Masskara Festival History
Contents
Over the years, many visitors have come to Jojo Vito Designs Gallery to see our MassKara masks. Travelers take photographs, students and researchers ask questions, and content creators and production teams have filmed our masks and the process of making them.
Eventually, many ask me the same questions:
Who started MassKara? Why are the masks smiling? Who made the first masks?
Through the years, my work and the name Jojo Vito have become closely associated with MassKara mask-making. I am grateful for that association, but it has also made me conscious of a responsibility:
Long before I made my first mask, artists, civic leaders, barangays, dancers, choreographers and ordinary Bacolodnons had already begun shaping what eventually became MassKara.
So when people started asking me about its history, I felt I owed it to those who came before us to understand the story more deeply—and tell it as accurately as I could.
Like many Bacolodnons, I knew the familiar narrative: the sugar crisis, the M/V Don Juan tragedy, and the smiling masks that emerged during a difficult period in our history.
But I wanted to know more.
Who were the artists behind the early masks? What role did Ely Santiago and the Art Association of Bacolod play? What was Mayor Jose “Digoy” Montalvo Jr. really responsible for? And how did all these people and circumstances come together to create the festival we know today?
So I started digging.
I went through government records, news archives, historical accounts, and recollections connected to people involved in MassKara’s early years.
What I found was a story richer—and much more collaborative—than the shortened version many of us have heard.
As a mask maker, one discovery particularly stayed with me:
Our designs today may be ours.
But the tradition is not. Their hands came before ours.
This article is my attempt to honor those hands.
I also consider this a continuing work. As credible documents, photographs and firsthand accounts surface, I intend to keep researching, correcting and improving this history.
Because MassKara was never the story of just one person.
And that seems particularly fitting for something called MassKara.
To understand the history of MassKara Festival, I first had to understand the Negros in which it was born.
For generations, sugar shaped this province.
Sugarcane covered vast areas of Negros. Sugar mills, farms, transportation, trading, businesses, and thousands of livelihoods depended directly or indirectly on the industry.
Sugar brought tremendous wealth.
But dependence on one commodity also created tremendous vulnerability.
As I went through accounts of MassKara’s beginnings, I repeatedly encountered references to the difficulties experienced by the sugar industry.
In one historical account I read from the Philippine News Agency, the economic decline surrounding sugar is identified as one of the major crises confronting Negros during the period in which MassKara emerged.
Read: The History Behind Bacolod’s “Smile” — Philippine News Agency
This context matters.
Sometimes we summarize the beginnings of MassKara in one convenient sentence:
There was a sugar crisis, so Bacolod created a festival.
The more I researched, however, the less satisfactory that explanation became.
An economic crisis is not simply about falling prices or businesses losing money.
Eventually, it reaches people’s dinner tables.
It affects whether parents have work.
It affects whether families have enough.
And at its worst, it affects whether children have food to eat.
That brings me to another face associated with this difficult chapter of Negros history.
When we think of MassKara today, we see smiling faces.
But another face remains in the collective memory of the Negros sugar crisis:
For many Negrenses, Batang Negros evokes the image of the thin and malnourished Negrense child—the human face of hunger and poverty during one of the province’s most difficult periods.
I believe it deserves a place in this story because terms such as sugar crisis can sound almost clinical when we read them decades later.
Behind the economics were people.
Workers lost livelihoods. Families struggled. Poverty deepened. Children were among those who suffered.
But this is also where I want to be transparent about my research.
As I worked on this article, I encountered references to Batang Negros in public memory, but I have not yet found sufficient primary or archival documentation to confidently tell you who first coined the term, which particular photograph first became associated with it, or exactly how that image entered popular consciousness.
So I will not create certainty where I have not found it.
If credible archival records, photographs or firsthand accounts emerge, I will return to this section and improve it.
That is part of the purpose of this article.
History should not become “fact” merely because something has been repeated often enough.
What is well documented is the severe economic distress surrounding the sugar industry and the hardship experienced in Negros during the period associated with MassKara’s beginnings.
Remembering that human cost gives the smiling mask that followed an entirely different meaning.
Before Bacolod showed the world a smiling face, Negros had known the face of hardship.
While Negros was confronting economic difficulties, another tragedy struck.
On April 22, 1980, the passenger vessel M/V Don Juan, traveling from Manila toward Bacolod, collided with the oil tanker M/T Tacloban in the Tablas Strait and sank.
As I researched the disaster, I found a Philippine News Agency historical account reporting 176 dead and several others missing.
Many of those aboard had connections to Negros.
But one detail makes the tragedy particularly significant to the MassKara story.
Then-Bacolod Mayor Jose “Digoy” Montalvo Jr. suffered an unimaginable personal loss.
Another Philippine News Agency report records that his wife, two daughters, and mother-in-law were among those killed in the disaster.
Read: Philippine News Agency Account of Mayor Montalvo and the Don Juan Tragedy
Think about the circumstances.
