Sascha Wil­son

Se­nior Re­porter

sascha.wil­son@guardian.co.tt

Through foot­steps, drum­beats, song, and dance, the spir­it of the Can­boulay Ri­ots came alive in Princes Town and San Fer­nan­do be­fore dawn yes­ter­day dur­ing the Flam­beau De Can­boulay Fes­ti­val.

The event be­gan with the Blaze the Trail Free­dom Run, re­trac­ing the lega­cy of re­sis­tance be­tween 1881 and 1884, when cit­i­zens stood against colo­nial at­tempts to sup­press Car­ni­val tra­di­tions. The ri­ots claimed the life of a young boy in Princes Town.

The run end­ed at Har­ris Prom­e­nade, San Fer­nan­do, fol­lowed by a pro­ces­sion from Li­brary Cor­ner to City Hall. Par­tic­i­pants chant­ed “Free­dom” and in­clud­ed tra­di­tion­al mas char­ac­ters mov­ing to the rhythms of African drums.

A pow­er­ful re-en­act­ment of the ri­ots fea­tured danc­ing, singing, and drum­ming, im­mers­ing spec­ta­tors in scenes from that tur­bu­lent pe­ri­od. The African Craft Vil­lage and Can­boulay Col­lec­tive Cul­tur­al Show­case of­fered tra­di­tion­al Car­ni­val por­tray­als, live drum­ming, fash­ion, and cul­tur­al dis­plays. Pa­trons al­so en­joyed African cui­sine pre­pared by Ubun­tu On the Go.

Fes­ti­val or­gan­is­er Shean­na Al­leyne, of Shean­na Al­leyne Pro­duc­tions, said the con­cept was di­vine­ly in­spired and made pos­si­ble by com­mu­ni­ty sup­port de­spite the ab­sence of fi­nan­cial spon­sor­ship.

“We as a peo­ple need to re­al­ly love one an­oth­er. Every­thing else will fall in­to place,” she said. “When we start­ed, we had no cash to pay for any­thing. What you are see­ing here is the spir­it of com­mu­ni­ty love.”

San Fer­nan­do May­or Robert Par­ris praised Al­leyne and her sis­ter, Va­lerie Nor­ie­ga, pledg­ing con­tin­ued sup­port for the fes­ti­val and sim­i­lar ini­tia­tives. He said both women will be ho­n­oured dur­ing the up­com­ing City Week cel­e­bra­tions.