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Negros Occidental is strategically located on the western part of Negros Island, the fourth largest island in the Philippines nestled between Panay and Cebu. Bounded by the Visayan Sea on the north, Negros Oriental on the east, Panay Gulf on the west and Tanon Strait on the south. The natives of the province are called Negrenses. About 85% of the Negrenses speak "Ilonggo" while the rest speak "Cebuano". Residents of its’ capital, Bacolod, are known as "Bacoleños"
The province is widely known for its unique cuisine. Inasal, one of its known dishes, is a barbecued style chicken marinated in coconut vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, garlic and other spices.
Their delicacies are also popular for pasalubong like Piaya (a flatbread made from flour, eggs, lard and sesame seeds filled with "muscovado paste" or rustic brown sugar), Pastel de manga (a wafer with mango filling), Panyo-panyo (a pastry folded like a handkerchief), Guapple Pie (made from guava-apple hybrid) and Barquillos (rolls of crunchy sweet wafer).
Agriculture is the main source of industry with sugar cane as the primary crop, producing more than half of the country’s sugar. Other harvests include rice, corn, coconuts, abaca, bananas, mangoes and pineapples. The fishing grounds are teeming with blue crabs, blue marlins, squids, groupers and mussels, while smaller fishponds provide harvest of prawns, milkfish and tilapia. The province is also rich in mineral deposits like gypsum, iron, ore, coal, sulphur, silica and phosphate rock.
The sugar capital of the country is rich in natural and man-made attractions. There’s Enchanted Isle, reputed for its white sand beaches and brimming vegetation. Isla Puti is very idle for all water sports activities. Mt. Kanloan, highest mountain range in the Visayan region, has a National Park with a variety of beautiful orchids and a boundless carpet of ferns and ligneous forest.
Historical sites also abound the area like Palacio Episcopal, which served as a home for Spanish military and officials. Remnants of the past include several churches built during the Spanish era such as the San Sebastian Cathedral, Chapel of Santa Clara and Chapel of Cartwheels. Silay City, one of the top 25 destinations in the country, brings you back in time as you pass by stately mansions where sugar barons used to live.
Bacolod City is noted for its annual celebration of the Masskara Festival (festival of smiling faces). Held during the month of October, the Bacoleños dramatize the Negrense virtue and indomitable soul wearing colorful costumes and smiling masks. This festivity has earned Bacolod the title "City of Smiles".
Negros Occidental is accessible by plane from Manila and Cebu seven times daily and by sea from Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Palawan and General Santos.
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