A mayor was leading a city already dealing with serious economic uncertainty while simultaneously grieving members of his own family.
This was the atmosphere surrounding the birth of MassKara:
This is why I think we lose something important when MassKara’s history is reduced to a cheerful story about people putting on colorful masks.
The smiles emerged against all of this.
And that makes them far more meaningful.
As someone involved in mask-making today, this was where my research became particularly fascinating.
I started looking for the people behind the masks.
That led me to the Art Association of Bacolod.
I found that the organization was formally established on July 4, 1975—five years before the first MassKara Festival.
A historical account published by SunStar identifies Edgardo Lizares as its first president, together with Elsa Valenzuela, Susan Soberano, Rafael Paderna, Amador Capiral, Ramiro Esteban, Benildez Familiaran and Rodney Martinez. Ely Santiago was among those who later joined the original group as the association developed.
Read: 41 Years of Art Association of Bacolod — SunStar
This changed the way I looked at MassKara’s beginnings.
The artistic community did not suddenly appear because somebody decided Bacolod needed a festival.
There was already an art community.
There were already people painting, creating, exhibiting and organizing.
MassKara emerged partly from that existing creative environment.
The deeper I went into the history of the masks, the more often one name appeared:
An account of the Art Association of Bacolod’s history says that when the Don Juan tragedy and sugar crisis hit the city, Santiago introduced painted papier-mâché masks at Tita’s Restaurant, near the old Art Association gallery by the seawall facing the Bacolod Public Plaza.
That detail fascinated me.
Today, when we think of a MassKara mask, we imagine something elaborate—glitter, feathers, fabric, sculptural elements, enormous headdresses and increasingly sophisticated materials.
But near the beginning were painted papier-mâché masks.
Simple materials.
Paint.
Artists.
An idea.
And a city that needed something to smile about.
This may be one of my favorite discoveries in researching the beginnings of MassKara.
The artists did not keep mask-making inside galleries.
The historical account of the Art Association of Bacolod preserves the names of artists who gave mask-making lessons in different barangays:
Maowi Palacios, Lor Sumagaysay, Orville Visitacion, George Macainan, Marcial Buelba, Rodney Martinez, Rafael Paderna, Jecky Alano, Fred Juson, Belding Familiaran, Fred Escaran, Roy Aguilar, Joemar Sanchez, and Nunelucio Alvarado.
I deliberately include their names.
If I am writing this article partly to honor the people who came before those of us making masks today, then their names deserve to be remembered.
I also found a much more recent account that supports this community dimension of MassKara’s beginnings.
In 2025, the Philippine News Agency reported the Art Association of Bacolod-Negros’ recollection that artists introduced mask-making as a creative activity involving out-of-school youth and barangay residents.
The earliest masks were made from papier-mâché, with later creations incorporating materials such as coconut husks and seashells.
Read: Young Bacolodnon Artists Carry on the Legacy of MassKara Mask-Making — Philippine News Agency
For me, this is one of the most important parts of the MassKara story.
Mask-making was not merely decoration.
It became community art.
Artists taught residents.
Residents created.
Barangays participated.
And the mask began moving out of the studio and into the community.
This is probably one of the questions people ask me most often.
It is also where I believe we need to be precise.
In 2024, Bacolod City honored the late Mayor Jose “Digoy” Montalvo Jr. as founder of the MassKara Festival and artist Ely Santiago as co-founder. Santiago was also recognized as the designer of the first festival logo.
Read: Bacolod Positions MassKara Festival as a Global Event — Philippine News Agency
Those are important official recognitions.
But the more I researched, the more I realized that simply writing—
Montalvo and Santiago created MassKara.
—would still leave much of the story untold.
Historical accounts of the festival also point to the participation of artists, cultural workers, civic leaders, businesses, barangays, dancers and other members of the community.
The 2025 account from the Art Association of Bacolod-Negros, for example, describes artists, cultural workers and civic leaders coming together during this difficult period.
That reinforced something I had already begun to see:
Mayor Montalvo’s leadership mattered.
Ely Santiago’s creativity mattered.
The Art Association of Bacolod mattered.
Civic organizations mattered.
Businesses mattered.
Barangays mattered.
Dancers and choreographers would soon matter enormously.
And ordinary Bacolodnons ultimately gave the festival life.
Perhaps the fairest way to put it is this:
The name itself is another fascinating part of the story.
The term is commonly explained as bringing together:
Mass — the people or multitude
Kara — face
A 2025 Philippine News Agency report on the festival’s artistic origins likewise explains MassKara as coming from “mass,” referring to the people, and “kara,” referring to face.
Together, the name evokes the idea of:
And, of course, it immediately recalls the Filipino word maskara—mask.
For me, the name becomes even more meaningful after researching the people behind the festival.
Because there wasn’t only one face behind MassKara.
There were many.
This is perhaps the question visitors ask most often when they see our masks.
If the province was experiencing economic hardship, families were suffering, and Bacolod was grieving—
The answer I found is more powerful than simply saying Bacolod was a happy city.
