AMIDST talk about the preservation of this fading art form, the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport on Monday launched what is called the National Masquerade Jamboree on Main Street in downtown Georgetown.The event has also seen veteran flautist Mr. Rudolph ‘Putagee’ Vivierous being recognised as the doyen of the masquerade.

The promotion of this festival is a collaborative effort between the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport and the US-based Guyana Cultural Association (GCA), whose members were flown to Guyana by Fly Jamaica Airlines specifically for the occasion.

At the launch yesterday, Festival Coordinator Ms. Linda Griffith said the three-day activity is being featured in the festive season, allowing masqueraders opportunity to flounce, celebrate and compete in various areas; spread the story of the masquerade, and tell what the art form is all about.

Yesterday’s event marked the official opening of the jamboree, and masqueraders in brilliant apparel turned out in their numbers, some on stilts, along with the famous Mother Sally and ‘mad-bull’ dancers and other flouncers and players of the musical band.

‘Putagee’ Vivierous, who was hailed as one of the longest-serving and most talented masquerade flouncers, will be featured widely during the entire festival. As a result of his significant contribution to preserving the art form, he has been named a recipient of the GCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 in the USA.
Now an amputee, Vivierous, one of the oldest masqueraders alive, sat yesterday in his wheelchair and joyfully played the flute in his band, causing Griffith to remark that “though he has lost his leg, he has not lost his sting.”

Masquerade bands from Ann’s Grove, Victoria and Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara; and Linden, Upper Demerara River, among other communities, gathered to dance, with little Levi Barry — a mere three years old — flouncing skillfully to the great pleasure of the audience.

Dr. Rosalind October-Edun, an executive of the GCA, said though many youngsters are not familiar with the art form, “masquerade lives, and will live on.”

The GCA has collaborated meaningfully, in a project which began in 2012, to ensure the art form does not disappear from Guyana’s rich culture.

Dr. Edun hailed Vivierous as a “stalwart” in the field, and “a Guyanese icon when we talk masquerade.” She said a research done by Dr. Paloma Mohamed has revealed much about the art, and highlights the work of Vivierous in its preservation and development. Findings of that research will be presented and discussed at a forum over the next two days.

A “flounce-off” will be staged tonight at Plaisance, and a book for children, written by Juliet Emanuel on the topic of masquerade, will be launched on Wednesday at the National School of Dance.