Fancy sailor and fancy indian accompanying one of the two main steelbands at DC Caribbean Carnival circa 2007
A Dame Lorraine, flanked by Panamanian flags, trucks and revellers, assembling at the start of the parade in DC Carnival 1998. The parade began at Emerson Park on Georgia and Missouri Avenues NW until it was pushed several blocks south in the early 2000s
Someone re-posted Monday’s post on DC Carnival and added a note reminding us that the carnivals are a means of organizing the Caribbean community outside of the Caribbean and of remembering and passing on our traditions to the future. The poster noted that Claudia Jones started the now large and notable Notting Hill Carnival as a means engaging and instilling pride in the African Caribbean community that was now expanding in Britain.
Shortknee at DC Carnival 1998. Shot with a Nikon Nice Touch 2 35mm film camera.
One of the reasons I began this blog was to promote information about the history of mas. Many of my encounters with young and not so young proved that people just did not know many of the amazing things about mas, it’s connection to our African roots and the integration of East Indian, European and American culture into the present day festival. If we are no longer present on the streets of DC, I wonder who will remember and how.