S.P. Carnival: a beach party not easily forgotten
Tonight, San Pedranos young and old are pulling out their paint cans, and counting their eggs as they get ready for the annual street party “Carnival”. If you don’t know what the paint and eggs are for, here’s a look at what happened to Audrey Matura in 1996 when she joined the islanders on the beach for a bashment we’re sure she hasn’t forgotten.
Audrey Matura, Reporting
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye is the tourist capital of Belize, a place where pale skin tourists come to work on a tan, snorkel the reef or catch a few fish. But on today the third day Carnaval in San Pedro, it’s a day of merrymaking. And while some people prefer to be painted by surprise or by force, I’ve opted to do it willingly. Right guys!
(Guys shout and plaster Audrey with paint)
The painting of your peers is one of main features of this pre-Lenten carnival. Bands of children, teenagers and adults roam the streets of San Pedro painting each other with all colours of water paint, as well as an occasional egg. But at times, the fun gets a little bit rough, so that even the dogs become unwilling participants.
Aaron Williams
“Sometimes they get oil paint and it gets into your eye. And when it gets into your eye, the boy or girl gets mad and they want to fight.”
Chico Flores
“A lot of this is your gonna paint with who you are playing along with you know.”
But for seventy-eight year old Alfredo Alamilla, this is not the true meaning of carnival.
Alfredo Alamilla
“In my time, I used to come in all the comparsas. The first day we used to take Cubanos or Cubans, the second day we take Chinese, the third day we take los Indios and the other day we used to dance La Culebra, La Warantucha. The second day was very pretty, because they used to take la estudiantina, they have different kinds of dances.”
To prepare for the event, the dancers would spend days practising to learn the various sets. While the number of dance groups called comparsas decreased this year, there were two that entertained the crowd. “El Premio Major” was the favourite as this group of questionable sexuality mocked the characters of a popular Latin soap opera. (Group dancing in the streets)
Jason Nunez
“Nobody want to come out, and we decide to come out and to make our festival the best around in San Pedro.”
Audrey Matura
“I noticed it’s mostly men and you all are dressed as woman, so what’s the idea behind that?”
(Laughs and walks away.)
Bobby Nunez
“We have about twenty years we’ve been together and I love those people from San Pedro that we come out painting like this.”
Audrey Matura
“But why is it that you all dress as women?”
Bobby Nunez
“Because that’s tradition. I love it, and I love to paint.”
Carnival in San Pedro owes its origin to the legend of Don Juan Carnaval, who was said to be filthy rich. He once threw a grand three day party for everyone in the town and the residents enjoyed it so much, they even after his death they continued the annual party. In the old days, an effigy of Don Juan would be burned on the third day. But alas with this featured removed, Mr. Alamilla laments that today’s carnival is hardly worth the name.
Alfredo Alamilla
“He already died, that’s the enthusiasm they used to have before, they don’t have it. And they don’t have the dancers and the singers, and somebody playing in the carnival. We used to have guitar players, we used to have accordion, we used to have trumpets, we used to have somebody to play. And that, the enjoyment of anything in the dance, a comedy. If you don’t have music, you have nothing, this is what happening, now they play cassette.”
Shelly Huber
“The children need to be taught a little bit more about Carnaval. And until they are taught about it, what is the tradition of the island, nothing will happen. The children are brought up in a different way and now because of the growth of the island, we have a lot of people from outside that really just think that Carnaval is just painting.”
And to me it did seem that Carnaval was indeed an insidious plot by the paint merchants. Wherever I turned, it was into an ambush of colours. But don’t get me wrong, for some, this was pure fun.
While some tourists were content to look on, others were only too ready to join in the fun.
Mike Hess
“We’re having a great time. All the people are very nice and everything is perfect.”
Audrey Matura
“What did you like most about it?”
Mike Hess
“This festival has really topped things off. I was scared to be painted at first, but now that you’re doing it, it’s fantastic. I don’t know why they’re scared, they should do it because once you do it, you feel like part of culture, part of the party, part of the carnival. My wife, look at them they’re having a good time.”
Audrey Matura
“What did you like about it?”
Marie Hess
“I like the camaraderie, everybody’s friendly and we don’t know anybody, but everybody’s our friend now, so it’s kind of fun. This is our first time here and we’re gonna come back.”
And by the time they do come back, maybe carnival will have returned to its more traditional origins. For now, all the merriment must go on. but come midnight everything will come to a standstill as they start the observation of the Lenten season, which begins with Ash Wednesday. Reporting from San Pedro, I am Audrey Matura for…
Crowd Shouts
“News 5!”
If you developed an itching to donate clothes to the paint and egg gods during that story, you’ve still got time to join in the fun. Carnival starts tomorrow morning and finishes at midnight on Sunday with an all out jam session.
