The Spirit of Carnival Betrayed
Historians tell us that
this acceptance of all, the temporary suppression of the normal class
boundaries, was a feature of the Carnivals of Latin America from the earliest
colonial days (that is, from as early as the sixteenth century C.E.). However,
as the Carnivals of Latin America became more and more developed, they lost
their spirit of inclusiveness. In our nation, one finds a similar tradition of
exclusiveness, snobbishness, in the Carnival celebrations developed by the
French Creoles, who constituted the local elite.
Today, the Carnival in
Barranquilla is an activity of the middle and upper classes. Africans have become
marginalized. The Carnival bands have morphed into corporations. The mas
players are members of an exclusive club who begin their rehearsals for the
“parade” as early as October. It is inconceivable that a tourist would come
quite from Australia just in time for Carnival and would be allowed to jump in
the band to play mas in the Barranquilla Carnival.
In Rio de Janeiro the
situation is even worse. The mas players are generally professional dancers
like the performers in Las Vegas shows. The Carnival parade is a grand
extravaganza for tourists who pay big money to be spectators. There is
generally no question of a tourist playing mas in Rio. Of course, there are
always exceptions to every rule, and so there are cases of visitors being
permitted to play mas in Barranquilla and even in Rio. The important point is
that whereas in Trinidad and Tobago participation by tourists is encouraged, in
Barranquilla and Rio, it is not.
Our ancestors from the
Nile Valley knew that civilized existence, what we call civil society, would be
impossible without festivals. For this reason, the Pharaoh made it his sacred
duty to have the festivals celebrated regularly and properly. There are one
hundred and fifty million people of African ancestry in Latin America, and most
of them understand the importance of festivals. Even though Africans and their
descendants constitute the majority of the population in Latin America, they
are basically powerless.
TO BE CONTINUED
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