Leonardia opens 2012 MassKara Festival

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Monday declared the 33rd MassKara Festival open before hundreds of spectators at the Bacolod public plaza.

“I’m happy that we started on a very high note. Even the fireworks were more exciting than the other years,” said the mayor who was joined on stage by his wife Elsa, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilors Em Ang, Mona Dia Jardin and Caesar Distrito, and Andy Leonardia and Bart Orola.

Leonardia said the organizers, led by festival director Eli Francis Tajanlangit, have included new activities that are more interesting and exciting than those in the previous years. “I believe this is going to be the most anticipated MassKara ever,” he said.

The inclusion of MassKara Festival in the CNN’s i-Report as one of the “12 best things in the Philippines,” and this year’s edition would have a very big crowd that could surpass the number of people who joined the festival in the past, said the mayor.

“We have committed ourselves together with the organizers to make sure that this is one MassKara Festival that people will long remember,” he said, adding that he also wanted this to be the “grandest ever because as city mayor this is the last MassKara Festival that I will preside.”

The MassKara opening rites were capped with a 5-minute fireworks display, followed by the elimination round of GMA DanssKara: The MassKara Dance Showdown featuring 20 dance groups.

Tajanlangit said the DanssKara was aimed at highlighting another breed of dancers who wear low-tech masks.

Other activities for the 22-day MassKara Festival, with the theme “Life’s Good in Bacolod,” are the unveiling of the Majica MassKara 9 installation dubbed “Ang Bukid kag Baybay sa Bacolod (The Mountain and The Sea in Bacolod) on Oct. 5 at the public plaza, and the MassKara Art Weekend (Oct. 5 to 7) showcasing the rich artistic culture of Bacolod. The Living Rosary will be held from Oct. 5 to 14.

On Oct. 18 will be the MassKara Queen coronation night; Oct. 19 to 21, the Electric MassKara; and Oct. 20 to 21 the MassKara streetdancing competitions. (FREEMAN)