MassKara logo launched

THE official logo of the 2012 MassKara Festival with the theme "Life's good in Bacolod" was launched Tuesday night at the Bacolod Government Center.

The launch coincided with City Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s birthday Tuesday.

The event was graced by GMA Network stars Jaya, Ryza Cenon, Mike Tan and Mark Bautista.

“I accept the logo not just with open arms but with a very big, jumping heart,” said Leonardia to the nine artists and their three consultants headed by Charlie Co who conceptualized and created the logo for this year’s edition of Bacolod’s world-famous festival.

BACOLOD. The 2012 MassKara Festival logo with the theme "Life's good in Bacolod" was launched at the Bacolod Government Center Tuesday. The launching coincided with the birthday of City Mayor Evelio Leonardia. (Daryl Jimenea)

"We're glad because what we are seeing is another milestone in MassKara history. This festival grew all these years and has metamorphosed to what it is today. We are so proud and happy that MassKara has grown so big that the launching of the logo itself is already an event," he added.

The mayor said the festival has given Bacolod a new identity which is now known all over the world. He cited Bacolod’s victory in the nationally televised competition “Showtime” when the city showed the MassKara Festival dance and the festival contingents’ winning performance in the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York.

"This is undoubtedly one of the major reasons why we can say that it is more fun in the Philippines. We can even say that it is much more fun in Bacolod City because of the MassKara Festival," Leonardia said.

Leonardia thanked the artists of Bacolod whom he referred to as "the reasons why MassKara has accelerated and has become something distinct among other festivals of the Philippines."

MassKara Festival director Eli Francis Tajanlangit presented the nine local artists and three consultants who created this year’s MassKara logo.

"This year's logo is our statement about why Bacolod and Negros Occidental is an important draw for tourists and how, among others, it is also fast becoming an important art destination in Asia," Tajanlangit said.

"It is a logo that captures the year's creative impulses and temperament, the elements and values that will animate this year's edition of the MassKara. It is also statement on Bacolod's vibrant, dynamic and thriving art scene - a fact that we should deploy in our tourism campaign as much as we highlight our food, places and culture," he added.