I don’t believe there are many people who had less sleep than I had this weekend. Remember last week when I could barely find what to write about and I had free time to play around with Photoshop? That was then, this is now. This week there was so much to do I could barely keep track of all the events and I ended up arriving late to some and even missing one because of everything that was going on. I spent the rest of the week staying awake by consuming inhuman amounts of coffee and listening to Soca mixes.
My Friday night started with a quick trip over to Waikiki to take pictures at the Bollywood rock concert. It served as a great way to wake me up from working a 12-hour shift that ended at 6:00pm. If there was a Reluctance Meter, mine was set to 95. I sat at the edge of my bed thinking about my recent life choices and figured I’d probably be better off making more money than getting more sleep. The performances, the atmosphere and the sheer energy from the crowd at Waikiki helped to shake me out of that rut. As I drove to Cactus Diner in Sucker Garden, I prayed that Red Bull would read one of my articles and sponsor me this Carnival season. The sounds of Destra’s voice screamed at me to be “loose” and forced my eyes open. Once I arrived at Cactus Diner, which was the site of the Second Road to Carnival party, my spirits lightened even more. There’s something about being behind a lens and capturing people’s happiness without being forced to participate, which in turn makes me very happy; sometimes the sheer energy people emit can cause second-hand joy. Much of the jump-up was occupied by younger people and made me feel a bit old. As I ran back and forth from place to place, I was grateful for having lost weight beforehand. The after party was much more of an adult scene and gave way to a more mature crowd of bacchanalists.
Needless to say, I barely saw outside on Saturday. I used that time to rest up from the night before and the evening to follow. I awoke late that afternoon to get ready and head to the white tent in Port de Plaisance. There was a bit of nervousness, as I didn’t know what to expect. The closest thing I had ever been to a Calypso show was Soca concert, which after finding out what I know now, is definitely not the same thing. Would I like it? Would I be bored? Would I even understand what was being sung? What time would something like this finish? Luckily, some of the first people I met were a few board members of St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) who have been very helpful in my whole experience as a novice Carnival goer. They have been kind enough to take me under their wings and make sure I am being properly taken care of. I’ve even been called “Reluctant Reveller” by some who are closer to my project. Hopefully, it doesn’t stick and become my Calypso name. Being at the show that night was a surprise, because I didn’t expect such a great turnout. The seats were filled and the standing room at the back was being taken up by rows of even more people. Based on what I thought I knew about Calypso, the turnouts tend to be smaller than the other shows, especially the elimination rounds.
The contestants were very flamboyant and vocal about social and governmental situations. That’s the politically correct way of saying a lot of people spent the whole show being completely open about their dissatisfaction with government and social issues in general. There were a lot of hidden meanings flying over my head, as I’m not very politically aware. After having been at the show, however, I’m sure I’ll be paying much more attention to what’s happening in my community.
Because I am unaware of my surroundings, I am unable to get the gist of what’s being said. Fish da Mega Boss once explained to me that Calypso originated as a means of information transfer for slaves hidden as entertainment. It’s a shame to lose that very basic form of culture simply because I don’t understand the importance of the art form of Calypso. The Road March competition was much shorter and it was obvious who deserved to be the victor. With just three competitors, there was not much competition. The entire show would have been much more interesting to me if I knew the judging criteria.
One of my crazier experiences since I’ve been writing about Carnival has to be what happened after the Calypso show on Saturday night. Asa Banton is a Dominican artist whose genre is Bouyon, which I had no idea even existed. It sounds like a mixture between trap music and road march. If you think about it, the mixture of the two genres creating one does a very good job of describing the general population of St. Maarten youth. They are a solid mixture of Americanization mixed with the culture our elders have passed on. I have never seen Soggy Dollar bar much fuller than I have on Saturday night. Thankfully, I was on the stage throughout a majority of the night. The energy at this party was intense. At some point, the girls in the crowd got so excited a few of them grabbed at my feet and almost pulled me off the stage. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night away from the edge of the stage. Asa Banton was so lively. He jumped in the air and shook the stage with his large frame. It will be interesting to see what he does with more space and a larger stage during Carnival.
My Sunday was much more relaxed. I was able to take my 14-year-old niece with me so that she could get a proper idea of what pageants are all about. We sat in the back discussing the answers and everything the ladies said. I think the entire setup was very professional and it really allowed the audience to focus on what was being said rather than noticing the problems with the program.
It went very smoothly, because the entire program was pre-recorded and properly timed. My only comment would be that next year I’d like to see more from the girls. I think because it was the first time, they didn’t really know what expect from the debate. But really, I’ve been following these ladies and it’s extremely hard to do all that they have and be expected to be a great debater in such a short time.
The interview round should be quite the show, now that the contestants have had time to run through being on stage in formal settings, which will show them how they react when facing pressure.
The opening of the village is next week. My body is ready.
