BACOLOD CITY — The City of Silay in Negros Occidental will host the International Rondalla/Plucked String Music Festival this coming November 3 to 11.
The nine-day event, the festival’s fifth edition, is initiated by the National Music Committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
A memorandum of agreement between Silay City represented by Mayor Mark Golez and the NCAA through National Artist for Music Ramon Santos formalized the hosting partnership.
The festival, dubbed “Cuerdas sang Paghiliusa (Strings of Unity),” will gather about 300 rondalla and string musicians from the Philippines, China, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam.
This will put Silay City and Negros Occidental on the map, Golez said, adding that this is the first time the city will host an international event.
The festival, which began in 2004, was created as part of the Many Musics Action Program launched by the International Music Council in Uruguay in 2003 to promote musical diversity.
The earlier editions were hosted by Naga City in 2004, Dumaguete City in 2007, Tagum City in 2011, and Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila in 2014.
In 2015, the festival was held in Taiwan.
Santos, the festival director, said the NCCA chose Silay as this year’s host because of its uniqueness and identity.
It is the best place for such an event given its musical heritage, he added.
The host-city’s own Kabataang Silay Rondalla Ensemble has also been participating in various local and international festivals.
Santos said the 5th International Rondalla Festival would be a huge undertaking with more than 20 groups of artists expected to participate.
Scheduled activities include outreach performances in schools, orphanages, hospitals and prisons, and in Silay’s heritage and ancestral houses.
Also set are lectures, conferences, workshops and exhibitions highlighting the musical culture and Rondalla tradition of Silay. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
