MANILA, Philippines - It may very well be the “happiest†festival on these islands. Now in its 34th year, Bacolod City’s annual MassKara festival may also be the most colorful with thousands of people wearing hand-painted masks and dancing in the streets.
Coined by the late Ely Santiago when he was president of the Art Association of Bacolod in 1981, MassKara comes from the words “mass†and the Spanish word “cara†or face. It is indeed a “multitude of faces†come festival time in the city known for its smiling people.
It’s an exhilarating sight — hundreds of people in costumes and masks painstakingly beaded and hand-painted, glittering under the sun. The festival has grown bigger with each passing year, attracting local and foreign tourists to Bacolod.
Globe Telecom joined in the festivities with its own slew of surprises this year. They set up the Globe Mobility Store-on-the-Go at North Capitol Road, transforming the street into a Globe Village and serving as the city’s center of festivities and fanfare.
With a Mardi Gras theme, Globe set up several game booths for its different brands: Globe Prepaid and MDS, Globe Postpaid, Tattoo (mobile and broadband), and Globe partners Pixable, Samsung and CloudFone.
The Globe Mobility Store-on-the-Go was opened by Globe Retail Transformation and Management head Joe Caliro and Globe and CloudFone endorser Xian Lim.
During the four days that it was open, it offered everything that a Globe Business Center does, giving customers who are far from a center easy access — and amid a festival atmosphere, too!
More than 5,000 people went into the village to inquire about and apply for the latest postpaid and broadband plans as well as avail of other Globe promos while on the go. Device partners CloudFone and Samsung showcased their latest roster of gadgets and mobile phones for customers to choose from.
Globe showcased its lineup of prepaid, postpaid, and Tattoo broadband offers, exclusive MassKara deals and fun games and activities. It also gave away raffle prizes to subscribers who availed of Globe Prepaid, Postpaid and Tattoo offers, with exciting prizes up such as tablets, handsets, and gift certificates from partner-establishments.
The Globe Mobility Store-on-the-Go also set up game booths including a roulette called “Around the Globeâ€; Globe MySuper Cans (knockdown cans), Tattoo speed bullet (shooting) and Black Jack. The four-day event was open to the public and Globe subscribers who registered were given food treats and freebies.
The Globe Village also featured performances by Perkusyunista Negrense Drumbeaters, Artians Dance Squad, Elaine & Mike, Joanne Bernal with Jessa and Yani, B.O.B., Ritmo Verde, DJs Zeetrex, Erick Gella and Ryan Seares.
Tattoo also took over the night scene with a 2-day roofdeck party at Bacolod’s L’Fisher Chalet in partnership with Republiq. The best DJs in Manila came over to give Bacolodnons two unforgettable nights of non-stop music alongside personalities like Vice Ganda, Sam Pinto, the De La Salle Green Archers’ Sam Perkins, Arnold Van Opstal and Jeron Teng, and the Philippine Volcanoes who all showed support and joined the party.
Guests were also able to experience the latest offers from Tattoo like the newest Tablet Bundle plans as part of the Tattoo Tablet Revolution wherein subscribers can get a free tablet, phone and a broadband Wi-Fi stick which can power up to 10 devices all in for Plan 1298.
Bacolod is the third place to have the Globe Store-on-the-Go, following Batangas and Bonifacio Global City.