7 minute read
CARIBFEST
Sept. 29, 2021 Review | Column | COVID-19 | Local | Caribfest | News | Ad | Sports | Stang Stories
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
After 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. 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 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.
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 Indian 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
Sept. 29, 2021 Review | Column | COVID-19 | Local | Caribfest | News | Ad | Sports | Stang Stories
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Flag wavers lead the way at the Caribfest Parade, Sept. 25.
we have missed for so long,” Shea Jarvis, premedicine sophomore, said. Parade
Caribfest came to an end with a parade Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m. that began at the Hardin Administration building and ended at Sunwatcher Plaza. The parade highlighted Caribbean culture with music, dancing, traditional costumes and food. The Caribfest parade was a mini version of Carnival in the Caribbean.
“[The parade] highlighted different sections and different parts of the Caribbean, because the jab jab section is part of Grenada, and the pretty mas [is from] like all of the Caribbean... and the flag-waver section they’re Saint Kitts and Nevis,” Shalecia Francis, 2019 alumni, said.
Francis returned after graduating to take part in the parade as she enjoys playing mas. The parade was canceled last year due to the pandemic. The parade’s return encouraged students to participate for the first time or to participate again, such as Neilia Stedman, graphic design senior , who experienced the 2019 parade.
“Caribfest to me is a mix of culture to just enjoy myself, appreciate my culture and show others my culture. I was able to experience the 2019 parade but not the 2020 one due to COVID-19, so I am excited to be able to have the opportunity again this year,” Stedman said.
The parade and family weekend happened at the same time on campus, bringing a new audience to the Caribbean culture. Caribfest not only teaches others of the Caribbean culture but also brings a bit of home to students from the Caribbean.
“[I think it’s important to have this parade on campus] because for Caribbean students being away from home you can get a bit homesick and just being able to enjoy some part of your culture during the year because we usually have this every year….” Glenna Charles, dental hygiene junior, said.
Caribfest exposes non-Caribbean students such as Maiyah Wackis, education freshman, to the Caribbean culture. Wackis enjoyed the parade and says she learned a bit about the Caribbean culture. The parade is meant to bring everyone on campus together according to economics junior, Karona Augustine.
“I am really happy, I am able to call MSU my home away from home because of all the Caribbean countries and cultures. The purpose of the parade is to bring us all together, even students that are not Caribbean are included, though most won’t join us because they feel they are not a part of it when in reality they are,” Augustine said.
After the parade reached its stopping place
PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN
in Sunwatcher Plaza, the celebration continued with students dancing to music from the Caribbean culture. Nearby, in front of the Clark Student Center, the Caribbean Students Organization was selling traditional soups that are referred to as water. The waters offered were goat and fish with lots of seasoning, peppers and spices. The CSO was also selling cheese and tuna sandwiches.
“I think [the food is] for everybody it’s really flavorful and you can feel the love that we put into it, it’s almost ancestral recipes that have been handed down for generations,” Soleil Weeks, economic senior said. “I do think it’s very important that it can help you get an appreciation for Caribbean culture and cuisine. Cuisine is a big part of our culture so I do think it’s important that anybody that has the opportunity to try, try it. It’s really good and I’m not just saying that.”
