La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan with the Bailes de Luces dancers in South Korea.* Ronnie Baldonado photo
The Bailes de Luces dancers of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, won the best foreign performer excellence award at the 2022 Chungjang World Festival of Recollection in Gwangju City in the Donggu District of South Korea, on Saturday, October 15.
La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan who led the Bailes de Luces delegation said she was very happy that they won despite the difficulties they went through in raising the funds and availing of visas to join the festival.
She also thanked the dancers for all the hard work they put into their performance.
They won 2 million Korean Won (P81,738.6), the mayor said.
Although the prize is not very much it was worth it because they were able to promote La Castellana and explore the possibility of a sisterhood agreement with a Korean local government unit, Mangilimutan said.
“We are willing to exchange ideas when it comes to tourism promotion, agriculture, and festivals,” she said.
Gwangju City Mayor Lim Taek said the Bailes de Luces performance was wonderful, she added.
Kagawad Marvin Escander, who was part of the 24-man delegation from La Castellana, said they were very happy and proud of the Bailes de Luces dancers for winning the award.*