Looking back on the festival’s beginnings in 2025, Art Association of Bacolod-Negros president Tey Sevilleno described MassKara as having been born not from abundance but from crisis and grief. She described the masks as symbols of strength and the smiles as acts of defiance.
That word caught my attention:
Because it changes the meaning of the smile.
The smiling mask was not necessarily saying:
Everything is fine.
Perhaps it was saying:
We will continue.
We will create.
We will dance.
That is a very different kind of smile.
And as someone who makes these masks today, I find that interpretation far more meaningful.
The MassKara smile does not have to deny hardship.
Another detail I found particularly interesting is that Bacolod did not suddenly begin parading in 1980.
There were already Charter Day celebrations.
While researching this, I came across Peeling Off the Mask, an exhibition of the Museo Negrense de La Salle devoted to MassKara history. SunStar reported that the exhibition traced the festival’s evolution from inspiration connected with a Charter Day parade into the elaborate celebration that followed.
Read: Peeling Off the Mask — SunStar
This adds an important nuance to the story.
MassKara did not emerge from nothing.
Bacolod already had civic celebrations.
It already had artists.
It already had parades.
People were already experimenting with masks and costumes.
Then came a particular moment in history when leadership, tragedy, creativity and community converged.
And so, in 1980, Bacolod held its first MassKara Festival.
Philippine News Agency records the first festival in 1980 and connects its emergence with the economic and social difficulties confronting Bacolod and Negros at the time.
But after digging deeper, I no longer see 1980 simply as the year somebody “invented” a festival.
I see something much more organic.
There was a city confronting hardship.
There was a mayor who had experienced devastating personal loss.
There was an existing artistic community.
There were papier-mâché masks.
There were artists teaching communities.
There were civic organizations.
There were barangays.
There were dancers.
And eventually, all these pieces came together.
But the MassKara of 1980 was not yet the MassKara we know today.
The masks would change dramatically.
The costumes would become more daring.
The choreography would evolve.
Competition would push creativity further.
Certain commercial contingents would become legendary.
And a woman named Donna Porter would help transform how the MassKara dancer looked and moved.
There would be the memorable Lopue’s years.
There would be other choreographers, designers, dancers and artists whose contributions deserve to be remembered.
The relatively simple papier-mâché mask was about to become spectacle.
Continue to Part 2: MassKara Festival Evolution — The Artists, Dancers and People Who Shaped It
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Art Association of Bacolod is formally organized. |
| April 22, 1980 | M/V Don Juan sinks while traveling toward Bacolod. |
| 1980 | Artists promote painted papier-mâché masks and bring mask-making into communities. |
| 1980 | The first MassKara Festival is held in Bacolod City. |
| Following years | Mask-making, street dancing, costumes and choreography continue to evolve. |
| 2024 | Bacolod honors Jose Montalvo as founder and Ely Santiago as co-founder of MassKara Festival. |
I do not consider this article finished forever.
In fact, I hope it isn’t.
Some people who witnessed the early years of MassKara are still with us. Old photographs may still be sitting in family albums. Artists may have sketches. Families may possess documents. Dancers and organizers may remember details that never appeared in newspapers.
If credible information emerges that adds to—or even corrects—something written here, I will update this article.
That is not a weakness in historical writing.
I believe it is part of respecting history.
If you were involved in the early years of MassKara, or if your family has photographs, documents or firsthand accounts that can help complete the story, I would be glad to learn from them.
My purpose in digging deeper is not to claim MassKara’s history.
Click for the Part 2 of Masskara Festival History
The following are among the principal references I consulted while researching this installment of MassKara Festival history.
Masskara Festival History
Masskara Festival History
Masskara Festival History
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View Comments
Drum and bugle competition, concerts, sports events, food festivals, trade fairs, and garden shows are other festival highlights.
Wow the festival looks incredible, so bright and colourful. It's heartwarming to see that after such tragedy they created such an amazing event.
- Jackie (Organised Mum Life)
Thank for this! I originally planned to visit bacolod 1st week of october to celebrate my birthday. but finances are short, so had to postpone it a week after...i'm curious of extreme masskara and masskara by sea. what to expect? im from cebu btw
yes come during the highlights :)
Wow, what an exciting festival in Bacolod, Philippines.
Hmm, need to arrange my schedule in October, to see this event...
Thanks for the post.
Yes its is Marvin, one of the most colorful I should say...hope you can visit and witness Masskara 2015 :)
Look at all those beautiful colors. We haven't done one festival this year. Thankfully we still have time!
I should say , this festival is one must experience :)
I wish I could be there for this! I love all the bright colors!
Who knows Sahnnon Peterson, just PM if someday you will visit...I'll be happy to assist :)
This sounds like it's great fun! What beautiful colors and costumes.
This is a great and fun festival , I never miss each year!
This really looks like a fun festival to attend! What a great schedule.
This is ooking so festive. Beautiful photos!
Wow, that looks so fun! Very colorful!