A sunny day at the Masskara Festival opening
A tribe's performance.
The 29th Masskara Festival of Bacolod City was officially opened October 1 at the Bacolod City Public Plaza and the celebration will run until Oct. 19, 2008.
It's theme is "Bacolod, City of the World" because this year's Masskara is celebrating the rise of Bacolod in the global map as a chartered city.
The city was very proud for having President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as a special guest and the Bacolodnons welcomed her warmly with their beautiful smiles. The President was also glad that she was invited to come over and be part of the event.
The opening of Masskara Festival.
The organizers were glad that the opening went well under a fine weather because at first they were hesitant to hold the program at the public plaza. Before that, there was an announcement that a typhoon is coming. Luckily it was a very sunny day. Eli Tajanlangit, Masskara Festival director, said, "It's the product of too much prayers."
The late artist Ely Santiago coined "Masskara" from the word "mass" meaning "many or a multitude of the people", and the Spanish word cara meaning "face". A prominent feature of the festival is the mask worn by participants; these are always adorned with smiling faces. Masskara thus means a multitude of smiling faces.
Come and enjoy the Masskara festival in the city of smiles!