The Bacolod MassKara contingent won first place during the 114th Philippine Independence Day Parade staged along Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York, Sunday.

Nearly 100,000 people attended the event which featured more than one hundred Filipino-American organizations from all over the east coast, a press release from City Hall said.

The parade is considered to be the largest Philippine Independence Day Parade outside the Philippines. It is organized by the Philippine Independence Day Council, Incorporated headed by this year’s president, Fe Martinez. The MassKara contingent was organized by Imelda Gargarita.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who is now in the U.S. promoting the Bacolod MassKara Festival to Bacolodnons and Negrenses in the west coast area, is quite elated by the top award earned by the Bacolod MassKara in New York.

“The New York accolade comes as a blessing for the City of Smiles’ internationally-known festival, more so because it comes just right after the Bacolod MassKara also bagged the grand final crown of the very popular ABS-CBN Showtime Inter-Town Edition,” Leonardia said.

He sent his heartfelt thanks to Gargarita and her group for really giving their best to project the Bacolod MassKara as a world-class festival in the Big City, the release said.

Leonardia also said, “After hearing about the New York plum obtained by the Bacolod MassKara Festival, I am energized the more in pushing the Balik Bacolod program in U.S. soil.”

Earlier, Leonardia was able to obtain the support of top officials of the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco led by Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr. and Milpitas City Mayor Jose Estevez for the Balik-Bacolod Program. *

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