Activity in

P.E.
Ian Wendell Rumaguera

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PHILIPPINE FOLK AND ETHNC DANCE HISTORY

The history of Philippine folk dancing incorporates influences from immigrants and conquerors
while at the same time maintaining distinctly Filipino roots. Philippine folk dancing is a true
reflection of daily life in past centuries while enchanting modern audiences at the same time.

Pre-Colonial
Before the recorded history of the Philippines, before the Spanish conquistadors conquered and
Christianized the populace, from the earliest occupation of this volcanic archipelago, the people
danced. They danced to appease the gods, to curry favor from powerful spirits, to celebrate a
hunt or harvest, to mimic the exotic life forms around them. They danced their stories and their
shamanic rituals, their rites of passage and their remembered legends and history.

Rural dances include such favorites as the high-stepping Tinikling, which mimics a bird, and the
Gaway-Gaway, which features the movements of children pulling the stalks of the gaway roots
during a bountiful harvest. The pagan tribes, the Higaonon, Subanon, Bagogo, and others who
have inhabited the Philippines for thousands of years, preserved their customs and symbolic
dances. Partly through isolation, they kept their culture free from the influence of the waves of
immigrants who settled the archipelago over the centuries. Today, tribal dances like Dugso (a
dance of gratitude for a good harvest or a male heir, danced with ankle bells), Sohten(an all-
male war dance) and Lawin-Lawin(another male dance which mimics a swooping, soaring
eagle) are carefully documented and kept alive in performance by Filipino folk dance troupes
and cultural institutions, such as the Parangal Dance Company.

The Pagdiwata is a trance dance, featuring women dancers who enact a thanksgiving ritual at
the time of the harvest moon. The shamanic figures mime the spirits who possess them and
enact a drama that can last for hours.

Muslim Merchants
Muslim traders from the Malay Archipelago reached the Philippines in the 14th century, well
ahead of the Europeans. Thier conversion of the populace was a modest affair; they were more
interested in commerce than colonization, although they did establish strongholds and convert
the local populace to Islam. They also created their own folk dances in the areas where they
settled. Singkil is one of the most famous. It depicts the plight of a princess caught in a magical
earthquake in a forest. Her faithful servant tries to shield her with a parasol as the princess
gracefully dodges falling trees, and is eventually saved by a prince.

Spanish Colonization
Folk dances survived the European invasion, and the dancers adapted imposed Christian belief
and culture to their own dances, borrowing court choreography but imbuing it with Philippine
spirit. The Maria Clara dances merged Spanish court style (and its stylized courtship
conventions) with Philippine exuberance. Maria Clara is the pure and noble heroine of a novel
who represents the finest qualities of Filipino womanhood. The dancers wear European 16th-
century dress but move to the sounds of bamboo castanets.

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Folkloric Fusion
The revered folk dances from the lowlands and the hill tribes persist in their traditional form and
in contemporary choreography for Philippine ballet companies. Dance is still the theater of
identity for the Filipino people, a vibrant and cherished way to tell their story forward with all the
rich history of their past.

The Beat Goes On

Traditional dance is still performed at celebrations of births and weddings. Modern folk dance
festivals still feature ancient dances performed in costumes of the tribal period of the
Philippines. If you are fortunate enough to attend a performance, you will hear percussion
instruments such as the gangsa (a small copper gong), a tobtob (brass gong) or a hibat (a gong
played with a soft wooden stick), accompanying dances such as the Palok and the Lumagen.
Many tribal dances use no external musicians; the dancers generate their own accompaniment
with stomping and hand clapping.

PHILIPPINE MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Rising from the rubbles of WW II and freed from American domination, the Filipinos surged in
creativity. The ’50 and ’60s saw dance revival and choreographic invention.

Schools put up folk dance troupes like the Far Eastern University, Philippine Normal University
(Barangay Folk Dance Troupe) and Philippine Women’s University. The Bayanihan Philippine
Dance Company captivated the world at Brussels Exposition in 1958. Leonor Orosa
Goquingco’s Filipinescas Dance Company, Teresita Pil’s Leyte Kalipayan Dance Company,
University of the Philippines Filipiniana Dance Group, Darangan Cultural Troupe at Mindanao
State University-Marawi, and Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group followed to win their own awards
and accolades abroad. All at first capitalized on the efforts of now-declared National Artist,
Francisca Reyes Aquino, to gain national and international recognition, from Manila to
Broadway and across the Iron Curtain.

