A fun and festive weekend at Kadalag-An Festival

It was my privilege to attend the Kadalag-An Festival on March 21 and 22 upon the invitation of Javi Benitez, the handsome and dynamic mayor of Victorias City in Negros Occidental.

- razzle-Daza

"Kadalag-an" means "tagumpay" (triumph) and the festival is an annual celebration of the dynamism, culture and unity of the people of Victorias, who are also called Victoriasanon.

The delicious weekend began upon my arrival in Bacolod City late afternoon last Friday. After checking in at Citadines hotel, I had an early dinner at Chicken House along Lacson St. together with my production staff. We ordered pork bbq, baticolon, atay, isaw and KBL (kadyos, baboy and langka), and of course, chicken inasal, which came with chicken oil drizzled on top of the garlic rice. Needless to say, we dipped the chicken in the "killer" sauce of toyo, calamansi, sili and sinamak. What a simple but sumptuous and filling meal!

After dinner, we traveled to the Victorias City Coliseum, which is a 40-minute drive from Bacolod City. There, we attended the Sidlak Kadalag-an Queen 2025, a beauty pageant with 12 lovely candidates vying for the crown.

Hosted by KC Montero and Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 Pauline Amelinckx, the show was fast-paced and flawless, thanks to the expertise of the organizing team headed by Joie Famini.

The crowd cheered when Sam Concepcion appeared onstage to perform two song numbers with the contestants. But it was when Piolo Pascual appeared and serenaded the contestants during the evening gown competition that brought the house down. As Piolo sang The Way You Look Tonight and Babe, the contestants couldn't conceal how thrilled they were. The pageant concluded with Natasha Franncin Myles Soriano being crowned as the new Kadalag-an Queen.

The next day, my daughter Gabbie and I went to the Negros Showroom for a bit of regional retail therapy. Gabbie bought a sundress with hand-painted flowers that's perfect for the summer, and a pretty ceramic wind chime for her room. My best buys were three handmade, uniquely scented soaps for my mom.