DEW It sa Pista: Sugod-Fiesta Edition takes the creators beyond the festival grounds and into Bacolod homes for a firsthand taste of the city’s food, hospitality and fiesta culture
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — In Bacolod, some of the most memorable fiesta celebrations do not happen on a festival stage or along a parade route. They happen inside homes, where families open their doors and invite relatives, neighbors, friends—and sometimes even first-time visitors—to pull up a chair and join the festivities.
Mountain Dew puts the spotlight on this distinctly Filipino tradition in DEW It sa Pista: Sugod-Fiesta Edition, bringing food creator Ninong Ry together with Nisa Nuggets, River Joseph and Dustin Yu, collectively known as the Tropang DEWds, to experience Bacolod’s fiesta hospitality firsthand.
Set during the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival, the campaign takes the Tropang DEWds away from the usual festival route and into local homes, where they share home-cooked meals with Negrense families, hear the stories behind their handaan, and discover how quickly one family’s dining table can turn into a gathering place for an entire community.
At each stop, the creators sit down to spreads featuring grilled chicken inasal and other home-cooked fiesta favorites, with ice-cold Mountain Dew joining the food and conversations around the table.
For Ninong Ry, the experience captures what makes Filipino fiestas meaningful beyond the food itself.
“Iba talaga ang fiesta ng Pilipino. Diyan nagsasama-sama ang pamilya, tropa, at buong barangay sa isang handaan. Diyan nabubuo ang samahan! At siyempre, mas masarap ang kwentuhan at kainan kapag may ice-cold Mountain Dew na kasama,” said Ninong Ry.
First launched in 2018 and returning in 2023 after the pandemic, the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival has grown into one of the city’s celebrations of food and community. Beyond its cook-offs, performances and street festivities, however, the festival also reflects something deeply rooted in Filipino culture: the tradition of gathering people around a shared table.
It is this sense of community that Mountain Dew wanted to capture through DEW It sa Pista: Sugod-Fiesta Edition.
“The energy of the Inasal Festival, the warmth of every home that opened its doors to us, and the meals shared around every table are what inspired this campaign. We wanted to celebrate that uniquely Filipino tradition of welcoming guests with open arms and show how Mountain Dew naturally becomes part of those moments,” said Katrina Suarez, PH Carbonated Soft Drink Lead.
Through the campaign, Mountain Dew invites Filipinos to look beyond the festival stage and discover another side of Bacolod’s fiesta culture—the conversations, shared meals and spontaneous gatherings happening inside the city’s homes.
Because in a Filipino fiesta, a memorable handaan isn’t necessarily measured by how many people were invited, but by how many people ultimately found a seat at the table. Watch DEW It sa Pista: Sugod-Fiesta Edition on Mountain Dew Philippines’ official social media channels.