Bacolod, officially the 

City of Bacolod (/bɑːˈkɔːləd/, Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa/Syudad sang

Bacolod; Tagalog: Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western
Visayas, Philippines.[8] It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidental, where it is
geographically situated but governed administratively independent.
Having a total of 561,875 inhabitants as of the 2015 census, it is the most populous city in Western
Visayas and the second most populous city in the entire Visayas after Cebu City. [6] It is the center of
the Bacolod metropolitan area, which also includes the cities of Silay and Talisay with a total
population of 791,019 inhabitants, [6] along with a total area of 578.65 km2 (223.42 sq mi).
It is notable for its MassKara Festival held during the third week of October and is known for being a
relatively friendly city, as it bears the nickname "The City of Smiles". The city is also famous for its
local delicacies piaya and chicken inasal.[9][10][11]
In 2008, Bacolod topped a survey by MoneySense Magazine as the "Best Place to Live in the
Philippines".[12] The city has also been declared by the Department of Science and Technology as a
"center of excellence" for information technology and business process management operations.
[13]
 In 2017 & 2019, Bacolod was awarded the "Top Philippine Model City" as the most livable urban
center in the country by The Manila Times.[14][15][16]

Historical church accounts provide a glimpse of the early years of Bacolod as a mere
small settlement by the riverbank known as Magsungay (translated as "horn-shaped" in English).
When the neighboring settlement of Bago was elevated into the status of a small town in 1575, [19] it
had several religious dependencies and one of which was the village of Magsungay. The early
missionaries placed the village under the care and protection of Saint Sebastian sometime in the
middle of the 18th century. A corregidor (English: magistrate) by the name of Luis Fernando de
Luna, donated a relic of the saint for the growing mission, and since then, the village came to be
known as San Sebastián de Magsung̃ay.[20]
Bacolod was not established as a town until 1755 or 1756, after the inhabitants of the coastal
settlement of San Sebastián de Magsung̃ay, were attacked by forces under Datu Bantílan of Sulu on
July 14, 1755 and the villagers transferred from the coast to a hilly area called Bacólod (which is now
the barangay of Granada). Bernardino de los Santos became the
first gobernadorcillo (English: municipal judge or governor). The town of Bacolod was constituted as
a parroquia (English: parish) in 1788 under the secular clergy, but did not have a resident priest until
1802, as the town was served by the priest from Bago, and later Binalbagan. By 1790, slave raids on
Bacolod by Moro pirates had ceased.[21]
On 11 February 1802, Fr. Eusebio Laurencio became acting parish priest of Bacolod. In September
1806, Fr. León Pedro was appointed interim parish priest and the following year became the first
regular parish priest.[22] In September 1817, Fray (English: Friar) Julián Gonzaga from Barcelona was
appointed as the parish priest. He encouraged the people to settle once again near the sea. He also
encouraged migration to Bacolod and the opening of lands to agriculture and industry. [22]