Silay to host 5th International Rondalla Festival

THE 5th International Rondalla Festival will be hosted by Silay City at Natalio G. Velez Sports and Cultural Center on November 3 to 11.

Press conference to be attended by local and NABACOLOD tional media will be held at Hofilena ancestral house at Calle 5 de Noviembre on November 4 at 4 p.m.

Speakers during the conference are Silay City Mayor Mark Golez of Silay; chairman Virgilio Almario, national artist and chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; and Dr. Ramon Santos, national artist, and festival director.

Media men will witness the performances of Kabataang Silay Ensemble (Philippines), Eishan Ensemble (Iran) and Quator Eclisses (France).

The press conference will be followed by the opening ceremony and concert at Natalio G. Velez Sports and Cultural Center to welcome local and international guests.

The International Rondalla/plucked String Music Festival 2018 is a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Silay City Government in cooperation with Department of Education-silay with the support of the office of Senator Loren Legarda.

The festival partners are the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental. Department of Education-silay City Division, Asian Composers League Philippines, University of the Philippines College of Music and the National Music Competition.

Meanwhile, media from Manila are coming to Silay to cover the 5th International Rondalla Festival and to help promote tourist attractions in Negros Occidental.

Karen Capino, festival media coordinator, said that media coming to

Negros are representatives of CNN, Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin, Tattler, Business World, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Ver Pacete, consultant on Sociology, has been designated as tour guideresource person to cover Balay Negrense Museum, Hofilena Mansion, Jalandoni Museum, Fresh Start Organic Farm, Duyan at Lantawan, shoreline restaurants in Balaring, and Punong Gary’s Place.

To be featured is the three-day “Kaon Ta Festival” at the Victor Gaston Mansion ground that will showcase the best food and delicacies of Silay.

Other attractions include San Diego Pro-cathedral, Saint Joseph the Worker Church at Victorias Milling Company that gives prominence to Jesus Christ with a craggy face, and the Chapel of Cartwheel in Sta. Rosalia in Manapla.

The “Negros Sugar Story Tour” will be held at Hda. Adela in Silay wherein media men will meet the workers and know their culture through chants, music, dance, and food./pr