Masks all around
Michael Yap.
Smiling faces show the happy spirit of Bacoleños.
This year, we Bacoleños celebrate our 29th Masskara Festival with the traditional smiling masks. Visiting our downtown area, we witnessed many colorful and well-designed smiling faces or masks being sold.
Michael Yap, one of the mask makers, said that they started making such since June so that they could come up with many products to sell. After four months, they were able to finish 700 pieces.
When I asked him what is the secret of a mask maker like him, he said, "Resourcefulness is the key. Like using pebbles, seeds, broken pieces of glass, shells, feathers, etc. on your artwork will make the product more interesting." To pattern the mask, they formed the lead into a face shape structure. Some use clay.
Seeing these wonderful creations of smiling faces around the city heightened the mood of the festivity.
