City Of SMILES

Masskara is a festival held each year in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. It is held every month of October by locals in Bacolod.

Being one of the Philippine festivals with no religious background, the MassKara Festival is a celebration of life at its fullest joy.

In 1980 the villagers of Bacolod had suffered an economic crisis. It was a tragic sinking of M/V Don Juan bringing down with it the economy of the province that there was a need to stir away public attention from the negative and rather to focus on the Negrense's resilient nature and the Bacolodnon's ever-smiling face despite what happened.

The term Masskara is coined from two words: mass, meaning crowd, and the Spanish word cara, for face.
Throughout the week, people from all over the Visayas, were all gathered in the town plaza. They join Bacoleños in the non-stop round of festivities.

People are garbed in elegant and ingenious costumes dance on the streets, their masks reflective of the jovial Negrense spirit. Costumes are made with fabrics of different colors and patterns, embellished with exotic feathers, shiny sequins, multicolored beads and paired with towering headgear.

The best part of the festival is the street dance competition, where performers from different towns dance through a battle of showmanship and creativity. The festival also benefits Bacolod tourism because tourists flock the city during this time.

If you don't have any mask or costume, No problem. Just put on your sweetest smile and you’re good to go in the Masquerades Festival!
Credits to the photo owners.
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