Bacolod City: The City of Smiles

Cheers! Welcome to Bacolod, the great City of Smiles!

These are the slogans that will greet us as we enter this famous City of Smiles, Bacolod City.

People from all walks of life going in different directions are all eager to greet everyone with a big wide smile as they roam around to this famous City of Smiles.

The festive mood that can be experienced every October 19th as this is the Charter Day of Bacolod City. We can see different island souvenirs all lined up at the sidewalks; the carnivals that are full of varied rides and games not only for the young but for everybody are on display. The whole downtown area is roaring with music which adds to the joyous moods of everybody.

As we go around the city, we can not help but to smile back at people who makes everybody at home by giving an inviting smile.

But what is the meaning of these smiles? What do these smiles signify?

These smiles symbolize the positive outlook of the people to face all the adversities and crises in life. These show how they uplift each others spirit especially during hard times.

To prove these, we can see them dancing in the street, having the merrymaking and smiling as if inviting us to join and follow their dance steps. They do this barefooted under the heat of the sun or even when it rains. We can witness the strength of the character of these people to withstand all the trials as they dance gracefully around the city together with the beat of the drums.

We can also observe the audience dancing with their own steps, nodding their heads, clapping their hands, stamping their feet all in tuned to the sounds of the drums.

And who can afford to be just mere spectators in this festivity? The moods of these gaiety people are so inviting and contaminating.

So with joyful spirit let us join them. Let us not be onlookers only. Instead let us experience this memorable event. Anyway by joining the merrymaking under the sun, dancing to the beat of the drums we show to the rest that we too have the strength and stamina to fight all the trials that may come our way. How wonderful it is to live with these thoughts.

Indeed, this event is worth remembering and we cannot help but to look forward for the next celebration. The uniqueness of celebrating it makes the event meaningful. How nice it is to see the smiles of everybody freely given to everyone even to strangers.

At the end of the day after joining the fun we can claim that we have shared our big, wide smile to everybody without discrimination. That we have smiled against all odds and we had proved to all that Bacolod City is indeed the City of Smiles.