-On Festas and Carifesta

By A.A. Fenty

Received an invitation I did, sudden and relatively last-minute, to visit the Roraima city of Boa Vista in neighbouring Brazil.

It was two weeks ago and the invitation was for a small Guyana team to participate in the State’s Festa Junina. The Festa or “June Party” is an annual observance first introduced to the giant neighbour Brazil by the Europeans. It’s a celebration of three Saints, the new crop of the new “summer” and features the dramatic, now theatrical Quadrilah Square Dance as villagers celebrates folk style weddings. Festa Juninas sometimes rival Brazil’s world famous Carnivals.

Guyana’s small but significant, delegation featured The Parkside Steel Orchestra, Indian Dance and the modelling of costumes of Guyana’s National Colours. In writing and by Spoken Word, I did my bit to invite Brazilians to Carifesta Ten here in August.

Up front let me report that Brazilians from all over the State of Roraima, Boa Vista and other places far beyond Roraima, were once again fascinated by what they dubbed (officially) as the Guiana Steel Drums. Steel pan music obviously still thrills and entertains the music-loving Brazilians – by its sheer unique sound. Though synthesizers electronically reproduce those sounds nowadays, nothing beats the live authentic original. And the small ten-piece Parkside obliged the thousands, last Friday evening, to the max.

So impressed was Roraima State Governor Jose Anchieta that he wanted us to stay to last Sunday’s end, as his personal guests. Since we could not, he has invited us to another gala cultural event in Roraima this November.

Brazil, Guyana…
But my aim in this brief (piece) is really to reiterate my conviction that we should really get to know our massive continental neighbour South of the Border, much much more.

Comparisons are often odious, as sometimes we are comparing golden apples to oranges, or progressive, enlightened approaches to stagnant, blighted, backward attitudes.

Three return trips from Georgetown to Lethem/Boa Vista have convinced me that, in an inappropriate vehicle, that journey by forest trail is not for the physically frail or mentally faint-hearted. Contrast the highway, with lights from Bon Fim just across the Takutu to Boa Vista. Really no comparison!

My heart continues to bleed for our frozen “development”. And it’s not always about lack of money, I insist. Why can’t decent sanitary conveniences, for example, be built along the Guyana pathway? Rockstone-Mabura-Kurukupari–Annai-Manari-Lethem?

One would be ashamed and shy to compare (the pace of) development between Lethem and Bon Fim. Lights, roads, conveniences; we are way behind. (The drivers and conductors of the beautiful big buses wear ties! “my first-time-to Boa Vista friend exclaimed. No one speaks to the bus driver! And that’s not about money.

So I walked across the Brazilian-built Takutu Bridge and I wondered. Oh well, we have more or better hotels in GT – than in Boa Vista. Take that!

Getting to know Brazil
I appreciate that we have to be wary even as we welcome the Brazilians who will use the Bridge and the road as gateways to the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Do we have the Laws? The Security? The facilities to cope. We had better be ready.

I can do no more today than repeat sentiments I penned in this column more than four years ago.

“So `Caribbean’ are we Guyanese that for decades we have paid little attention to our giant continental neighbour South of the Border. What an awakening giant of a country the Federative Republic is! It is the fifth largest country in the world and the third largest democracy which held its last elections in late 2002 allowing ninety million voters to vote in a single day and announce hardly-disputed results the next day! A former metal-worker from the country’s working-class is now its President.

He – Luis Inacio Lula da Silva plans simply to ensure that every Brazilian – from the aristocratic capitalists, its generals, to the poverty-ridden Blacks and Amerindians – gets at least one meal a day.

But Lula is also presiding over a growing, thriving economy wherein not only the famous coffee is grown for traditional worldwide exports but where today Brazil’s electronic industries are infiltrating where once only the Japanese. Americans or Germans ventured. Steel, gas and grain are bringing in millions and Brazilian-made boats are navigating new seas, whilst the US Air Force uses Brazilian planes.

I am still intrigued by the fact that Brazil boasts the largest concentration of Africans, Japanese and Italians, for example, outside of their original native lands. And every now and then Brazilian Ambassador in Georgetown, Ney do Prado Dieguez, reminds us that it would be in our best neighbourly economic interest not to ignore even the one Roraima state closest to us. (There are 27 Federal States and one Federal District – Brasilia, the capital). But even if we were once short-sighted recent events are forcing us to sit up, stand up, travel up to Lethem and pay serious attention to Brazil. The Brazilians are already here and their road is following.

I repeat what I either heard, read or wrote some two years ago: Brazil is an economic powerhouse soon to explode on the world scene. No longer suspicious of `Socialist’ governments here, it sees Georgetown as a Gateway it can use to shorten access to North America and Europe. Four/five years ago its poorer work-hungry miners all but invaded Regions seven, eight and nine. They brought their Diamond Recovery Jig – the Lavador – suction dredges and Maraks gravel pumps, transformed our mining landscape and reportedly appropriated millions of dollars worth of our resources back to Brazil.”

That was four years ago. I went on to discuss the Brazilian presence here. Their activities from the Bush to Bourda. I’ll conclude for now. I do hope we ready ourselves for our Brazzo guests and visitors. After all, hundreds of thousands of us live in other people’s lands.

The sheer scope and splendour of Brazil’s festivals should inspire our own upcoming Carifesta. Culture is powerful in Brazil. Especially its folkloric traditions. Carifesta Ten is poised to leave us with a legacy of more steel-bands, “trained” masqueraders, trained tour guides, stage technicians, great infrastructure and lasting entertainment facilities, We can then package our cultural products.

For that alone we should either support Carifesta. Or see that it is not sabotaged.

Until…
• Caught a talk-session with two Muslim gentlemen on Wednesday Radio. Among the discussion items were explanations of “Retail Terrorism” by Palestinians and other deprived fundamentalists fighting for their rights and lands.

Bigger Powers practiced “Wholesale Terrorism” with their wars and invasions. “Give me liberty or give me death?” Discuss.

• God/Allah conferred honour on (Islamic) women. Only their fathers, husbands, closest family should see her body. Other (millions of) women only think they have freedom and rights to expose themselves. Discuss.

• “Insure-An-Bun”. Vidia Naipaul discussed it in A House For Mr Biswas. In Guyana a fellow insured the store and the stock. He stealthily removed the stock and burnt! You get the drift?

• Big buses!? Yippee! I have great suggestions next week. Express Service from point to certain point.

• Just what do they have against Alika Morgan? Coach Black?

•Coming next week: Barack Hussein Obama – The half-white candidate.
’Til next week!

Comments? allanafenty@yahoo.com