Virtual celebration of Masskara Festival attracts hundreds

The celebration was part of ‘Fiesta Filipinas’, a series of online events introducing and showcasing festivals, culture, and traditions, according to Paolo Abrera and Chal Lontoc-Del Rosario, who hosted the recent event.'Fiesta Filipinas' was the brainchild of the Philippine government’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Tourism (DOT), in co-operation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.Bacolod City’s Masskara Festival is celebrated every October borne out of an economic crisis in the 1980s and other challenges, such as the ‘tiempo muerto’ or the dead season of harvesting when the milling of sugar is over.“The Masskara Festival was an initiative to make locals wear smiling masks declaring that the people of Bacolod City will survive any challenge that we face, thus it was called the ‘City of Smiles’,” said DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in a speech.Aside from the colourful virtual tour of Bacolod City, its heritage houses, local cuisine and heirloom dishes, and the festival itself, among others, the participants were treated to a curated kit filled with goodies from the locality, such as piaya, a muscovado-filled unleavened flatbread; biscocho, twice-baked breads, usually coated with butter and milk, or garlic in some cases; Otap, an oval-shaped puff pastry cookie from the area of the Visayas in the Philippines; muscovado sugar, made from sugarcane thru juice extraction; and an NVC souvenir, sourced from Bacolod City, the souvenirs are upcycled keepsakes handmade with discarded coffee capsules by local communities.The event also featured a DIY session on how to make a Masskara Festival mask. According to Romulo-Puyat, the DOT’s sustainable tourism initiatives are opening up new circuits, such as visits to organic farms and developing its beach destinations, such as Cadiz, Sagay, and Sipalay.“We are working hard to prepare for your arrival when the borders reopen, and our priority is the safety of our travellers and tourism workers. As of October 15, 65% of our tourism workers in the country have been vaccinated. We are constantly working to roll out more vaccination sites in our tourist destinations until we reach 100%.“In addition, the Philippine Department of Tourism has been awarded the use of ‘Safe Travels Stamp’ from the World Travel and Tourism Council, which we can issue to destinations and establishments as a recognition that they have complied with international standards for health and safety,” she said.