By Svetlana Marshall

GUYANA’S 50th Independence Anniversary celebration was nothing short of glitz and glamour as thousands thronged Brickdam and D’Urban Park, filling every nook and cranny to get a glimpse of the breathtaking Costume and Float Parade. Gyrating to the sounds of Guyanese music, the thousands of revellers did not disappoint as they depicted Guyana’s rich history in their kaleidoscopic costumes and floats in keeping with the Golden Jubilee’s theme, “Reflect, Celebrate, Inspire.”
For many, it was a day of much celebration and patriotism as the colours of the Golden Arrowhead reigned supreme – featuring not only on the floats and costumes but among the spectators.
The leaders who fought for Guyana to become an independent nation, the symbols of nationhood, the six races, the country’s rich natural resources, the six sisters: rice, sugar, gold, diamond, bauxite and timber; and a Guyana measuring 83,000 sq miles were among the prominent features displayed through the intricate costumes and floats on Thursday.
Though it was a six-man float, National Medal of Service Awardee (2011) Don Gomes had a very simple but interesting float. The float entailed human-sized composite photographs of Guyana’s first Executive President Linden Forbes Burnham, the late Dr Cheddi Jagan, who along with Burnham led the struggle for independence, and Queen Elizabeth II, along with a map of Guyana.
“These are the three pioneers,” Gomes said, while explaining that “Queen Elizabeth 11 granted Independence to British Guiana in care of Burnham over Jagan. And so we cannot forget what the Queen did for us, we cannot forget what Burnham did for us, and we cannot forget what Jagan did for us.”
He said as Guyana marks its 50th Independence Anniversary, Guyanese must unite to secure the country’s territorial integrity.
The Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Regional Democratic Council’s message was loud and clear: “Not A Blade A Grass.”
The 250-strong contingent sang lustily as it swayed from left to right to the sounds of Dave Martin’s “Not one Blue Saki, not one rice grain, not one cuirass, not a blade of grass.” The medium-sized band also highlighted Guyana’s rich natural resources.
Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence and Minister with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, led the ministry’s contingent as they took Guyanese back to July 4, 1973 when the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed.
The medium category band of 100 revellers participated under the theme “CARICOM Unity.”
Bordering the ministers was a male reveller adorned in the official 50th Jubilee logo and Miss Guyana World Lisa Punch, who wore a magnificent costume depicting the foundation of CARICOM Unity, which was laid when Treaty of Chaguaramas was inked.
“The costume is set in temporal period of the decade following Guyana’s independence. It highlights one of our beautiful land’s major post-Independence achievements: the establishment of the Caribbean Community, signed into being by the then Prime Ministers of Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago on July 4, 1973,” Minister Lawrence explained.
She said it is time that Guyanese follow in the footsteps of CARICOM and unite for a better tomorrow.
“It is time the six races of Guyana unite. Only with unity we can have the strength to be able to achieve all the goals that we have set ourselves,” the Social Protection Minister said.
In keeping the queen’s costume proudly showcased, the images of the regional leaders: Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham – Guyana’s first Executive President; Michael Manley – the Prime Minister of Jamaica; Errol Barrow – the Prime Minister of Barbados; and Eric Williams – Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Public Health Ministry’s Band also took spectators back in time to 1966, when Queen Elizabeth visited Guyana. The float designed by renowned designer Derek Moore recreated the grand procession that blew Guyanese away in 1966.
The float that left many in a state of awe was led by the “outriders,” followed by the Queen in the person of Reza Roberts, and others representing Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan and the many dignitaries who had attended the prestigious event.
Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, blended in perfectly with the other revellers as they pranced to the sound of soca music.
“Today we are showcasing our diverse and rich natural resources, our gold, bauxite, diamond and ever-green forest,” Minister Broomes said as she explained the ministry’s band which not only depicted the natural riches of the country, but its vast wildlife.
Looking ahead, she said she sees a bright future for Guyana. “Guyana is in safe hands because the Government of the day sees the industries as our patrimony; and once we see it that way, we will have it preserved for generations and generations to come,” she posited.
The Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Communities, Guyana National Service, Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Digicel Guyana, the Region Four Democratic Council, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the E R Burrowes School of Art were among the other organisations that participated in the historic event.