President Duterte joins Bacolod in celebrating the 39th MassKara Festival

President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated the Bacolodnons on staging the 39th MassKara Festival, as he joined the city’s celebration for the third consecutive time last Saturday.

“Malipayon nga MassKara sa inyo tanan (Happy MassKara to all of you). It is my pleasure to join you once again in celebrating the MassKara Festival,” said the president during his message during the festivities at the Bacolod Public Plaza, as he extended his “sincerest congratulations” to the local government of Bacolod for another staging of the world-renowned festival.

“This event is truly a showcase of a unique cultural heritage and rich history of your hometown, the City of Smiles,” he adds, noting that the MassKara tells an inspiring story of the resilience of Filipinos. “It is proof that despite the many struggles we face, we can overcome any adversity through cooperation and perseverance.”

The Tragic History of the Festival of Smiles

The MassKara Festival started in 1980, during the time that Bacolod was suffering an economic crisis – the price of sugar, the main source of livelihood for the city, was at an all-time low.

Tragedy struck on April 22, 1980, as the M/S Don Juan of Negros Navigation, the fastest and most modern passenger ship at the time, was struck by an oil tanker as it was making its way from Manila back to Bacolod. Around 700 people perished as the ship sank; a lot of Bacolodnons lost their relatives.

It is in this context that the city pushed for this festival of smiles, in the hopes of hiding the tears and sorrows brought about by the sugar crisis and the M/S Don Juan mishap.

Conceived by the Art Association of Bacolod (AAB), the name MassKara, aside from sounding like the tagalog word for mask, is taken from the words “mass” meaning crowd, and “kara” meaning face. People celebrate by parading and dancing on the streets of Bacolod, wearing masks of smiling faces and colorful, extravagant costumes. Its central message is about being happy and celebrating life, despite the sorrows and struggles that we experience.

The 39th MassKara Festival welcomes Malaysian Media, Influencers

The MassKara Festival continues to be a popular draw to the city for both Filipinos and foreigners alike. For this year’s festivities, the City of Bacolod welcomed twelve members of the press and social media influencers from Malaysia, as they traveled around the region for a six-day “experiential tour.”

“This group of foreign visitors will help us sell and promote Negros Occidental in Malaysia through their different media platforms,” said Christine Mansinares, the provincial supervising tourism operations officer who accompanied the group.

Organized by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) in Malaysia, in coordination with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and DOT in Western Visayas, the tour highlighted the many attractions and activities in the region.

Google Releases Doodle for the MassKara Festival

In line with the celebration of the 39th MassKara Festival, Google released a special doodle depicting the search engine’s letters in “colorful and festive-looking masks as they dance happily to the beat of the occasion,” adding that “they also don bright smiles on their faces to pay homage to Bacolod, the City of Smiles.”

Visitors to the site were able to click on the doodle to learn more about the origins of the festival.