I was born and raised in Iloilo and when I transferred here in Bacolod in 2004, I thought it was perfect. There’s only one thing that was missing. There was no SM City in Bacolod back then.
SM Delgado in Iloilo was the first SM outside of Manila when it opened in 1976. I am as old as SM Delgado and practically grew up with it. I had so many happy memories with SM Delgado.
When SM City Bacolod opened its doors to the public in March 1, 2007, I was one of those who trooped to the mall. I thought, this is history. Something I would tell my grandchildren. If it was possible, I would have written, “I was here” on the walls of SM City Bacolod.
“Ari sa amon ang tanan nga para sa inyo”, goes SM City Bacolod’s slogan. SM City not only has almost everything we need in our daily life. SM City also celebrates with us in almost every event that’s important to us. Every Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Grandparents Day… you name it, SM City has been there to celebrate and share the occasion with us.
How many birthdays have you celebrated at a restaurant or fast food at SM City? I’m sure you’ve had at least once. With all the amenities that can be found at SM City, it’s easy to celebrate there, whoever you’re celebrating the occasion with.
You want to treat your friends to a movie after dinner? You want to buy your father a new tie for Fathers Day? You want to treat your mom to the salon on her birthday? First and foremost on your mind would be SM City. Where else is it convenient to have all these things?
Festivals are also more festive with SM City. I think it’s safe to assume that every city in the Philippines has a festival. Filipinos love to celebrate and the Negerenses are no exception. In Bacolod City, MassKara Festival is the most famous festival. Held every October, MassKara features Street Dancing Competition where dancers perform to Latin-inspired music wearing colorful smiling masks and costumes which showcase the artistic talent of the Negrenses.
In celebration of the MassKara Festival, SM City Bacolod also had MassKara dancers perform at the mall to entertain the shoppers and tourists. To those who were not familiar with the MassKara, especially the tourists, it was a sneak preview of what to expect in the actual street dancing competition.
In addition, to showcase the artistic ability of the Negrenses, a Giant Mask Making Contest was conducted by SM City. The theme was giant masks of the world in line with the theme of 2008 MassKara which was Bacolod, City of the World. There are so many talented artists in Negros and the contest was an excellent venue for them to showcase their talents.
Of course, Christmas is the most awaited celebration of the whole year and SM City Bacolod did not miss to celebrate with us. In a scale that you can only call grand, SM City lined up a lot of activities last December. There were two activities which I will look forward to this year. These are the Christmas Village display and the Pyromagic.
The Christmas Village features the collection of Negrense artist Bamboo Tonogbanua. The collection were miniature figures that has something to do with Christmas. Most were snow-covered Victorian and New England villages which even for an adult like me, are fascinating. It brings happy memories of Christmas and childhood.
The Pyromagic is a fireworks display at the SM City Bacolod grounds. Started in December 2007, Pyromagic draws a very large crowd eager to watch the sky light up in a multitude of colors. Children enjoyed the magical show of colors synchronized with the Disney musical backgrounds. Adults were similarly awed and were children once again.
Everybody who watched had a smile on their faces when they went home and forever treasured the memories. That includes my friends and I who watched the fireworks from a room on the third floor of Sylvia Manor Hotel. We had a very good vantage point so we watched as the sky broke out in colors and anybody who might have heard our shrieks would think we were a bunch of kids.
How many celebrations have you had at SM City? How many happy memories have you treasured? I had so many memories with SM Delgado as a child and teenager. Bacolod is now home for me and I now treasure a lot of happy memories with SM City Bacolod. Hopefully, there will be more happy memories for the years to come.