Backpacking in Bacolod City (Part 1)

It had been in the back of my mind a long time ago. But I never thought it would happen this summer—a back-to-back sojourn to the two capital cities of Negros Island, Bacolod and Dumaguete—with just a backpack and a camera in tow!  It sounded farfetched at first but, to my delight, things began to fall into place.

Fate seemed to be beckoning me towards Negros this summer. I’d been trying to book a trip to one of the tiny islands off Cebu’s coast but to no avail. When that sojourn finally went kaput, I found myself making a detour to Dumaguete instead. Then, after a brief lull, I was off to Bacolod for a long-delayed return!

San Sebastian Cathedral

Two capital cities. Two provinces in one big island. Two sojourns. Two weeks apart. Geez, it was one of the most exhilarating journeys ever cooked up by this incorrigible gadabout who draped himself like a recluse during his first sortie to the City of Gentle People and then donned the mask of a reveller in the City of Smiles!

Bacolod City Government Center

Coming close on the heels of my Holy Week escapade in Dumaguete, the Bacolod sojourn had long been in the back burner. On several occasions, I’ve been prodded by some friends there to come over. But something always got in the way, leaving me no choice but to keep on postponing the trip.

This May, however, I vowed to make it to Bacolod at all cost. Truth be told, I’d been surfing for cheap fares since late last year! Patience paid off when I finally got myself a promo rate. So, with my backpack and Nikon in tow, I went on to catch the early morning direct flight to Bacolod one long weekend. 

I’ve been looking forward to stage a comeback to the city  and some nearby places of Negros Occidental. Let’s just say I yearned for a comeback because of F4 and then some more: the FOOD I’ve savored, the FRIENDSHIPS I’ve made, the  FEASTS I’ve been treated to, the FUN I’ve had, plus a host of other reasons.

This recent sojourn is most memorable to me because I had the privilege of being hosted once again by one sweet Bacolodnon who’s the epitome of the “smiling people”  the city is associated with—mi amiga Minnie! The lady is the consummate tour organizer, travel guide, host and entertainer—all rolled into one!

Just like my previous sojourn to Bacolod, Minnie and hubby, Jim, and the rest of my Bacolod-based friends (Bobby and wife, Betty and, of course, Mia, who was vicariously   with us even though she’s in nearby Iloilo) left no stone unturned to make our recent invasion of the City of Smiles so unforgettable.

Inside the Church of the Angry Christ

After fetching me, travel buddy Letty and her daughter, Abby, at the airport, Jim and Minnie took us to Victorias City where we had the privilege of stepping into the rarified confines of the hacienda where Victorias Milling Company operates. VMC is said to be the “world’s largest fully integrated sugar refinery.”  

The highlight of the VMC tour was our first peek at the one-of-a-kind mural of The Angry Christ by Pinoy artist Alfonso Ossorio. Geez, we had a lot of selfies with the vintage steam train used to haul sugarcane from the fields, the carabao sundial and the chimneys inside the sugar refinery, among others.

Gaston Mansion

Later, the gracious couple also joined us as we embarked on a heritage walk in the ancestral homes of Silay City; discovered the unique and exotic in the quaint town of Manapla; frolicked at Campuestohan Highland Resort in nearby Talisay City and later dined with us and our other pals up in the hills of Murcia!

Hilltop Resto in Murcia

For more about my meanderings in Bacolod’s environs, visit my posts at http://scorpio-sojourn.blogspot.com/2014/05/nostalgic-about-negros-occidental-part-1.html and http://scorpio-sojourn.blogspot.com/2014/05/nostalgic-about-negros-occidental-part-2.html.

As what I’m accustomed to do, I tried figuring out the origin of the city’s name. From what I’ve read on a brochure at the hotel where I was billeted, “Bacolod” came from the Hiligaynon word, buklod, or stone hill. The old settlement that grew into the highly urbanized city, was originally located on a stone hill!

Campuestohan Highland Resort

After it was pillaged by the Moros, the settlers moved to the lowland near the shore, which eventually became the current location of the city. Facing Guimaras Strait, Bacolod serves as the gateway to Negros Occidental as well as the center of its governance, trade, finance, commerce and education. 

Bacolod, I believe, had me by the tongue twice. First, when I learned my first words of Hiligaynon, the mother tongue of Pinoys living in Western Visayas. Arguably, it’s my familiarity with the language spoken with such mellifluousness by my kins in Iloilo and Antique that have helped me blend well in the City of Smiles. 

Felicia's Cakes: A taste of Bacolod's sweet temptations

Having been born and raised in Mindanao, I, however, have trouble speaking the lingua franca with fluency. But I can understand it—well, enough not be taken for a ride by loonies. Modesty aside, I’ve got this confidence that I could get away with anything in the city by just flashing a sweet smile! LOL!

Bacolod had me by the tongue once again when I tasted my first piyaya many years ago, even if I grew up gobbling durian candies, tarts, jam and all. It was such a sweet, mouth-watering experience that left in me a craving to have more of the delicacy, which leaves a lasting sugary aftertaste in the mouth. 

Arguably, the sweetness of the City of Smiles seems to have been blended into the irresistible delights awaiting the sweet tooth at these three wonderful discoveries: Calea, Felicia’s and Virgie’s. Their delectable offerings are simply mind-blowing! I should know—I’ve made it to all three! 

 

An escapade in Bacolod isn’t complete unless one has gone to Calea and Felicia’s. Both establishments offer a wide array of choices of cakes and pastries of all sorts—a haven for the foodies visiting Sugarland! Calea’s sans rival is truly without equal while Felicia’s mint cake is absolutely food for the gods!

Virgie’s, on the other hand, offers pasalubong treats like napoleones, butterscotch, caramel tart, meringue, and much, much more.

(to be continued)

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!