Celebration of smiles at MassKara Festival

Oct 19, 2013 7:43 PM PHT

Joey Hofileña

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It's more fun in Bacolod as the Visayan city celebrates its annual festival

COSTUMES, COLOR. A participant at Bacolod's annual festival. Text and photos: Joey Hofilena

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The first of a set of street-dancing competitions that highlight Bacolod’s annual MassKara festival kicked off with a competition among participating elementary schools and high schools at the city’s public plaza on Friday, October 18.

Clad in stunning and intricate costumes bursting with color, the youngsters battled for first place before a large, appreciative audience that included former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, some foreign dignitaries, and movie and television celebrities.

As always, prominent smiles characterized the eye-catching masks of each team in obvious homage to Bacolod as the City of Smiles. It was, as expected, a bold display of creativity and community. – Rappler.com