Carnival bands prepare for road march
Saturday afternoon the streets of Belize City will come alive with the sights and sounds of carnival. As part of preparation for the big day last night the various bands held their traditional mas camps. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods made the rounds.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Saturday’s carnival road march will not be the biggest in the city’s history, but the two senior and seven junior bands have been working hard to put off a good show. Bandleader Leroy Green says he is disappointed that more senior bands have not entered the festivities.
Leroy Green, Senior Band Leader, Cultural Heritage
“Very, because when you have more senior bands the competition between the senior bands is stiffer. This year the competition was rather low-key because you’re either first or you are second.”
Cultural Heritage, which won the senior king and queen competitions, will not be a hundred plus strong like previous years. Instead, the band is hoping that by carnival day there will be at least sixty enthusiastic revellers in the group.
Leroy Green
“I must say the morale fluctuated. At times it was kind of low, especially when we faced difficulty in getting sponsorship. But as we near carnival day it picked up.”
Although the energy may be high, don’t expect to see the elaborate costumes that had become synonymous with the carnival band. Green explains it cost senior bands around fifty thousand dollars to put together a spectacular presentation. This year they had less than twenty-five percent of that amount to get the job done.
Leroy Green
“When you look at a big costume, I would estimate my big costume to cost three thousand dollars each. So all the glitz and the lights and so on that we suppose to be on them we just couldn’t afford it.”
Southside Masqueraders may not be as big as the competition, but the thirty-member senior band promises to be just as powerful.
Marsha Smith, Senior Band Leader, Southside Masqueraders
“We expect the best and we are the best, and we won’t give up. It’s competition, no need to fight, no need to fuss, but we are coming.”
Although it may have been a little quieter than usual at the two senior camps we visited, the same could not be said for the junior camps. Green, who is also president of the festivity association, Carnival Pulaali, admits there is far more excitement among the young groups.
Leroy Green
“The spirit among the junior bands is hype, which can be expected, because they are more in number, so the competition is stiffer. Also the junior bands, even though they had problems getting sponsorship, well most of them actually, their budget is not as big. So the money they got from sponsors covered a far larger proportion of their budget than those who are the senior bands.”
Nadia Avila, Bandleader, Mahogany Masqueraders
“I think the competition among the junior bands will be more competitive, due to the fact that we have seven junior bands and only two senior bands. We needed to invest more in order for us to get first, second or third. There are only three categories of prizes for junior bands.”
Jacqueline Woods
“The costumes are certainly colourful, what is your group portraying?”
Nadia Avila
“Underwater seas. We have the little angel fishes, we have coral and we have pearls.”
Equally impressive are the huge costumes Jump Street Posse has put together. Some, who have had the opportunity to see the work, say the presentation is outstanding. Bandleader Marina Welcome is confident that her revellers will be among the top three winners.
Jacqueline Woods
“Every year when I do this story I am always surprised with what you manage to bring out. This year in particular, because I understand that it was only in June everybody started preparing for the carnival. Tell us about the work that went into it.”
Marina Welcome, Bandleader, Jump Street Posse
“Well originally, I started from March, because I always keep fundraising from March. Then I had to decide on a theme. Last year we did something similar to what I am doing. This year I decided on Belizean story, our story and their story. Belizean story consists of Tata Duende, the Cadijo Man, the chicken foot lady and different excitement for carnival day. Our story, I give them the beautiful Belizean reef, the barrier reef and the Mayas, which is our main topic on Belize. And for their story, I decided on the Pharaohs, because that’s way back in B.C. So that’s when I came up with history.”
Renny Riverol, Assistant Designer, Legacy
“Well we are going to have fun, yes, but we’re trying to educate people as well, because what we are doing, we’re depicting three of Belize’s most deadly disease; that’s AIDS, cancer and diabetes.”
Of course you are invited to line the route of the parade to see the carnival. But if you want stay home or relax somewhere else, you can still see the festivity unfold before your eyes. As usual, Channel 5 will be bringing to you all the live coverage of the carnival. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
Other junior bands taking part in the carnival are Black Pearl and Southside Rhythm Riders.
