BACOLOD CITY -- Ten finalists are vying for the top prize in the Negros Pop Songwriting Competition during the 25th Panaad sa Negros Festival on April 14 to 22.
The contest, set on April 15, 6 p.m. at the Panaad Stadium, include participants from various cities and towns in Negros Occidental who will vie for the most outstanding Negrense pop song award.
The finalists represent the cities of Bacolod, Cadiz, Silay, La Carlota and Kabankalan, and the municipalities of Calatrava, Toboso, and Pontevedra.
Negros Pop Songwriting Competition coordinator Evijane Viñas on Friday said the competition seeks to inspire songwriters to develop and promote the Negrense music and discover local pop songwriters.
Song entries must be an original composition, may be written in Hiligaynon or Cebuano lyrics, and open in style, mood and beat, except rap.
The top three winners will receive cash and trophies. For the first place, the cash prize is PHP20,000; second, PHP10,000; and third, PHP5,000.
Non-winners will get PHP2,000 each while the Best Interpreter will receive PHP7,000.
Meanwhile, this year’s Panaad sa Negros Festival will also feature the “Paindis-indis sa Binalaybay” on April 17 also participated by various local government units.
Paindis-indis is a Hiligaynon word for contest or competition.
Binalaybay is defined as a composition in verse, characterized by a highly developed artistic form, with the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.
The contest piece must be in Hiligaynon or Cebuano, depending on the dialect of the town or city, and words must be structured in the “Ilonggo Binalaybay Form” where each stanza shall contain four lines where two or all lines must end in rhyme.
The content must be original and relevant to the theme “Panaad@25: The Promise Fulfilled”.
The first prize winner will receive PHP10,000; second, PHP7,000; and third, PHP5,000 along with trophies. (PNA)
