Floats, street dancing to cap Bacolod festivities
BACOLOD CITY – This city’s famous MassKara Festival has reached its frenzied peak over this weekend with two major events.
The MassKara Festival Electric Float Parade and Elektroika Diva was held on Saturday evening while the street and arena dance competition will be staged today.
Ten barangays joined the Electric Float Parade and Elektroika Diva that started at the Upper East main road at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday and proceeded to the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) grounds.
On the other hand, seven barangays will vie for this year’s street and arena dance title on Sunday afternoon with a grand prize of P1 million.
Street parties
The street dance will start from BCGC on Araneta Street at 3 p.m. and proceed to the Paglaum Sports Complex, said the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation (BYF).
The competing groups are defending champion Granada and Barangays Bata, 21, 35, 6, 12, and 18.
Street parties abound at the various festival sites during the MassKara Festival period, held from Oct. 11 to Oct. 27, with partygoers up until the wee hours of the morning.
The name MassKara, which means a multitude of faces, was coined by the late artist Ely Santiago, from the word mass, which means a multitude of people, and the Spanish word, cara or face.
The festival of smiles started in the 1980s when Negros Occidental, including its capital city of Bacolod, was reeling from a sugar crisis and the sinking of MV Don Juan on April 22, 1980 where many Negrenses died.
It was created to lift up the spirits of the people and bring back smiles on their faces.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has issued an executive order setting rules to ensure the safety of revelers at the MassKara Festival sites for this year’s festivity, including a gun ban from Oct. 11 to Oct. 27.
