Masskara Festival

One of the most celebrated festivals in the Philippines is the Masskara Festival of Bacolod City held every October. This marks the Charter Day celebration of the city which highlights the culture, products and the best of Bacolod City – from food, fashion to urban living. Hailed as one of the “Most Livable City” in the Philippines, Bacolod may not be as progressive as Manila and Cebu but it offers locals and tourist as well the best of dining at a cheaper price, low crime rates and a peaceful urban living.

Masskara Festival starts October 1 and ends on the 19th with its closing salvo held usually the closest Sunday to the 19th. This showcases the best of both local and national artists with successive shows and fireworks display usually every night when all the locals are done with their daily activities and ends up with the crowning of the Masskara Queen and the final dance and mask competition.

Masskara Festival is similar to the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and Rio de Janiero, Brazil. What makes Masskara unique is that this is one if not the only festival in the Philippines that is celebrated not in honor of a saint but purely merry-making as reflected by the smiles in each mask.

Masskara Festival was conceptualized to conceal the Negrenses suffering and recessing economy due to the fall of the sugar industry – which is the major product of the province – in the 70s. The effort was good enough for the celebration generated revenue needed by the government and also gave alternative jobs to locals.

Today, the Masskara Festival in its grandest is one of the major tourist attractions in the Philippines every October and the city is celebrating its 30th year.

7 Reasons Why I Am Proud To Be A Filipino

The Philippines has become infamous in the world – from politics to tourism to doing business in the country, not to include the domestic helpers, care givers and all types skills. With this, we are branded as the source of manpower for the rest of the world to the point that other races degrade us to the lowest level. Still, we are able to survive and manage to smile amidst this atrocities. Here are the reasons why amidst all of this, I still am proud to be a Filipino:1. God Given Land
I believe that there is no such coincidence that I am born a Filipino. Everything was according to God’s plan and that he gave the Philippines to us for a reason. That is, to create a change that would eventually serve His purpose for His glory and honor.
2. The beauty of our SMILES!
The Philippines may not be known as the land of smiles, but nowhere in the world can you find a smile as genuine as that of the Filipinos. We smile, even though we face painful challenges that each of us and our race as a whole faces. We are among the top happy countries in the world despite economic downturns and political turmoil. And because of this we are a survivor.

3. Genuine Hospitality
The rest of the world can attest to the genuine hospitality that only Filipinos can offer. Even in our dire situations, we are able to offer the best that we can have, without prejudice to race, sexuality, religion and beliefs and culture. This maybe is one of the reasons why a lot of companies in the world would hire Filipinos especially in the field of human relations.

4. Love and concern for others.
We have been infamous as one of the countries where you can get a mail order bride. But one thing is true, we may be branded as such but the love a Filipino can offer goes beyond money and material things. Nothing can compare to how a Filipino takes care of a person. It just purely comes out of our hearts. As finite as life, so is the Filipino's love for you and the humanity.

5. Strong family ties.
One thing that you can never take away from a Filipino is his concern and love for his family. We reach out to each other not only for survival but to share the blessing each of us have to the rest of the family. So if you marry a Filipino, don’t be surprised when his or her parents are staying with you. That’s how close we are.6. There is beauty in diversity.
We have been colonized by three powerful nations in their respective era - Spain, Japan, United States. This made us Filipinos diverse and thus adaptive to any situations. You will find a mixture of everything in our food, culture and expressions but we live in one spirit – Filipino spirit. Together with the colorful festivities we celebrate the whole year round, the sense of nationalism and patriotism is present.
7. Ingenuity
Filipinos are genius in our own right. We manage to create something useful out of a garbage. The jeepney is our major form of transportation that was invented out of the US army’s truck (jeep). A Filipino invented the flourescent lamp which unfortunately was sold to the Americans who are able to buy a patent for it. We manage to ask a president to step down of his office without violence but only of the power of the people which inspired others to do so in their respective countries. We invented a “tricycle”(pedicab) out of a motorcylce (big bike). And a lot more.

These are but some of the reasons why I am proud to be a Filipino. And these are also some of the reasons why Filipinos are loved by other races despite the negative images that the media all over the world are showing. We may not be perfect, we do admit that we also have our own flaws. The best way to attest these, I would say: “Come to the Philippines and experience what is truly Filipino!”