Posted by Pan Times on February 27, 2015 at 8:54am
The last Midnight Robber band in Port of Spain is the Mystery Raiders led by Anthony Collymore. This is the band founded by the late Brian Honore and the later Puggy Joseph Elder Robber. Brian is the one that rescued Robbers from anonymity and extinction. His son Fédon Honoré continues the tradition with the band... If the Mystery Raiders go the Midnight Robber tradition in the Port of Spain carnival disappears... By Rubadiri Victor -- MEDITATION ON THE TRADITIONS- CARNIVAL 2015 I'm rather sick of the version of the Festival that is continually put out there- all Mardi Gras bikini and beads, young girls, all-inclusive fetes & foreign celebrities... There are dozens of other Carnivals happening- and in Port of Spain the Canboulay tradition has not yet given up the ghost. The traditional masquerade although dwindling in numbers are as vital and phenomenal in their creativity, surreallity, and transformative Power and Magic as ever. I walk the entire Carnival route on both days- lapping the city and its suburbs- documenting the Carnival, all its pulses, the visible and the invisible- and bear witness to the battle between the Mardi Gras and the Canboulay. I will be writing a report from the battlefield soon. In the meantime here are some images from the frontlines from the Army of the Canboulay Warriors...
Read more…
Comments