–in Mayaro and Cedros

By Khamarie Rodriguez
FROM as early as 4.a.m. on Monday, thousands of revellers funnelled into the streets of Cedros and Mayaro to be a part of the local Jouvert celebrations, the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The otherwise reserved localities promised a “Bigger, Better Carnival”, to communities ravaged by unemployment, infrastructural issues, and a two-year-long sense of desperation in the pandemic’s wake.

And according to representatives, despite the numerous challenges along the way, this year’s events came together to offer residents a successful respite, many of them crowding its streets and empty spaces with dancing and singing that lasted throughout the day.

At the Mayaro Junction car park on Monday, Culture and Events Committee Chairman Roxanne Omalo told the Express that nearly 9,000 residents had joined the festivities, with at least four Jouvert bands having crossed the event’s stage.

Buttressed by a heavy police presence, she said there had been no incidents or injuries throughout the morning period.

Omalo, who was recently elected as the committee’s chairman, said that the group had been allotted 31 days to pull together this year’s Carnival. Despite this, she said, the event had been a true success, attracting thousands more than the usual crowds of the years past.

“Words cannot explain the joy the new committee experienced this morning. We are not 100 per cent satisfied; we are 150 per cent satisfied. We are elated about what happened; it was successful and incident- free,” Omalo said, adding:

“We have a new committee elected on January 17, so we had exactly 31 days to execute the Carnival. As the past Carnival Queen for 2018 and 2020, and the chairman, I told them, ‘People have been home; people are depressed. Give the people a celebration, so they know they are welcome in Mayaro.’ The amount of people who came out never did before, because it was well executed.”