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BY TIFFANY ANNE TAN
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BACOLOD City – Sum-ag National High School (SNHS) and Education and Training Center School (ETCS) III won the 37th MassKara Festival Street and Arena Dance Competition School Category secondary and elementary levels, respectively.
The Street and Arena Dance Competition is the highlight of the festival. Today 17 groups are performing in the Barangay Category.
The SNHS outperformed three other contenders in performance on Lizares-Araneta streets and the Arena performance at the public plaza yesterday.
It swept all four special awards — Best in Mask, Best in Costume, Best in Choreography, and Best in Concept.
The ETCS-III, meanwhile, survived six other competitors in the race to the top. It also won Best in Mask and Best in Costume.
Each champion received P50,000 in cash prize.
In the high school level, Luisa Medel National High School was first runner-up. It took home P30,000 cash.
Fr. Gratian Murray, AFCS Integrated School was second runner-up, while Domingo Lacson National High School was third runner-up. They received P20,000 and P10,000, respectively.
In the elementary level, Francisco R. Flores Elementary School was first runner-up. It received P30,000 cash. J.R. Torres Elementary School placed second runner-up and took home P20,000.
J.R. Torres Elementary School also won Best in Concept and Best in Choreography.
Each special award came with a P3,000 cash prize.
The School category is a partnership between the Silver MassKara Festival Organization (SMFO) and the Department of Education – Division of Bacolod City.
Today the following will vie for the Street and Arena Dance Barangay Category crown: Alangilan, Alijis, Banago, Bata, Felisa, Granada, Pahanocoy, Punta Taytay, Tangub, 5, 6, 7, 8, 26, 29, 33, and 39.
Like in the Schools Category, Street performance will start 3 p.m. on Lizares-Araneta streets, while the Arena competition will start 4 p.m. at the public plaza.
Festival director Eli Tajanlangit said this year’s MassKara Festival has “expanded geographically” and become more family-oriented.
The barangays have been more engaged as well, he told Panay News.
Before, they just used to join the street dancing and the Electric MassKara performing floats competitions, but now they opened nightly sing-and-dance contests for the villagers, said Tajanlangit.
“Grassroots or barangay-based designers” also had the chance to show their creativity through the MassKara Drum-beating Competition and the Nights of Mardi Gras fantasy costumes parade.
“We hope this continues,” the festival director told Panay News. “Our guiding principle is that a festival is a people’s event — there is no festival if the people do not participate.”
Tajanlangit also noted how the revelers seemed to have grown in number. “This is the first MassKara in the 10 MassKara Festivals that I organized nga opening day pa lang, gutok na ang festival sites,” he said.
Next year the organizers may expand to four festival sites para ma-disperse ang crowd kay kagutok na,” said Tajanlangit.
The SMFO has identified three festival sites this year: the public plaza, the New Government Center (city hall) ground and the Tourism Strip on Lacson Street./PN
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