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F E S T I V A L S E A S O N
MassKara
MassKara is Bacolod City’s official reason to
party non-stop for two weeks in October. As
huge tragedies (like the sinking of luxury liner
MS Don Juan
, which cost hundreds of lives)
and wild fluctuations in the sugar industry
hit the city, the local government decided to
start a tradition that would give the people
something to smile about.
Fully sponsored, well-organized and really
quite overwhelming, the MassKara festival
has it all: a beauty pageant, fashion shows,
concerts, cultural presentations, a sports
festival, all sorts of competitions, and the
ubiquitous street dancing and float parade.
Ati-Atihan
Ati-Atihan or “making one’s self like
an Ati or Aeta (the indigenous tribe of
Panay)” is perhaps the most famous
of all Philippine festivals. It happens
every third Sunday of January to honor
the Santo Niño and commemorate the
peace pact between the Malay settlers
(who arrived in Panay in 1212) and the
native Aetas. The town of Kalibo, Aklan
transforms every year with non-stop
dancing in the streets. Participants are
smeared in black soot, shouting “Puera
Pasma! Hala Bira! Viva Santo Niño!”
You have an opening mass at the
Kalibo Cathedral on the first day, a
religious procession on the second, and
a big parade on the third, with wonderful
tribal costumes on display.