Nursed out of zoom meetings, group chats, and leaps of faith, the NSC pushed ww.negrosseasonofculture.com to breach engagement benchmarks of key social media apps, just on its maiden year—2021. Much is attributed to the motivation of writers and video producers and editors who sought out never-before-told stories and never-before-explored angles.
This January’s line-up portends the same dogged desire to deliver wow. The curtain rises with the bar raised, for the iconic piaya is now a bonbon. The project on carnivorous flora, and the revelation that endemic pitcher plant species abound in Negros forests, confirm the intention of the line-up to amaze audiences.
Artistic expression permeates Negrense homes, and NSC has chosen stalwarts to honor. Leading the A-list is Eduardo “Toto” Sicangco, a world-renowned theater and costume designer. It is to him that NSC’s 2022 edition is dedicated. At least five young food masters are on the menu, each bringing a unique passion to the table. Four virtual guided tours, subject-specific and appealing to niche audiences, are on the pipeline. As of this writing, NSC field editors are on a mission, the search for quaint chapels is afoot to regale devotees when Easter rolls around.
“Rooted. Taking on the world.” So, the NSC slogan goes. While the attraction of things new cannot be denied, Negrense heritage remains
center in NSC’s radar. The colonial houses of Silay City, clearly the country’s most expansive heritage destination, will take the lead in 2022. And when was the last time anyone sat through Hiligaynon folk songs and dances? NSC will find ways to bring them back. A story on the itinerant “manuglibod”, the original representation of street food vendors, will tell why the trade survives against fast food and “kwek-kwek”.
The Negros Season of Culture will, in 2022, go where it hasn’t been to, even to sports, even to fashion, certainly to distant corners of Negrense hearts where there is a pining for home. And where the chances of wow are great.
