Story by Naomi Marshall and Vishani Ragobeer

THOUSANDS of revellers took the streets of Georgetown by storm as they joined in celebrating Mashramani 2019. Persons dressed in colourful costumes, dazzled in glitters and moving to the sound of soca, comprised the scene on Saturday.

It started on Camp Street and proceeded down Carifesta Avenue. It then went along Vlissingen Road from the Kitty Roundabout to the ending point at the D’Urban Park.

Participating in the parade was the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, which had a band of 400-strong revellers dressed in all the colours of Guyana’s flag. “An element of surprise,” was one of the three floats showcased by the ministry and depicted the national flower of Guyana, the waterlily and Guyana’s national animal, the mighty jaguar. According to Permanent Secretary Melissa Tucker, the float was designed by Nelsion Nurse under the theme, “Creating Guyana’s beauty in unity and cultural diversity.”

Up next was the Guyana Police Force which depicted the different police divisions in Guyana under the theme, “Improving police community relations for a better nation.” According to Corporal Semple, the floats were built by the police themselves and the band comprised 300 revellers coming from the Felix Austin Police College dressed in red, blue and white.

Dancing to the sound of steelpans was the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Region Three Regional Democratic Council that “palanced” under the theme, “Continue to shine with a green economy in mind, salute 49.” The band of 250 participants carried a float which showed Guyana’s map being guarded by macaws and jaguars.

According to designer of the float, Antonio Paul, the float shows Guyana “growing a green economy to revitalise the green Region Three and we are going gold because of rediscovering Eldorado.”

Following the Essequibo islands was the Chinese Association who marched under the theme, “Celebrating our cultural diversity in the year of the pig.” The band which had over 200 revellers wore costumes of lions and dragons and also displayed the lion and dragon dance. According to organiser of the Chinese Association Band, Jason Wung, the costumes and dance displayed are of Chinese traditions done during the celebration of national holidays. “The colourfulness of it represents the happiness of the people,” Wung noted.

President of the Chinese Association, Ken Yang, stated that it is a norm for the Chinese Association to be a part of the Mashramani celebration; however, this year they came bigger, better and with more costumes to support the festival.

Dressed in costumes made of colourful feathers was the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, which mashed under the theme, “Togetherness will keep victory in line.” The band which competed in the category of medium band, consisted of 100 revellers dancing to “give me full access on de road.” The band showcased a float designed by Trevor Alfred, and which depicted the Cacique headdress – representing the leadership of the indigenous communities.

Having a small band of 50 revellers was the Ministry of Education, which gave every one on Saturday the vision of where the country is going with Education, into the phase of smart classrooms.

Senior Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, Brushell Blackman noted that the ministry recognises that it is time “for us to move away from chalk and talk only because we are living in the 21st century; and so we have to continue to evolve. We could no longer continue to use the old method.”

Blackman also indicated that the Ministry of Education is embarking on curriculum reform, which has not been done in almost three decades.
The Guyana Chronicle also met up with Guyana’s reigning Masquerade Champions, the Victorious Renegades, who were flouncing and bouncing in the streets to the sound of drums. With them were the “lang lady,” “bum bum sally” and “the mad bull cow.”

Jacqueline Charles, of the East Coast of Demerara, was also out with her masquerade band and noted that it was important to show “our culture, we love doing it and we are not giving up our tradition.” Charles’ band of 15 mainly consisted of family members and showcased mother sally, the mad bull cow, the lang lady, white bird, the flouncer, the steel man and the kettle man.

Guyana Shore Basic Inc., Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Public Health also took part in the 2019 Mashramani Parade.
Bringing up the rear of the parade were the Infrastructure, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Business ministries.

“Building sustainable communities with improved water and sanitation management” was the theme for the Ministry of Communities and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), in collaboration with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure was led by Ministers of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and Annette Ferguson.
Both of them braved the sun and made the walk and stopped ever so often for a photograph a little one wanted to take with them. Ferguson– dubbed Captain Ferguson for the day as she was dressed as a pilot– especially seemed to be a favourite of the crowd.
The float for this ministry was guided by their theme: “Working together on infrastructural development through collaboration and partnership for an improved Guyana.”

And the floats focused heavily on developments in the aviation sector– reflective of the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and reminiscent of the massive international aviation conference held here recently.

Of course, the party trucks could not be left out of the mix. Pulse Entertainment brought the usual hype, but this time they had local soca artiste Jumo Primo leading the way. 592 Beer also had its party truck which had all the ingredients for a good time (in this context at least)- i.e., drinks, music and gyrating.

The Ministry of Agriculture designed their massive float under the theme: “From farm to farm; grow more and add value.”

If the massive black chicken wasn’t enough to capture your attention, the scores of revellers holding their rice stalks and sugar canes sure would have.
But then came the business ministry running through– quite literally. Their song was Mr. Killa’s ‘Run With It’ and instead of their marshals clearing the way, the revellers ran through, forcing spectators out of the way.

And perhaps changing the atmosphere from the hype to surreal was Maxi Williams and his very intricate designs. Though they were few, it was evident that Maxi brought his ‘A’ game.

And then came the Region 10 float where they wanted to emphasize that though they host the mining town, they refuse to be left out of the new extractive sector- the oil and gas sector.

They were also backed by the Linden Technical Institute which was replete with their own marching band, and their take on promoting development through training and technology.
And closing off the day, were the two massive bands of Guyana’s largest political parties- the APNU+AFC coalition and the PPP/C. The two parties might have had their own supporters dressed in their respective green and red, but they were both celebrating Mash 49 with Victory in Mind.