The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

    Bacolodnons are known for their carefree one-day-millionaire kind of attitude. It is one way of saying that Bacolodnons really know how to party. The best proof is its very own Festival: the Masskara Festival. Dubbed as Southeast Asia's grandest Mardi Gras, Masskara Festival's roots are however not as jocund as its current form.      In the early 1980's, Bacolod City experienced so many tragedies. One famous tragedy was the sinking of M/V Don Juan. Many of the passengers were Bacolodnons and some of those who perished were members of Bacolod's famous clans. During that time, the sugar industry was also experiencing some hard times. To cheer up the Bacolodnon spirit, local artists banded together and decided to come up with the Masskara Festival in time for the Charter Celebration. To hide the sadness, the Masskara became a symbol for the resilient Bacolodnon spirit. The samba beat was appropriate for the island atmosphere in Negros Occidental. ...

     Bacolod City is not the Sugar Capital of the Philippines for nothing. Besides being the capital city of Negros Occidental where acres and acres of sugarcane plantations are a familiar sight, Bacolodnons are very popular for their sweet tooth. Bacolod City is a diabetic's worse nightmare.      Almost every food in Bacolod is sweet. Of course, Bacolod's Cafe Bob's offers a variety of choice for cakes and sweet pastries. Cafe Bob's is an original Bacolodnon landmark. One of its more familiar branches is located along Lacson street. Cafe Bob's has become a favorite spot for young professionals and students to hang out either after school or during weekends.      Cafe Bob's however offers more than just cakes and pastries. Of course, Cafe Bob's is originally a coffee shop and long before Starbucks came to Bacolod, the locals already are accustomed to the familiar taste and scent of Cafe Bob's coffee. Cafe Bob's also offers pizza c...

     In celebration of the 2013 Masskara Festival of Bacolod City, I will be featuring some highlights about my beloved hometown, also known as the City of Smiles and the Sugar Capital of the Philippines. Of course, it is impossible not to feature first the most familiar "landmark" of Bacolod City: the Inasal Na Manok.      Out-of-towners would call it Bacolod Chicken Inasal. It is nothing more than just a piece of chicken meat skewered in bamboo sticks marinated in a well-guarded family secret sauce, grilled and served with rice and tasty chicken oil.      Many other towns and cities would "copy" the Inasal but none of them could 100% imitate the original taste of Bacolod Chicken Inasal. It is so delicious that Bacolod has it's own "Manokan Country". If it's your first time to visit Bacolod, it is one's sacred duty to visit the Manokan Country at the Reclamation Area fronting SM City - Bacolod.      If you pre...