Georgetown: Held under the theme, ‘Guyana Together; Reflect, Celebrate and Transform,’ the streets of Georgetown were filled with gyrating and masquerading bodies as Mashramani was celebrated on Sunday.
Every colour, race, religion and creed came out in their numbers to celebrate Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary (Mashramani) creating a kaleidoscope of colours through the streets of Georgetown.
Though the Mashramani costume and float parade was delayed as a result of light showers in the earlier part of the day, nothing stopped the revellers from turning out in their thousands for the historic celebration.
The annual parade started on Carifesta Avenue led by the Ministry of the Presidency’s band, which set the stage for the other bands that followed and ended at D’Urban Park.
Guyanese and foreigners alike were seen gyrating to the sounds of soca and sweet steel pan music; it was a grand day full of festivities as the old, young and in-betweens joined the revellers in dancing and singing.
Mashramani is one of Guyana’s most anticipated events, as it is the festival which sees the six people of Guyana coming together to celebrate, eat, and showcase their talents, as the event allows the young designers, makeup artists, dancers , choreographers, masqueraders calypsonians, chutney artistes and soca artistes to showcase their different talents during the ‘Mash’ season.
Among the young people, a few stalwarts were seen clad in the colours of the country’s flag — The Golden Arrowhead; some were dressed even swankier than others, making dresses, hats, bags and even shoes out of the country’s flag.
A few overseas-based Guyanese also returned to their homeland to feel the sweet breeze, drink some coconut water and vibe to the tunes of local artistes as they paraded with the various bands.
This year’s Mashramani celebration was said to be one of the largest, since persons journeyed from Linden, Berbice, Parika, Lethem and other far-flung areas to participate in the parade.
You must be logged in to post a comment.