A video that showed the performance of Masskara Festival dancers in New York City gained buzz on Facebook.
A lawyer named Caesar Distrito, who was a former councilor of Bacolod City, uploaded the video on his account on June 5. It has since garnered over 1.3 million views, as of writing.
The dancers were performing along Madison Avenue in New York City during the 125th Philippine Independence Day Parade in the United States on June 4.
“This is the first time that Masskara Dancers were flown here in New York, and Mayor Albee Benitez personally raised funds to make it materialized,” Distrito said in the post.
“No funds were used from the city in the Masskara showcase here in New York,” he added.
The three-minute video showed a synchronized performance of the dancers dressed in colorful Masskara Festival fashion.
The performers even continued their complex choreography despite clear glitches in the sound system.
The crowd, meanwhile, could be heard cheering for them.
Filipinos and other social media users also lauded them in the comments section of the post.
“Wow, awesome that is a beautiful presentation for the parade. Congratulations to all the participants who did a good job,” a user commented.
“Very colorful and beautiful outfits. Ang gagaling pati ung mga maskara! Saludo ako,” another user said.
In a previous report, it was stated that the Masskara Festival show in NYC was led by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
The contingent comprises 22 individuals from the multi-awarded Barangay Granada Street and Arena dance team.
Benitez previously expressed hope that bringing Masskara Festival dancers to the US will further promote the province to the citizens of New York.
“When we promote Bacolod City, awareness about the city will increase. It will bring in tourism, it will bring in investments and will redound to development and benefit for all of us,” he was quoted in a report as saying.
“New York is a different market. It’s a different audience. Let’s show them what we have,” he added.
The Masskara Festival, meanwhile, is declared as a “cultural property” of Bacolod.
It is one of the biggest festivals in the Philippines and has drawn domestic and foreign tourists to the province since 1980.