The word
"Masskara" is a portmanteau, coined
by the late artist Ely Santiago from mass (a
multitude of people), and the Spanish word cara (face),
thus forming MassKara(a multitude of faces). The word is also a pun on maskara (Filipino
for "mask"), since a prominent feature of the festival are the masks
worn by participants, which are always adorned with smiling faces.
The festival first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The
province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop, and 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. It was also
a time of tragedy; on April 22 of that year, the inter-island vesselDon Juan carrying
many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod
City, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An
estimated 700 lives were lost in the tragedy.
In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local
government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles,
because the city at that time was also known as the City of Smiles.
They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity to pull the residents
out of the pervasive gloomy atmosphere. The initial festival was therefore, a
declaration by the people of the city that no matter how tough and bad the
times were, Bacolod City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end,
triumph.
The Masks in
the History of the festival is constantly changing from masks influenced by
native Filipinos which was slowly influenced by Carnival of
Venice and Rio Carnival motifs. Earlier Masks had feathers,
native beads, and masks were hand painted while modern masks feature plastic
beads, plastic.
The festival
features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop
to the streets to see colourfully masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of
Latin musical beats in a display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina.
Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, carnivals, drum and
bugle corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts,
agriculture-trade fairs, garden shows, and other special events organized
ad-hoc every year.
Thank you Nathalie from the Philippines for this lovely card.
