Bacolod City 's annual MassKara Festival is celebrating 30 years of smiles this month with something new – a dramatic fusion of public art and street entertainment.

“We are going to unveil a major work of art at the Bacolod public plaza in the evening of Oct. 14 that is our vision of what the MassKara streetdancing should evolve into,” MassKara Festival director Eli Tajanlangit said.

Atop a 30-foot trailer will be giant moving paper mache figures in vivid colors     fused with dancers dressed as clowns creating a mix of   circus art   and street entertainment.

Smoke around the trailer will also create the illusion that the dancers are performing on a floating platform, he said.

The circus-like giant figures on the trailer are being created by a group of Bacolod artists led by multi-awarded painter Charlie Co.

“We are inviting Bacolod 's choreographers and barangay captains to watch the Oct. 14 spectacle to influence the MassKara streetdancing of the future,” Tajanlangit said.

The vision is for the MassKara street dancing to evolve from field demonstration-like performances to truly multi-dimensional choreographed numbers that will dazzle the eyes.

Artists involved in the major art work are Mikki-boy Pama, RJ Talanquines, Neil Benavente, Peter James Fantinalgo, Mark Anthony Tacsagon, Edmund Bacia, Nelvir TotC Co, Barry Cervantes, Jay-R Delleva, Charlotte Rodriguez, Guinnevere Decena, Jun Jun Montelibano, Moky Uychiat, Joann Villarias, Cindy Ballesteros, EJ Ballesteros and Jeffrey Lazaro.

In charge of costumes are Katz Tecson and Anne Constantino, and Dominic Lindaya, Paolo Correa and Ed Marty Gonzales for lights.

The technical adviser is Manny Montelibano and the technical director is Jun Jun Montelibano.

The annual MassKara festival will also be highlighted by afternoon streetdancing competitions where performers dance down the city streets until they reach the Bacolod public plaza for their final performances, and the Electric MassKara street parties in the evening down the Lacson Street tourism strip.

In the evening of   Oct. 15   the traffic along the   tourism strip will be shut down for two hours to give Bacoleños and their guests a preview of the Electric MassKara and to showcase the art work unveiled on Oct. 14 , Tajanlangit said.

The MassKara Queen tilt will also be held on Oct. 15 at the University of Saint La Salle gym.

Bacolod   City   on the evening of   Oct. 16   will then stage the first MassKara   ledge dancing   competition down Lacson Street .

Eight Electric MassKara dancing    groups, whose costumes are lighted up for their performances, instead of dancing on    the tourism strip street will be    performing on top for five 40-feet trailers to give everyone a good view of the show, Tajanlangit said.

A MassKara Fantasy costume tilt will also be held in the evening of Oct. 16, he said.

On Oct. 17   in the evening another major activity will be introduced to the Electric MassKara – the  I panema drum dance. Dancing drumbeaters will move down the tourism strip and the public will be asked to join in something like a   snake dance   down the strip, Tajanlangit said.

“We hope it will become an institutionalized activity for the MassKara because we are trying to develop the festival into a giant street party to allow visitors to participate,” he said.

The Ipanema event is inspired by the   Conga line , a Latin American carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s, Tajanlangit explained.

On Oct. 18   festivities in Bacolod will be very big, there will be three major sites – the Bacolod Public Plaza , the Lacson Street tourism strip and the New Government Center where various bands will perform that will culminate with a countdown to midnight and   the charter day anniversary of Bacolod City , he said.

Meanwhile, the regular MassKara street dancing afternoon competitions will begin with 11 school-groups competing   on Oct. 15 , 24 barangay groups performing on Oct 17 , and the open category groups on Oct. 18.

“We are developing the MassKara into a light, airy cheerful and fun-filled festival,” he said.

A festival will benefit the community if it gives its visitors good memories of what it's all about, he said.*CPG

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