Sept. 29, 2021 Review | Column | COVID-19 | Local | Caribfest | News | Ad | Sports | Stang Stories 6
Many Nations, One Vibe: Caribfest response to the Culture Show. “I like exchanging cultures with others and learning from others as well. Based on the response that the crowd had, they really encouraged me and made me feel comfortable sharing my culture because it was well-received,” Xavier said. As a singer, dancer and swimsuit model for the Culture Show, Tishauna Perkins, biology senior, returned as a triple threat for her third Caribfest. She said coming to a different culture and sharing her own broadened her perspective. “When you’re at home on your little island, it’s just like you are completely oblivious to the fact that people don’t know much about your culture. It was a huge culture shock coming here because you always feel like your culture is theonly way you do things, and then you’re exposed to different cultures. Even in the Caribbean, a lot of people feel like it’s one set way. But the different islands have different ways of doing things. The way they speak, their food, and the music they like to listen to,” Perkins said.
PHOTO BY CASEE HARL | THE WICHITAN
Mecahnical engineering junior Garvin Joseph holds up flags as the Black Steel pan group performs, Sept. 23. FISHER SEIGLER | LAUREN COPLITTS | STEPHANIE ROBLEDO | THALIA DOE WICHITAN STAFF fter a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Caribbean Students Organization is back with its annual Caribfest celebration. The festival of island culture begins on Thursday, Sept. 23 and culminates on Saturday, Sept. 25 with a carnival-esque parade through campus.
A
Culture show
The Caribbean Students’ Organization began Caribfest with the Culture Show at Akin Auditorium on Thursday evening, Sept. 23. The show consisted of music, dance and costumes from across the Caribbean islands. Over 100 people attended from all different walks of life to get a taste of the vibrant Caribbean culture. “I really like the diversity of it. There was a band playing and also dancing and modeling, and I didn’t know it was going to be like that. Just seeing all the different flags of the Caribbean made me realize how many different cultures are really on the islands.” Kendall Jones, music and pre-med senior, said. In addition to music and dance, there was a masquerade, a swimsuit modeling segment and live music from a small band and percussion performances on drums called djembe. One traditional wear display used designs of the Yoruba and Igbo tribes from Nigeria, where
many in the Caribbean can trace their roots. Another performance was a traditional Dominican creole, which is a costumed dance that depicts the island’s culture and history from the past 300 years. Creole featured tall, feathered headdresses and colorful clowns with ruffled costumes. Another popular event was the Grenadian Jab Jab, which consisted of a performer in chains who wore a horned helmet and was covered in oil. The Jab Jab celebrates emancipation and equality. “It was a great experience. I enjoyed the crowd interaction and I feel proud that I was able to share something that was a part of my island with the people here, to the other Caribbean students as well as Americans who are just getting introduced to our culture,” Djembe performer Garvin Joseph, mechanical engineer junior, said. Joseph hyped the crowd up by encouraging them to clap, sing along and dance. Fellow performer Tishauna Perkins said they want Joseph back for the next Caribfest. When Joseph interacted with the crowd and played the djembe, the audience went wild. “I think it’s necessary that we share our cultures and our experiences with others because that’s how we diversify and make everything better,” Joseph said. Accounting junior Sherna Xavier led the Culture Show’s decoration for her first Caribfest. She said she was pleased with the crowd
Soca show
Soca music, originating in the Caribbean island of Trinidad, mixes many different musical styles including calypso, reggae and latin, to name a few. However, most well known, Soca is primarily influenced by African and East Indi-
an rhythms. Performed largely during the Caribbean Carnival, Soca is known to excite and energize the crowd, while performers present their songs, attempting to win the crown at the competition held right before carnival starts. Similarly, MSU hosts the Soca Show on campus this year as part of Caribfest. “We have five contestants, five artists fighting for the crown,” Wade Courtney, host of Friday night’s competition, said. Performers had to incorporate lyrics, creativity, rhyming schemes, clarity of message, performance, use of props and melody into their songs, with each criteria being a certain amount of points. There were five contestants performing their own arrangements, lasting about nine minutes each and scored by three separate judges. “People were so talented. The fact that people were brave enough to perform... they’re heroes,” DeVaine Lowe, finance junior, said. In the end, only one winner can emerge and, in this case, the musician was Esco Levi. Right before taking the stage, Levi revved his motorcycle’s engine, setting the mood for the show he was about to put on. His main lyrics being, “Music is my paradise,” Levi worked with the crowd and took the crown. This brought the night full of celebration of culture and traditions to a close. “Having this small little unique experience in the school helped relive those memories that
PHOTO BY DIAMOND GAMBOA | THE WICHITAN
Chemistry and mathematics senior Joshua Griffith sings with his group, Water Boyz, Sept. 24.
