There may be fewer bands in Carnival Road March this year, and some of the band leaders are blaming it on a lack of communication and cooperation from the Carnival Association.
Today the band leaders held a press conference to vent their frustrations arising from all they have had to deal with over the years just to bring that carnival magic to life.
Here's what they had to get off of their chest. Jomarie Lanza reports:
You see how they flood the streets each year with color and energy, carrying the spirit of carnival with them out on the road, but behind the jump up, and dancing there is pain, sacrifice and struggle in their preparation for one of the biggest events on the celebrations calendar.
And today 7 of those band leaders united to say they need some reciprocity from government for all that they do in preserving and building the carnival culture in Belize.
Pauline Bradley, Soca Massive, Junior Band
"We the carnival band leaders are here this morning at this press conference to simply express our concern about how we are treated and the mis-leadership of the Belize carnival association. There has been some few concerns from the band leaders and we noticed that we are not getting any headway with questions we ask and even if the answer, a lot of times the answers deflect from like the truth what we know is the truth or expecting them to say."
"For me, I will speak on my concerns, my biggest concern is whenever we in any competition whether it is the king or queen the miss carnival, junior and senior road march at the end of the September awards ceremony we get one check, we don't know if we win the amount we win for first, second, third, for king and queen we don't know what we win for first second, third for road march all we know is we get one check, one total amount. So we don't get a break down of the prizes."
Audrey Bradley, Soca Moca
"Who goes into a competition not know what will we win what will we get? We the band leaders for years. We have been doing this. Personally I won the last five years and I can personally tell you I have gotten 5 different amounts not the same, and most of the time I won the same thing."
"I remember Mr David always asking for them to waiver something from the customs department for whenever we bring in our feathers and stuff and I don't known if he ever gotten help from that but I did it last year and I was charged a fee of $350 to bring in my feathers when I simply asked the president 2 different times I called him and asked him, they are bringing in my feathers can you please call somebody, and he said he would do it right now he will call and call, and I called him when the person was at the airport and no help."
David Matus, Titans Mas Band
"Well I am here to speak on behalf of myself, a non competing band, we have been in the competition for years then we decided to do non competing for the past 6-7 years. We usually pay $100-$1500 to compete to take part in the road march. So if we don't pay the fee we are not allowed to take part. Which is, we don't get anything from this 1500, we don't get a security not a police. No kind of guidance, nothing and then you are at the end of the parade where all the competing bands are in the front and we understand that but we make up a part of the carnival we make up a big part of the carnival because we are playing out from 3-4 trucks it is a lot of investment. We decided not to compete because of the rule book, the whole drama with the competition and the prize money is not worth it. We are competing for $10,000 for the past 28 years I have been involved. The prize has not changed. So the prizes are not working, the amount of money we invest into carnival is over $100,000 when you are dealing with a big band. So the prizes are not working out and nothing is changing for us as a non competing and at the end of the day I think we are being disrespected, because when the carnival take part and we go in front of the judges whenever non competing bands come along they move away from where they are viewing everybody else. We are part of the carnival. We deserve a right to be seen and see the difference between what is a competing and a non competing band."
Denise Young, Belizean Jewels
"The reason why I went non competing and I keep telling these guys, you are not treated fairly when you are competing. The committee, the communication is not there and when you try to ask them questions they always tell you we want to meet with NCC. They say we can't, because I mean if you are spending like David says $100,000 and you are winning $10,000 that does not make any sense. No kind of sense so we always want to meet with the people in the higher level so we can tell them this is what we are spending and this is what we are getting. So I decided to go non competing and it was good for me, the only thing that happened again with the committee, no communication. When I went out there last year I went out there not knowing where I would have been placed because of the communication, no kind, no kind. So when I went out there then I know, well Mr David is last and I am before Mr David, and that is how I know. The thing is with the committee we are saying, communication, communication, communication."
Sherlett Ottley, Fantasy Explosion Mas Band
"For me it is the poor communication. There has been a consistent failure to provide timely and accurate information to band leaders resulting in confusion, mistrust and disorganization."
And due to this long list of grievances these band leaders say they are at a breaking point
Leeroy Smith, Folk Reveler Carnival Band
"Me and Ms Patty have invested so much money and we did it, and it is unbelievable to do me and Ms Patty that so all I am asking is where is the third place money?"
Patricia Flowers, Trench town Masqueraders
"Even if we don't make 100 we fight to get the numbers. I mean I have reached as far as 76-78 but again we can't force anybody out here to come and dance with us. We used to have a session where they had a small junior band, a large junior band, small senior band, large senior band. They cut out all of that. Bear in mind all of these guys are professional, we just want to be a part of carnival, we want to make carnival bigger so we invest our time and money also. We also have little sponsors that look up to us even if we don't have 100 we get out there and we do all the competitions that they ask us for, we show up for everything just as everyone and there is a rule in the book that says judges, rules and words are final. And a judge granted a 3rd place so what happened, you as a president decided on the day when the announcement is made to say you won't give us, then you still pro long to say you are teaching us a lesson to find 100 revelers it is disrespectful."
Andrea Mann, Elusive Mas Band
"For the past year we have stepped down because there has been a lot of bias against us from day 1 all of these concerns that are arising at the moment from day 1 we always voiced them and we have always been the underdog for voicing these concerns. So we stepped down and if this committee does not change we will not come back we cater more to personal carnival members in orange walk or Placencia, any other district, except Belize we don't cater for Belize at all because we have been disrespected many times. We abide by the rules and even abiding by the rules there is always conflict against us."
"And we should be moving ahead and we have fallen backwards, because carnival is so small, so so small. If it was not for the non competing bands them what would carnival look like? You went from watching carnival for 4 hours to watching for 2 hours that is nothing, one and a half."
"You stand in the sun longer than the people who are passing. So instead of moving forward with them we have fallen backwards and it is biased against every new band that no one can come in because it is always a biased, no new members can come in because it is always something."
