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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. “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.
We then went to Bong Bong’s store for more pasalubong shopping. We ended up hauling four boxes of piyaya, barquillos and biscocho for family and friends back home.
Singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo.
For lunch, we went to Bar 21, a restaurant famous for its batchoy and other Filipino dishes. Gabbie and I shared an order of grilled blue marlin and a big, delicious bowl of piping-hot batchoy. We made sure we had room for dessert at the famous pastry shop, Calea. Because we still had room in our tummies, we had a slice of the heavenly salted caramel pecan pie, which tasted even better paired with a cup of Café Americano. Because I could feel my waistline expanding, I went back to the hotel and took a nap before heading back to Victorias City for the Kadalag-an Music Festival.
The coliseum was already jam-packed when we got there, with a crowd estimate of 12,500 attendees (Mayor Javi said it was the first time he saw the coliseum so full)! Apparently, people had decided to arrive early in the afternoon to ensure they had seats for the night’s performances.
Wacky Kiray and the very alluring Alexa Miro were the music festival’s hosts. After greeting the enthusiastic and excited audience, they introduced Nico Antonio, who performed Sumayaw Sumunod, Sway and Binibini.
The next number came courtesy of Wacky Kiray, who sang an E-Heads medley that brought the house down. Not only did the audience sing along with Wacky, they even turned the lights of their cellphones on while Wacky sang Ang Huling El Bimbo. It was a goosebump-inducing sight, one which show director Bjoy Balagtas beautifully captured on the giant LED screens.
Up next was crooner Michael Pangilinan, who never fails to wow a crowd and make the girls (and gays) swoon with his handsome looks and soothing voice. Michael captivated the audience for over an hour with hits like Alipin, All or Nothing, All My Life, Your Love, Kung Sakali, Nadarang, Simpleng Tao and many more.
But the highlight of his performance was when he introduced rapper Bishbu Paneru and they then asked someone from the audience to join them onstage. Chosen from the crowd was EMS Mapayo, a 15-year-old boy who then surprised everyone when he rapped the lyrics to Bagsakan, the famous song made popular by Gloc 9, Francis M and Chito Miranda.
The act was immediately followed by Zack Tabudlo, one of Gen Z’s most influential voices. It was actually because of Zack that my daughter Gabbie tagged along on this trip. She wanted to meet Zack, who happens to be the first Filipino to reach one billion streams on Spotify and to have multiple songs reach No. 1! Zack also recently signed up with Mercury Records USA... what an achievement for a guy who is only 23 years old and so charming!
The handsome and dynamic Mayor of Victorias City Javi Benitez.
Among the songs he delighted the crowd with were personal hits like Victim, Gusto, Diving, Pano and Give Me Your Forever.
Then came IMAGO, the kilig band that brought the house down with hits like Trio, Spolarium, Bakit Ba Ganyan, Akap, Sundo and the iconic Taralets!
As soon as IMAGO exited, the crowd knew it was time for the much-awaited “Pinoy Big Brother” (PBB) love team of JM Ibarra and Fyang Smith to make its appearance. The popularity of JM-Fyang is phenomenal. Fans were waiting at the airport and even hanging out at their hotel just to glimpse them as they arrived.
I managed to have a quick chat with Fyang before the show began, and the first thing that ran through my mind was this: How could such a dainty and petite girl command such huge crowds?
But she’s a certified social media influencer with the moniker “Amakabogera Influencer of Mandaluyong,” with over two million concurrent viewers.
JM, on the other hand, is 24 years old and considers Fyang as his bestie, though there are rumors that they’re already a couple.
Whether or not they’re together, what’s undeniable is that they exude a titanic charisma that makes fans swoon with kilig when they appear as a pair.
As they came onstage, the crowd went wild, especially when they sang Maybe this Time and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. It appeared like everyone in the coliseum was jumping, shouting, screaming, tugging and pushing just to get a glimpse of them.
So went my vibrant “Kadalag-An” weekend. As festivals go, this was certainly one of the most fun and festive weekends I’ve experienced in a while. Thank you for an unforgettable weekend of lovely pageantry, delicious meals, and feel-it-all entertainment, Mayor Javi Benitez of Victorias City! Salamat gid!
Congratulations to Jada Biaxyl Celeste for winning the Lin-ay Sang Negros 2025 last Friday, March 28 and to Victorias City for the second crown in a row.
