The final night of mas camps
Junior and senior bands showed off their costumes on Thursday night at various camps around the city. Four bands were the last to be judged in this season prior to Saturday’s road march. For the most part, this year, the bands are fittingly celebrating the wonders of the jewel. News Five’s Duane Moody hit the streets to get a feel of what to expect this Saturday.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The fourth and final day for the 2017 carnival mas camp ahead of the road march took us to four bands, two juniors and two seniors. The vibrancy of the color blending and coordination was overwhelming as the judges inspected the designs for the various sections for each band. Our first stop was at junior band, Mahogany Masqueraders. Band Leader Nadia Avila skipped out of the competition last year but is back for a final year with her theme Destination Belize.
Nadia Avila, Band Leader, Mahogany Masqueraders
Nadia Avila
“Why I chose the theme is because we have a lot of tourist that come to Belize every day and they look forward to certain parts of the city; our calendar for the year has so many holidays so in my theme I also put in the events that have to do with our culture, our people, place, land sea and air…what we have to offer. My first section has to do with our culture, very diverse. The creole culture, depicting a little bit of Leela Vernon and the Garifuna culture; has to do with Andy Palacio and Paul Nabor. Our drums of freedom monument so I used Pepsi bottle. It was difficult due to finance but we all enjoy what we do. For that section again it has to do with the tenth of September, colors and the nineteenth of November. So it has to do with events. I brought in a bit of fantasy; peacocks…it’s colorful and beautiful and although they are not here or rare, I brought them in because I have a friend that passed away from cancer, so I decided to bring in something different—these colors signify hope/love towards our people that are suffering. The last part of my section is called events. One of the biggest events I could remember when I was young is ninth a March.”
Over on Faber’s Road Extension, this year’s King and Queen junior champions, Jump Street Posse is trying to win for a third consecutive year. Marina Welcome says that after thirty-four years, she is dead set on hanging up her hat, but not before going out with a bang with her designs. Carnival Mix Up is what she calls it and she is confident and ready for the road march.
Marina Welcome, Band Leader, Jump Street Posse
Marina Welcome
“Carnival mix up is my thing. It’s about Belize…we have the second largest barrier reef in the world so we have to show off our stuff a little bit so Jaws and Ocean Friends are all about the barrier reef. Then we have Sheera. She was one of my dancers years ago; she’s the sister for Yellow that play football. And since this is my final year Duane, my last year believe it or not, I dedicated this costume to her and named it after her. She died six years ago from cancer. And Sheera is all about the jungle. When yo go ina the jungle, yo see lion, yo see tiger, yo see all kinda thing so it is al about the jungle. And my third section is queen of bacchanal because carnival dah noh carnival without bacchanal.”
The two senior camps remaining on the list were Fantasy Explosion and Soca Moca. Fantasy’s on Young Street is a fairly new band. In its third year of competing, the band is taking a trip down memory lane with its theme “Indulging in Belize – Enjoying the Pleasures of Belize.”
Shadine Ottley, Band Leader, Fantasy Explosion
Shadine Ottley
“Our first section, the jungle…what lies beneath the jungle floor. Our Rain and Moon goddess known as Queen Ixchel with her trail of masonry, monuments of Maya and a lot of past or mystery that lies beneath the jungle floor. Our second section depicts in our wild. You have King Balon; that’s the wild cat. There are seven species of the wildcat. He is the ruler of the wild; he is undefeated, uncontended. He is followed by the scarlet macaw, the lizard, the iguanas. The third section depicts emerald waters. Many years you see different bands do the under the sea; we went more for the color. You ever traveling into Belize whether it is local or international and the pilot says ten minutes to landing, you look out that window and what do you see? The emerald waters—turquoise blue and emerald green. Our country is beautiful and this year, fantasy decided to display that.”
The final band for this season is the defending champion for the senior division of the carnival road march, Soca Moca. Audrey Bradley is no stranger to the carnival scene; first as a reveler before going into design. Looking for a three-peat, she is tapping into cultures and mien was it a spectacle as they hosted the judges and everyone inside the Rogers Stadium.
Audrey Bradley, Band Leader, Soca Moca
“Soca Moca present to Belize this year, “Belize – Culture to the Extreme.”
Duane Moody
“Talk to us about the different sections that you have because we di see wah lee African print, Belizean colors…”
Audrey Bradley
Audrey Bradley
“Well the culture that I am presenting is the African. Why the African? People woulda say that dah noh Belize, but everybody know that African is part of our culture and carnival originated from Africa. Then we have the creole section which is Queen of Brukdown, Miss Leela Vernon. And then the third section is the Chinese being the second largest set of people in Belize and then the Mayan and the Indians.”
Duane Moody
“The road march is two days away, you have all yo numbers and everything done ready?”
Audrey Bradley
“I have too much numbers. I have one hundred and sixty-two revelers and I noh know weh fi do with dehn, but God knows I love them. I have costume fi every one.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
Don’t forget to stay tuned to this station as we bring you Carnival Road March 2017 from the foot of the BelChina Bridge beginning at one PM.
