tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438992007413018604.post1924824486255819265..comments2024-03-28T00:22:18.175-07:00Comments on Travel and Wellness With Maria: Reasons Why I Keep on BloggingMaria Rona Beltranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932746106141115840noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438992007413018604.post-656464438272610772012-09-19T15:02:24.930-07:002012-09-19T15:02:24.930-07:00MassKara Festival actually has a "sad" h...MassKara Festival actually has a "sad" history. Bacolod in 1980's went through a double crisis. First, the primary agricultural crop of<br /> the province, sugar cane was at its lowest in profit when sugar products from the USA arrived the country. Second, April of that same year<br />an inter-island vessel carrying a lot of Negrenses collided with a tanker from Tacloban City that took several hundreds of lives. But the people of <br /><br />Bacolod was strong and determined that according to<br />Wikipedia<br /><br />"In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city at <br /><br />that time was also known as the City of Smiles. They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity to pull the residents out of the pervasive <br /><br />gloomy atmosphere. The initial festival was therefore, a declaration by the people of the city that no matter how tough and bad the times were, Bacolod <br /><br />City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end, triumph."<br /><br />wow, what an inspiring history of bravery that is a lesson to everyone. That no matter how life seems uncontrollable, we should always have the heart <br /><br />to keep going and not letting ourselves trapped by old and painful memories. Masscara Festival is held every third week of October. It is one of the <br /><br />most colorful festivals the country has and a major tourist attraction of Bacolod. Just to give you a background of its word origination MassKara is <br /><br />coined from two words: Mass, which means “many, or multitude,” and Kara, a Spanish word for “face,”. <br /><br />It is a pity I will visit Bacolod, a city known for its great food, warm smiles, and happy people a few days before the MassKara Festival 2012 is going <br /><br />to happen. I hope to see a bit of it when I go there. To those who are planning or surely going to see the MassKara Festival 2012, you may visit the official website hereAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com