Barangay Granada’s renowned dancers, fresh from their championship win at the 2024 MassKara Festival in Bacolod City, will captivate audiences at the Sinulog-Sto. Niño Festival 2025 in Cebu City.
The group will perform as guest artists during the festival’s grand celebration on January 19, showcasing Bacolod City’s pride and culture on a national stage.
Punong Barangay Armando Vito announced that Cebu City, through Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, formally invited the group to participate.
The Barangay Granada delegation, composed of 60 dancers, 120 propsmen, and various barangay and SK officials, will leave for Cebu on January 15 and return on January 20.
Vito said that Cebu City allocated ₱1.5 million to subsidize the group’s travel and performance expenses, a significant increase from last year’s ₱800,000, which Bacolod’s mayor had supplemented.
“This performance represents Bacolod’s heart and spirit on a bigger platform,” Vito said in Hiligaynon.
MassKara history
The MassKara Festival, a vibrant tradition in Bacolod City, began in 1980 when Negros Occidental faced economic hardships and tragedy.
The province, heavily reliant on sugar production, struggled with a severe economic crisis as global sugar prices collapsed. Widespread corruption under then-president Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. worsened the situation, with his cronies controlling the state’s sugar trading monopoly.
During the same period, the tragic sinking of MV Don Juan off the coast of Mindoro claimed 176 lives, leaving many Negrenses in grief.
Ely Santiago, president of the Arts Association of Bacolod, coined the term “MassKara” by combining “mass” (a large group of people) with the Spanish word “cara” (face).
Santiago and community leaders envisioned the MassKara Festival as a celebration of hope and resilience sought to unite the people of Bacolod, uplift their spirits, and promote tourism, turning adversity into an opportunity to showcase their optimism and strength.
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.