In ballet, Orosa Goquingco went to stage Noli Dance Suit and other ballets. Remedios de
Oteyza’s abstract ballets were performed by the De Oteyza Ballet, Manila Ballet Company and
Hariraya Ballet Company (founded with Inday Gaston Manosa). Rosalia Merino Santos staged
and lectured with the Far Eastern University Modern Experimental Dance Group. Anita Kane
toured nationwide with classical and Filipino ballets of hers called Anita Kane Ballet Company,
later Pamana Ballet. Joining them was Ricardo Cassell from America, first teaching for Pacita
Madrigal (staging Giselle for her and Benny Villanueva Reyes) and later his wife Roberta’s
school and Studio Dance Group. Trudl Dubsky Zipper periodically returned from the United
States to stage ballets and operas.

They all inspired a new group of dance-makers and leaders. Corazon Generoso Iñigo staged
folk dances and choreographed modern pieces for university groups, for the films and the
productions of J. Amado Araneta in Cubao, Quezon City. Maribel Aboitiz and Eddie Elejar
followed up the fame of Manolo Rosado and Fely Franquelli in Europe. With Joji Felix and

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Cesar Mendoza, Elejar set up a school at PWU. He and Julie Borromeo and Felicitas “Tita”
Layag Radaic later formed Dance Theater Philippines as the first professional company, along
with the Hariraya. DTP was later solely directed by Radaic or Basilio (Steve Villaruz), carrying
on Ballet at the (Rizal) Park for more than 12 years and producing ballerinas Anna Villadolid,
Lisa Macuja and Eloisa Enerio. Still later, the Dance Concert Company of Vella Damian and
Eric Cruz, and Manila Metropolis Ballet of Elejar and Toby Fabella served the widening
audience for ballet. This was also met by visiting companies from Asia, Australia, the United
States, Britain, Europe and Russia.

With the opening of Meralco Theater and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, still later of the
restored Manila Metropolitan, U.P. and Camp Aguinaldo Theaters, choreographic ambitions
were no better served than in the old Far Eastern University, Philamlife and Girls Scouts of the
Philippines auditorium, and the defunct Rizal Theater.

Starting as a private group called Alice Reyes and Modern Dance Company, Ballet Philippines
had the advantage as resident dancers of the CCP. Reyes (starting with Elejar as co-director)
built a modern repertoire with her Amada, Itim Asu, Rama Hari, Carmen, choreographers Elejar,
Fabella, Gener Caringal and Norman Walker, and the ballet classics with foreigners, especially
William Morgan and the Russians. Subsequent directors were Edna Vida, Denisa Reyes, Agnes
Locsin–all choreographers in their own right, and now Cecile Sicangco. In 1987, CCP
accommodated Philippine Ballet Theater who came under the directorship of Manosa,
Borromeo, Elejar and now Caringal. The Company’s strength had been its wide choice of local
choreographers. In 1966, a splinter group from PBT formed Ballet Manila with Cruz and Macuja
as directors. It espouses Russian style, although it has lately acquired works from David
Campos, Vida, Fabella, Nonoy Froilan and Osias Barroso. All these companies have won merits
in performances abroad. They have toured nationwide, following the pioneering work of Kane
and of Fe Sala Villarica in the Visayas.

In the idiom of jazz, Douglas Nierras and his Powerdance are the most prominent, following the
groups Hotlegs, of Julie Borromeo, Metropolitan Dance Theater, etc. The new groups are
Whiplash and several others dancing for television. They have graced the shows of Vilma
Santos, Nora Aunor and Sharon Cuneta, following up those of Pilita Corrales, Nida Blanca and
Nestor de Villa in their time. Television has also provided exposure for the popularization of
ballroom dancing, earlier served by Dance Time with Chito (Feliciano) and the Penthouse
editions. The Dance Sports Council has also helped standardize dance competitions and dance
instructions. The Old and new dance forms are the boogie-woogie, rock ‘n roll, mashed potato,
twist, boogaloo, bossa nova, frug, pachanga, watusi, hustle, lambada, swing, hip-hop and the
free-for-all disco-dancing.

