Bouncing to Bacolod’s Beat

Wearing a real smile, not a smirk, in the face of difficulties can be a tough act. Not for the people of Bacolod, known as the City of Smiles, whose beams shine through even during tough times. So spirited are these people that they’ve managed to mount a festival amidst the economic crisis in the 1980s that was spawned by the sharp decline in the global price of sugar, the major commodity produced by the island of Negros.  

That event—celebrated by Negrenses as a collective affirmation of hope and triumph against all odds—features a grand street parade where the townspeople troop to the streets to watch masked dancers clad in flashy outfits, swaying to the rhythm of popular Latin beats in an epic display of gaiety, glam and grandness. Today, that celebration has become a much-awaited festivity held every October: Masskara Festival.

Masskara is actually a fusion of two words, “mass”, referring to people, and the Spanish word for face, “cara”, or “kara” as spelled in Pilipino. Literally, the festivity means “a mass of happy faces”, bearing similarities to the internationally-known Mardi Gras, the French name for various celebrations held all over the world before the fasting and religious obligations of Lent. “Fat Tuesday” in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and “Carnaval” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are among the more famous versions of Mardi Gras. 

Unfortunately, I missed Bacolod’s own Mardi Gras during my first visit to the City of Smiles five years ago. Thus, I promised myself to fix the schedule of my second coming so I can witness the event.

As fate would have it, an invite to the festival unexpectedly came my way middle of this year, thanks to my buddy Juju’s best pal—who else but, Minnie, who’s become my good friend, too—who wanted to show us what Masskara is all about. Without thinking where I’d get the needed resources for the trip, I committed myself to it.

In the many weeks that followed, Juju and Minnie carefully mapped out the details of the group’s sojourn to Bacolod. Finally, last October, our friends from Manila and Davao trooped to Sugarlandia, joining over a million people from various parts of Negros, the country and the rest of the world in celebrating the most flamboyant masquerade party that side of the Philippines. 

If love’s lovelier the second time around, then a second coming to the City of Smiles must be lovelier, too. That’s what crossed my mind the moment our ferry docked at the city’s seaport after a half-day journey that required us to travel by air, land and sea. To my surprise, the rigors of the trip didn’t get the better of me. That time, my mind, body and soul were preoccupied with one thing: to bounce to the beat of the city’s renowned festival. 

 

From the pier, our gracious hosts led by Minnie took us to our respective hotels to deposit our bags. Then, they drove us to nearby Silay City for a sumptuous lunch in a resto called “Sir and Ma’am” (whatta name!) serving delectable home cooked turo-turo fare that included—hold your breath—inasal na manok (roasted chicken), lumpiang ubod (spring rolls sans the wrapper), pangat (laing in Bicol), kaldereta (beef stew) and the house specialty, lechon kawali. Too bad, we forgot to order puto manapla! 

Having filled our tummies, we spent the rest of the day exploring Silay and its neighboring city, Talisay. While basking in the beauty of the different tourist spots we visited, it suddenly occurred to me that my second coming to Bacolod is gonna outclass my first. True enough, it did as the days unfolded!

Later that night, we took part in a street party courtesy of the Electric Masskara, one of the major competitive events of the weeklong celebration which showcases glitter-clad street dancers, elaborate floats and giant papier-mâché puppets in a seemingly endless parade and revelry all over the city’s major thoroughfares. We  were joined by other Bacolod chums, Jim (Minnie’s better half), Bob, who brought along his wife, Betty and, of course, Mia.

Now on its fifth year, the glitzy after-dark event has been expanded to three venues. One was at the Tourism Strip along Lacson St., whose two sides were converted into a long stretch of stalls offering food and drinks. It was there where our hosts treated us to a splendid dinner of fine Japanese cuisine as we watched from a comfortable vantage point the street dancers as they strutted their stuff. The other venues of the Electric Masskara were Bacolod Public Plaza and Rizal St. 

From the noisy street parade at Lacson, our hosts spirited us away to a noisier venue, Club Sibeeria, one of Bacolod’s hippest party hubs, which boasts of having some of the hottest dance tracks and the most engaging DJs in town. There, we sipped to our hearts’ content and let those happy feet stump to the beat of the club’s mixes which consisted of the latest R&B, hiphop, disco and techno-pop tunes. Whew, the party has reached fever pitch when we called it a night. Or was it day already? LOL!

Good thing, I managed to keep my sleepy eyes wide open all the time we were at the club. Otherwise, naughty Juju would have taken those compromising shots he’s notorious for posting in Facebook for everyone to cheer and jeer at. LOL!

We woke up late the following day and had brunch by the beach in the outskirts of Bacolod, again, courtesy of our hosts. More eating, talking, laughing out loud and snapping. How I wish Saturdays were always like that…no punishing pressure, just pure pleasure.

In the afternoon, we went back to town to catch a glimpse of the most anticipated highlight of the festival: the street dance parade and competition, which is divided into two categories, school and barangay. Competing groups danced to the beat of the official Masskara tune, which reminded me of the theme from “The Phantom of the Opera.” Dancers swayed to this upbeat tune all the way to the town plaza where the final showdown took place. Too bad, we didn’t get to see the announcement of winners. 

Like any festivity, the fuss, fanfare and fun of Masskara Festival’s weeklong celebration had to come to an end. Just like the previous years, this year’s event, I learned later, also ended with a bang. All told, the Bacolodnons have another feather in their caps. And when it comes to pomp and pageantry, they’re really a cut above the rest of us Pinoys. That holds true to our hosts who left no stone unturned just to make our visit to the city a blissful one.

So what are you waiting for? Kari na sa Bacolod, folks!