The MassKara Festival dancers were the most awaited and cheered performers at the Sandiwa Fiesta Europa at Parco Idroscalo in Milan, Italy, during the weekend, two Bacolod councilors with the group said Sunday, June 30.
The fiesta was the culmination of the month-long commemoration by the Filipino community in Northern Italy of the 126th anniversary of Philippine independence.
Bacolod Councilor Jason Villarosa, who heads the Bacolod delegation in Italy, in a Facebook post said the most awaited performance at the Sandiwa Fiesta Europa was Bacolod’s MassKara dancers.
The crowd had their cellular phones out to take videos of the MassKara dancers’ performance, whom they loudly applauded, he said.
The performance of the MassKara dancers gave him goosebumps, he is very proud of them, Villarosa said.
Bacolod Councilor Em Ang said “on the day of the parade and cultural program held at the massive Parco Idroscalo, the Filipino community in Northern Italy welcomed the performance of our MassKara Festival dancers with the warmest applause and loudest cheers”.
“Fil-Italians and foreigners were all standing up from the grandstand in the scorching heat of the Italian summer to take pictures and videos of our dancers. It makes us all proud that people approach us just to tell us that they are amazed with the performance of our dancers, and that the costumes and headdresses were so colorful,” she said.
People who saw the MassKara dancers perform have gotten more curious about Bacolod, Ang said.
This is the first time that Bacolod City is participating in a cultural event in Europe, she said.
The preparations for the trip had many challenges as the 15-man dance team was initially denied visas, she pointed out.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez was relentless in making sure that the MassKara dancers would be able to travel to Italy for the event as “this is a commitment we made since Philippine Consul General Elmer Cato extended the invitation last year”, Ang said.
With the assistance of Cato, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of Italy in Manila, the visas were finally granted to 12 dancers on the same day of their departure on Friday, she pointed out.
The MassKara dancers arrived just in time for the opening ceremony of the Sandiwa Fiesta Europa, Ang said.
They had to change their choreography due to the absence of three dancers, she added.*