In dance education, physical education departments continue to teach dance (mostly folk) from
the grade school to college level. Dance degree programs are offered at University of the
Philippines and De la Salle University. In addition to the workshops of the Dance Committee of
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Philippine Folk Dance Society, Dance
Educators Associations of the Philippines and Francisca Reyes Aquino Memorial Foundation
also offer annual workshops.

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During the leisure time Filipinos can be found dancing more. This include the battalas
(choreographed skirmishes) in the moro-moro or comedia that still exist, and in many festivals
around the country like thesinulog, ati-atihan, caracol, guling-guling, dinagyang, sayaw sa
Obando, turumba in Pakil, etc. These may be found on the streets, the stage or the shopping
malls today.

HISTORY OF BALLROOM
Ballroom dancing developed in England. However, the first authoritative knowledge of the
earliest ballroom dances was recorded in the 16th century in France. The term ‘ballroom
dancing’ is derived from the word ball. Ball originated from the Latin word ‘ballade’, which
means to dance. It makes perfect sense, a ball-room is a large room specially designed for
dancing. Ballroom dancing traces back to the early 20th century. English establishments
developed the art of ballroom dancing. Historically, ballroom dancing refers to any kind of formal
social dancing done for recreation.

Ballroom dancing started out as social dancing for the upper class. Folk dancing was for the
lower classes. In past centuries, ballroom dances were specific to their own regions and were
done to mark celebration or social class rather than to compete. The boundaries did change
through the years because many of the ballroom dances were actually folk dances. And
depending on the era, there were popular dances of the day such as the Minuet, Quadrille,
Polonaise, Polka, Mazurka, and others.

The famous ‘close hold’ done in ballroom dances came from the courts of Western Europe in
the 1500s. At that time, men carried swords on their left side. As a result of this, ladies danced
on the right of the man. When it came to turning, the men traditionally took the inside of the
circle, to avoid hitting the surrounding audience with their sword. Also, ladies could not
promenade backwards as the length of their skirts would become caught beneath their feet. As
a result, couples promenaded counter-clockwise. This is why modern ballroom dances move
counter-clockwise around the floor.

Each dance within the ballroom dance genre has its own origin and an independent historical
journey. I thought I might share with you, where some of these dances originated: Viennese
Waltz – Provence, France in 1559; Tango – Argentina in 1890; Foxtrot – New York, in 1914;
Quickstep – England, 1927; Cha Cha – Cuba, 1947

As ballroom dancers, it is good to know the roots of our dances. It is important to not only look
graceful and elegant gliding on the dance floor, but to also have the knowledge where these
great dances came from. It just gives us that “extra, little, edge” in our climb to success!

HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING IN THE PHILIPPINES

Cheerleading in the Philippines officially emerged in 1993 when the Cheerleading Philippines
Federation (CPF) was officially founded. The CPF is the “is the national confederation of
Cheerleading organizations. It is the national governing body of Cheerleading and Cheer Dance

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in the country. Its primary activities are organized through standing Commissions that are each
responsible for some aspect of the sport's development in the country. The CPF is mandated to
sponsor and sanction cheerleading & cheer dance competitions and a variety of national and
international cheerleading competitions, including the Cheerleading World Championships, the
Asia Cup, the IFC World Cup.”

However, it may be possible that cheerleading in the Philippines may have started way before
1993. There may have been minor accounts of cheerleading in the Philippines although no
official accounts have been published regarding the subject matter.

Cheerleading in the Philippines has three major competitions. These three competitions are the
University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Cheerdance Competition, National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Cheerleading Competition and the National
Cheerleading Championships (NCC).

The UAAP Cheerdance Competition, founded in 1994, is an annual one-day event of the
University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerleading, usually held at the Araneta
Coliseum. The participating schools of this competition are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo
de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU),
National University (NU), University of the East (UE) and University of the Philippines (UP).

The NCAA Cheerleading Competition, previously known as NCAA Cheerdance Competition is

an annual one-day event of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for cheerleading, which
was recently founded in 2004. The event was sanctioned by Cheerleading Philippines
Federation (CPF) and thus adopted the official scoring criteria used in international
cheerleading. The participating schools of this competition are Arellano University (AU), Colegio
de San Juan de Letran (CSJL), De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), Emilio
Aguinaldo College (EAC), Jose Rizal University (JRU), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT),
San Beda College (SBC), San Sebastian College - Recoletos (SSC-R) and University of
Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD).

