MANILA, PHILIPPINES — On January 16, 2023, Philippine premium rum brand Don Papa Rum was officially acquired by British multinational alcoholic beverage company Diageo. Since then, there has been immense interest in the rum brand including Don Papa’s different flavor profiles, especially the Masskara spiced rum which was the star of the Masskara Festival held in October 2022.
The rum brand celebrated the much-awaited masked fête, which is native to the island of Negros Occidental, with lively performances, flavorful drinks, vibrant exhibitions, and a colorful float which was a first for Don Papa. We spoke with Don Papa Rum’s Marketing Manager Angeline Manahan on how creativity and culture came together for their Masskara flavor and festivity.
adobo: Your Masskara flavor is inspired by the Philippines’ colorful Masskara Festival. What was the reason behind choosing this specific festival?
Angeline: Massakara Festival is an annual masked festival held on the island of Sugarlandia (Negros) — the spiritual home of Don Papa Rum. The festival is a celebration of the season of sugarcane which was once the lifeblood of Negros. This colorful festival roots itself from an island crisis. Local sugarcane prices fell, impacting livelihoods, and sent morale across Negros falling too. Determined to lift the spirits of the people, the town leaders decided to hold a celebration, a Festival of Smiles. Working together with the artistic community and local townspeople, the Masskara Festival was born.
How did you translate this vibrant festivity into your drink?
To bring this vibrant and fantasy-filled festival to life, Don Papa Masskara is infused with calamansi to add distinctive citrus notes, honey to sweeten the senses, and siling labuyo for a touch of heat and spice. What results is this wonderfully rich and complex spirit, an ode to the vibrant Festival of Smiles.
How many activities did you have during the event and what were the unique themes?
Masskara 2022 marked the comeback of the festival since the start of the pandemic. It was time for Don Papa Masskara to help rebuild interest in the festival as well as rebuild relationships with the communities within the island. For one, Don Papa Masskara supported the Elemental Majica exhibit, which was launched during the festival. It was the most in-depth and wide-ranging collaborative exhibition of over 60 artists, and it was held at Orange Gallery which happens to be a long-time partner of the brand as well.
Throughout the month-long festival, Don Papa Masskara also supported several events and venues but its biggest partnership was with Masskara Takeover. In the last week of the festival, the creative collective Logiclub held a two-day music event at the new Café Bobs’ roof deck, showcasing budding acts in the Philippine music scene such as Sky Dominique, vydd, OKIK, Some Guy, and Curtismith.
What was the main idea or inspiration behind the festival float for Don Papa Masskara?
That was the first time that Don Papa Masskara created a float for the festival so it made sense to showcase a straightforward design that encapsulates the spirit of the brand. The Don Papa Masskara face was the first thing you’d see at the front of the float, while the back was filled with plants enveloping the band of drummers bringing in the beats of the festival.
What did it take to produce all the creative props, costumes and festival interiors for your activations?
All the props, costumes, and design elements were a collaboration between Don Papa Masskara and the local Negrense community — who knows Masskara better than them? We worked with local suppliers, venues, and event partners to ensure that we helped amplify the spirit of the festival.
What was the result of your own Masskara Festival?
It was the first time the Don Papa Masskara expression participated in its namesake festival, and was put in the forefront of all our events and activations instead of our flagship Don Papa 07. More than a thousand guests attended all the sponsored events, and Masskara Takeover alone garnered more than 500 attendees. Tickets were fully sold out for both days! Most of all, Don Papa was able to reignite and strengthen its relationships within the island and bring back smiles after a turbulent lockdown period.
What can we expect from Don Papa in the new year for Negros and the Philippines, and even for Masskara 2023?
Don Papa Masskara launched in the Philippines in 2018, and has now spread to France, Italy, and The Netherlands where it is celebrated as a convivial and jubilant spirit. Now that the festival is back and with tourism being fully open in the Philippines, there is renewed interest in the festival and the island. So, this year, you can expect things to be bigger and better.
Check out Don Papa Rum’s spicy Masskara flavor and other variants on the Don Papa Rum website.
