Every October, the colorful and world-renowned Masskara Festival takes place in the City of Smiles, Bacolod City. The vibrant costumes, especially the smiling masks that gave Bacolod City its nickname “City of Smiles,” will truly enchant you with the beauty of this festival.
But how did the Masskara Festival begin? The festival first started in 1980. The province heavily relied on sugarcane as its primary agricultural crop, but the price of sugar was at an all-time low due to the introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose corn syrup in the United States. This was the inception of the MassKara Festival, and it began with tragedy. On April 22 of that year, the inter-island vessel MV Don Juan, carrying many Negrenses, including those from prominent Bacolod City families, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank in Tablas Strait off Mindoro while en route from Manila to Bacolod. This tragic incident resulted in 18 lives lost and 115 missing.
Over the next four decades, the festival evolved into one of the major annual tourist attractions of the Philippines. The MassKara Festival played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the city’s tourism, hospitality, culinary, crafts, souvenirs, and services sectors. In later years, the Masskara Festival was divided into two categories: the Open Category and the Barangay Category. There’s also the Electric Masskara, which takes place at night before the finale dance showdown of the Masskara Festival. Colorful costumes, floats adorned with decorations, and vibrant lights are all part of this highly anticipated festival segment.
Since Albe Benitez became Mayor, the prize money for the festival has reached an impressive one million pesos for the winners. This has led to more competitive and impressive performances in recent years, especially as COVID-19 restrictions have eased.
Last year, Barangay Granada emerged as the winner of the competition, and this year, they once again clinched the victory in the same competition. This is why I wanted to show you their street performance and why they were crowned as the Grand Champion of the 2023 Masskara Festival in the City of Smiles, Bacolod City.