The National Cheerleading Chamionship (NCC) was recently founded in 2006. The competition
first started small, with 10 teams and divisions: high school and college. By 2008, 29 teams
participated in the NCC, which featured squads from around the country; thus making NCC the
first and only true National Cheerleading Organization in the Philippines. Just like the NCAA, the
NCC uses the official scoring criteria used in international cheerleading.

Where culture and politics enter the picture

Given the history and the background where cheerleading is set in the Philippines, culture and
politics play an important role in analyzing the social meaning produced in this worldly
recognized sport. The main objective of this blog post is to be able to deconstruct Cheerleading
in the Philippines using the discourse analysis. It aims to explain why females are more
vulnerable in the sport and consequently, why they are also empowered in the sport by using
the feminist theory/ post-modern feminist theory. Moreover, it aims to trace why there is an
emergence of gay people in the sport and why does society view males who join this sport gay,
using the queer theory.

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Using the post-modern feminism lens
Cheerleading in the Philippines has a grand narrative in which a common template exists. This
common template consists of men and women, whereby the women are lifted by the men.

As mentioned earlier, cheerleading started as an-all male activity. Women became active too
but they much more prominent in the early 1940s, during the war when they revitalized the spirit
and renewed the sentiments of the people. Nowadays, in America and most especially in the
Philippines, cheerleading is considered to be a girl sport. This is because a bigger majority of
the team consists of women. But more than this, biological attributes and qualities of women are
reflected in the sport itself. The biological attribute is that women are proven to be flexible than
men. In an article from the Daily Mail, women are more flexible, particularly in their back. It's an
evolutionary trait, carved out by the need for females to be mobile even when they're extremely
pregnant. According to Dr Katherine Whitcome of Harvard University, "Pregnancy presents an
enormous challenge for the female body. The body must change in dramatic ways to
accommodate the baby and these changes affect a woman's stability and posture. It turns out
that the enhanced curvature and reinforcement of the lower spine are key to maintaining normal
activities during pregnancy." The extra bendiness is possible because the curvature takes place
in the lower spine, or lumbar region, over three vertebrae in women - compared with only two in
men. The female joints are also larger and flare out further down the spine than those of men -
improving their spine's strength. Moreover, the attitudes of women are reflected with their ability
to be graceful and to smile despite the difficulty of the stunts. The routine should be easy on the
eye despite the difficulty of stunts that is shown. Just like a woman’s meticulous eye, everything
should carried out perfectly, with smiles on their faces. Moreover, it reflects the perkiness of
women is seen as they revel in the pleasure in the limelight, boosting the crowd by showing
their athletic capabilities.

There are two main divisions in cheerleading: the all-girls and the co-ed division. In the all-girls
division, the “girl power” feminism is highlighted in a sense that they perform both the roles of
men and women. They lift and get lifted, they do a basket toss and at the same time, get thrown
in the air. Plus, they have to do tumbling passes, which are usually done by men. According to a
book entitled “Cheerleader!: An American Icon”, these girls assume some of the characteristics
associated with masculinity such as physical training, power and strength yet they don’t actually
want to be a man. They are “heterosexy athletes”- women having the capability of men but are
still feminized.

Using the post-colonial lens

Cheerleading in the Philippines is different in other parts of the world even if there is an
increasing effort for interconnectedness for cheerleading in the global level (Worlds). Although
the Philippines tries to copy the American style of cheerleading, we still do it our own way. We
copy the technicalities of the sport of the Americans but we incorporate our own creativities and
approaches to the sport. With this, traditional American style is mixed with the Philippine style,
making it hard to have the traditional dual categories. The Philippine style of cheerleading is to
make it as entertaining as possible. With the use of props and visual techniques, it sort of
mimics the television show, ShowTime wherein creativity and the creation of new ideas are
welcomed. Moreover, the emergence of cheerleading all over the Philippines paves the way for

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small movements to emerge which gives it a sense of locality together with the sport (for
instance, University of Cordilleras).

