Email

Print

The carnival road march was held on Saturday in Belize City. Five junior and six senior bands marched from Caesar Ridge Road to the parking lot of the Marion Jones Stadium. The road march started at 1 pm but the celebration actually began 9 hours earlier at 4 am. And by celebration we mean the now traditional carnival jouvert. As is also traditional, only 7News was there to capture the early morning “open-street” debauchery - and Keith Swift has the story.

Keith Swift Reporting,
More than one hundred carnival revellers were up before the sun on Saturday – dancing, revelling, and masquerading through the streets with reckless abandon. For this carnival event – the only requirement was a willingness to dance through the streets in mud.

Woman #1,
“This is my first jouvert. This is really my first jouvert and you see they got me paint up. I don’t really like it but I di have fun.”

Woman #2,
“I feel good…I enjoy jouvert a lot because you enjoy yourself and then get prepared for carnival day.”

Patrick Campbell, Participant
“It is fun, it is fun. I dance every year except last year but it is fun. I like the mud.”

Keith Swift,
“Why you out here this morning?”

Woman #3,
“To have a damn good time. I can’t handle the sun so I have to tek it when the sun isn’t up so I am trying to enjoy myself from now.”

Woman #4,
“I am just out here to enjoy myself…I di enjoy myself. This mud nice and smooth and fresh pon we right now.”

And that was the spirit because most participants say they won’t actually be in the road march and so jouvert is the closest they’ll get to the carnival.

Woman #5,
“I di celebrate because I work for the whole holiday and I have to work during carnival so this is the only time I have to party and I am putting in the effort. From the time I heard about it I was interested in it and this is the first time I got a break…I am having lots of fun.”

Man #1,
“We just deh out yah for the enjoyment.”

Keith Swift,
“How do you feel right now?”

Man #2,
“Glad, happy, fun…first time I am in this…I brought my friend who didn’t want to come but somebody invited us and we thought it was fun. It is fun now.”

Darren Bovell, Participant
“I’ve been doing this for like the past three years and I enjoy it.”

Keith Swift,
“What do you like about it?”

Darren Bovell,
“Just the coming together of all the people as one. There is no violence, there is no nothing, just clean fun; mud, music, dancing, and happiness.”

Woman #1,
“This was the first time like I told you. To get paint up wicked like how I will paint up you right now.”

Marsha Smith, Jouvert Queen
“This one is splendicious and I hope the crowd keep it up. Belizeans know we love our 10th and 21st and especially carnival and jouvert.”

Keith Swift,
“You know that you are like the queen of jouvert right?”

Marsha Smith,
“Done say it; we created and we will finish it because it is to the end like Chucky. I think this is fun and this year to me I really love the crowd.”

The jouvert ended at the San Cas Plaza but this year that wasn’t the end. Sure you had children taking the traditional plunge into the Haulover Creek to wash off the mud. But some unexpected rain led an unexpected party – in the rain and in the middle of the street. The early morning revellers wouldn’t even make way for an ambulance to pass.

And six hours later the sun was up – and so were the bands on Ceasar Ridge Road preparing for the road march.

Eternity Band Member #1,
“I feel very excited…I am excited. Looks are deceiving.”

Eternity Band Member #2,
“We feel good that the day di come. We were waiting for it to come and now that it has come we feel excitement.”

Jam Jam Mas Band #1,
“Of course we are excited. I am just waiting for my music to come and then you will.”

And along with that music came the rain but that was no deterrent for the 5 junior bands or for Channel 7. The 6 senior bands followed.

[Video Highlights of road march.]

For the junior bands – the winner of the road march is Mahogany Masqueraders followed by the Pickstock Carnival Band in second place and then Sunshine Masqueraders in third. Mahogany masqueraders also won the award for best mas camp. It is also noteworthy that Mahogany won the junior queen and king competitions.

For the senior bands, Mother Nature’s Creations won first place. Eternity was second followed by Jam Jam Mas Band in third place. Mother Nature’s Creation also won the award for best mas camp. They won the senior king competition.