If there is one thing which is highly noted from Negros Island apart from its significant production of sugar, it is the unique culture that emanates from its people. That distinct Negrense culture flows out to all aspects of the arts. It flows out to the visual artists for which so many sons and daughters of Negros have been appreciated in the Philippines. It flows out to the performing artists whether it be in theatre, dance, or film. It flows out through its music. It flows out to its own literature. And ultimately, it flows out into where people literally internalize this culture, its cuisine.
The earliest form of visual art recorded on the island of Negros was manifested in a very unique way. The artwork was not inscribed on walls or on canvas as we know art today, but rather on the bodies of the inhabitants themselves. When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, they were mesmerized by the sight of men with paintings all over their body. This practice was predominant in the Visayas region, and the exact reason why the original inhabitants of Negros were referred to as the Pintados. Negros Island figured as part of the Islas de los Pintados or the Islands of the Painted People.