On another note, Newsweek reported that in an international cheerleading competition last

2007, China's Nanning Middle School No. 26 performed a “bizarre” routine which, according to
the judges, was more of a cultural performance rather than cheerleading. This can be related to
Said’s Orientalism in which the Orient tends to be inferior than the Occident (West). This
occurrence can be analyzed in the post-colonial sense in the way that the West is trying to
impose its own rules in the world of cheerleading. In cheerleading in the Philippines, we use the
international standards of judging because that is what is imposed on us. These rules of scoring
are treated as “better” than those made locally.

HISTORY OF HIP HOP/STREET DANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Hip Hop Scene broke loose in the early 80’s, which shortly followed the
development of general hip hop which manifested in Bronx, New York in the late 70’s. The
Philippines is known to have the first hip hope music scene in Asia. This is due to the theory of
colonial narrative, which socially engineered the colonized to be like the colonizer. In this case,
the Philippines mimic any fad or craze that America creates.

With the popularity of the Electric Boogaloo (which is funk dance that involves popping and fluid
motions within the legs and arms) immerging, the Filipinos were split during the era of disco
because of the advent of Saturday Night Fever. One half of the spectrum was into hip hop&
popping while the other was still into disco. The hip hop scene truly took form in the Philippines
when early 80’s TV dance shows introduced popping & locking through young Filipino
Americans (or balikbayan). The early 80’s brought new movies like Breakin and Krush Grove,
which gave rise to the phenomena of dance crews. Never moves copied from the street of New
York made it to the islands. Th3ese moves included the Helicopter, Crazy Legs, Moon Walks,
Sideway Moon Walks, the Robot and Waving. The popularity of Disco enhanced the Hip Hop
craze, however instead of dancing to the music of Bee Gees, Hip Hop dancers danced to ht
beat of Earth Wind & Fire and the Commodores. The Disco scene was mixed in with Hip Hop
music and Popping became a craze in the early 80’s (from 1982 to 1984). Dance Crews started
around 1983 when each group appeared on TV Variety shows with the popularity of Boy Crew
(a group of 5-7 teenage dancers). Around 1984 acrobatics were incorporated with popping,
starting the B-Boy craze. In America, Filipino-Americans on the West Coast in Southern and
Northern California became involved in the hip hop scene through DJing. A Filipino party scene
developed through the rise of Filipino DJ crews. Rival DJ crews would “battle” each other and
one-up each other by showcasing superior equipment.

Till this day, Filipino Americans continue to influence the world of hip hop through break dancing
and popping. The majority of the dancers who compete and win MTV’s America’s Best Dance
Crew are Filipino Americans. Hip Hop is music culture that Filipinos can excel in and also leave
their mark on and although it started in the late 70’s, Filipino hip hope continues to live on and
grow.

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HISTORY OF FESTIVAL DANCES IN THE PHILIPPINES

If there’s one good reason to go around the country, it’s to experience all the festivals.

There are breathtaking highlands and awe-inspiring tropical getaways—so much, in fact, that it
can be near-overwhelming to have to choose your next destination escapade. And yet, beyond
all these picture-perfect sights, the charm of the Philippines lies in a culture deeply seated in
religion and history, which remain relevant up to the present with the celebration of festivals.

Unsurprisingly, most Philippine festivals are religious in nature, although there are some that
uphold a region’s distinct culture. Here are some of the Philippine festivals you should
experience.

Sinulog in Cebu
The grandest festival of the country is easily Cebu’s Sinulog Festival, which honors the Señor
Santo Niño or the Child Jesus, an image of which was a gift from the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan to Raja Humabon and Hara Amihan when he came to conquer the
Philippines in 1521. ‘Sinulog’ is derived from the Cebuano adverb ‘sulog’, which roughly
translates to “like water current movement”—the inspiration for the festival’s famous two steps
forward, one step backward dance.

While recent years have made Sinulog more notorious for its street parties, there are still
millions of devotees who make the pilgrimage to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the oldest
Roman Catholic church in the country, built on the spot where the statuette of the Child Jesus
was found by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.

Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Aklan

Known as The Mother of All Philippine Festivals, the Ati-Atihan serves as the inspiration behind
Cebu’s Sinulog and IloIlo’s Dinagyang, among many other festivals in the country. While it is
also in honor of the Santo Niño, its origins are more pagan in nature, dating some 800 years
ago. The festival’s name means ‘to be like the Atis’—the Aetas, the dark-skinned indigenous
people who are said to be the first settlers in the Philippines. Initially a celebration of unity
between the Aetas and Malay chieftains who fled Borneo to settle in the Panay Islands, the
Spanish conquerors later on integrated Catholicism into the festival.

