spanish for face), so the masks worn by those participating in the festivities are always smiling.  In this sense, MassKara means a multitude of smiling faces.  Held every third week of October nearest Bacolod’s Charter Anniversary (October 19), MassKara actually takes place for three weeks, with activities including beauty pageants, drum and bugle corps competitions, sports events, dog shows, trade fairs and expositions.

All roads lead to Bacolod, nonetheless, when the festival is to end, with the streets filled with revelers colorfully masked, dancing to Latino beats, as they celebrate life’s blessings.  To imagine how colorful and alive the celebration is, combine the Venetian and Rio de Janeiro Mardi Gras celebrations, and you’re close to the point.  More than anything, however, MassKara is an acknowledgement that although life could be hard, there remain many things to be thankful of, thus worth celebrating.  And this makes Bacolod a place worth a visit.

BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

So the festival only lasts for less than a month, big deal!  It is, after all, not the only thing that defines the city of smiles. 

Get a feel of the richness of the Filipino culture by visiting one of best things that define our identity (a merging of all various influences), i.e. churches.  In downtown Bacolod, beside the city plaza, is the San Sebastian Cathedral.  Completed in 1822, it was originally a chapel before becoming a cathedral in 1933.  Like the Palacio Episcopal (Bishop’s Palace), which dates back to 1830, beside it, it is one of the city’s landmarks – and no wonder since the structures are made from coral stones, a rarity especially with the current move (and rightly so) to protect the riches of the seas.  Similarly, the Santa Clara Chapel in Santa Clara Subdivision features a large mural mosaic of Barangay Sang Birhen (Virgin Mary), which is made of 95,000 polished shells.  Add to that the chapel’s stations of the cross, images of the saints, and the altar pieces – all using 30,000 various Philippine shells.

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