At present, people who attend Ati-Atihan will encounter street dancers donning vibrant colorful
costumes, contrasting with blackened faces. The festival is also famed for snake dancing, in
which people hold on to each other to weave through the crowd in a snake-like fashion.

Dinagyang in Iloilo
The Dinagyang Festival, the name of which comes from the Ilonggo term ‘dagyang’ meaning
‘merrymaking’, is heavily influenced by Sinulog and Ati-Atihan, and borrows elements from the
two festivals. A little more modern than its inspirations, Dinagyang began in the 1960s, when a
replica of the Señor Santo Niño was first brought in from Cebu, much to the devotion of the

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Ilonggos. The anniversary of this day became a yearly celebration, which eventually
incorporated dramatized interpretations of the Aetas’ welcome of the chieftains from Borneo.

Today, Dinagyang Festival has become popular in its own right as a religious and cultural
celebration with three main events: A fluvial procession that takes the Child Jesus from the Iloilo
River to the San Jose Parish Church, a Kasadyahan Festival noted for its street dancing
contest, and the Ati-Atihan competition, where dancers with blackened faces also perform
traditional, interpretative dances.

Panagbenga in Baguio
Every February, the Summer Capital of the Philippines celebrates its annual flower festival,
called the Panagbenga Festival. From a Kankanaey term that means ‘season of blooming’ or
‘time for flowering’, Panagbenga is a tribute to Baguio City’s vibrant and diverse flora. The
festival’s origins go back to the 1990s, as a hopeful celebration of Baguio’s rise and recovery
following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that caused extensive damage to the city.

Panagbenga is known for its flower-decorated floats and street dancing, with participants
wearing flower-themed costumes. It is also famous for all its bazaars and trade fairs, allowing
the people of Baguio City to showcase their world-class talent.

Pahiyas in Lucban, Quezon

In honor of St. Isidore the Laborer, patron saint of farmers in the Philippines, the people of
Lucban, Quezon celebrate the Pahiyas Festival in the middle of the summer. It began as a
simple celebration of thanksgiving back in the 15th century, when farmers offered their harvests
at the foot Mount Banahaw—a practice that carried on after the first Church was established
and saw natives offering their fresh farm produce to St. Isidore. Eventually, with the Church
unable to accommodate all the harvest, they were instead displayed at the homes of the
farmers.

Today, the Pahiyas continues this tradition, with participants going beyond showcasing their
harvests to also put up hats, bags, fans, longganisa, and of course, kiping—colorful, leaf-
shaped wafers made of rice dough.

Kadayawan in Davao
With a name derived from the Dabawenyo friendly greeting, “Madayaw!” Davao City’s
Kadayawan Festival is befittingly a celebration of life. Like Pahiyas, it also started off as a
thanksgiving ritual for bountiful harvest by the ethnic tribes residing at the foot of Mount Apo. In
the 1980s, it evolved into a government-initiated program to unite Davaoeños after Martial Law,
gradually becoming a full-fledged festival to celebrate life, heritage, and blessings.

Lively Kadayawan is full of activities, from the street performances at the Indak Indak sa
Kadayawan to the float parade of Pamulak sa Kadayawan, and all the trade fairs in between—
Kadayawan is the time to indulge in the king of all fruits, Durian.

Masskara in Bacolod
Known as the City of Smiles, Bacolod demonstrates its resilience with its annual MassKara
Festival. The festival started out in a time of crisis in 1980 when the people of Bacolod, who
relied on their sugar cane plantations, suffered from a devastating drop in production and all-

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time low prices with the introduction of high fructose corn syrup as a sugar substitute. That
same year, more than 700 Negrenses lost their lives with the sinking of the MV Don Juan.
Following those tragic events, the local government decided to establish the MassKara Festival
as a way to boost morale and liven up the people’s spirits.

MassKara, a portmanteau derived from ‘mass’ (a multitude of people) and ‘cara’ (a Spanish
word for face), is also a play on the Filipino word maskara, which translates in English to mask
—a defining feature of the festival. These masks, akin to Mardi Gras fashion and worn by street
dancers, are always painted with smiling faces to reflect Bacolod’s sobriquet.

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