The CARICOM partners are Barbados and Guyana. Like other regional countries, they have benefited from the rich experiences in the staging of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival that has evolved over 200 years into today's boastful presentation of "the greatest cultural show on earth" - ignoring perhaps the chuckles such a claim provokes among Brazilians.

Barbados, which has succeeded in transforming an old "Crop Over" festival, rooted in a colonial plantation history, into its most popular national cultural event that extends from July into August, is on a tourist-oriented promotion to attract many more Trinis for 'Crop Over 2003'

For its part, Guyana, not known for the high profile, star-studded performing artistes of either Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica or Barbados, has developed such confidence in the staging annually of its 'Mashramani" Festival as its version of carnival in February, that it is now set on intensifying marketing among the Guyanese Diaspora along with developing a specific Guyana/Trinidad and Tobago connection in time for Mashramani 2004.

Guyana's "Mashramani", with its name rooted in the culture of its indigenous Amerindians, one of its "six peoples", was drawing to a climax with Republic anniversary celebrations on February 23 when Barbados was finalising its promotion for 'Crop Over' this July with the theme "Follow Me to Crop Over".

Representatives of Barbados National Cultural Foundation and the Barbados Tourism Authority were part of a delegation for this week's Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago armed with hundreds of T-shirts printed with the "Follow Me To Crop Over--Barbados" promotion theme.

While from Jamaica in the northern sub-region to the Eastern Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname in the southern region have their respective major festivals/carnivals pretty well institutionalised, Guyana has been comparatively late in making its impact with 'Mashramani', coined after an Amerindian word associated with a celebratory event after a cooperative effort.

As with so many other aspects of Guyanese life, Mashramani was to become immersed in party "politriks" following its incorporation into the annual celebrations of the anniversary of Guyana as a constitutional Republic in 1970. It was originally launched as an independent initiative of the Jaycees group in the mining town of Linden to coincide with the country's Independence celebrations in 1966.

Racial polarisation was to prove an inhibiting factor in mobilising national support across ethnic/political boundaries for many years. Quite in contrast with, for instance, Trinidad and Tobago where its carnival highlights a significant blending of its cosmopolitan peoples and their cultural streams - though not without protests against excesses on and off stage.

SUCCESS STORY
Transforming Mashramani, therefore, into a genuine national cultural event by keeping far away from the politics of the dominant parties - People's Progressive Party and People's National Congress - has evolved as an outstanding success story of the Guyana Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth under the leadership of cabinet Minister Gail Teixeira.

The Mashramani Secretariat, Jaycees, private and public sector agencies and groups, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, performing artistes and the general creative imagination and skills of the people have combined to help in the democratisation and popularity of Mashramani’s coming of age as Guyana's premier month-long celebration of “unity in diversity" by the six peoples of one nation.

Minister Teixeira said in a telephone conversation I had with her earlier this week that the Government's allocation of some G$10M for Mashramani programmes, plus the contributions for prizes from the private sector have helped in the process of popularising the festival.

"We put tremendous emphasis on making Mash, as we call it, a people's festival and have succeeded in stimulating a greater sense of unity with themes being chosen in a most democratic manner and not imposed for narrow objectives..."

Mashramani has ceased to be a largely Georgetown affair, said the Minister, with increasing participation in bands, songs and other competitions. It has been etched into the consciousness of peoples of all races with popular participation in all ten Regions of Guyana, she said.

For this year's Mashramani, the central theme was "United Are We in 2003", chosen from submissions from across the country, with some 60 per cent of entries received focusing on "unity".

This spontaneous effort perhaps reflects the anxiety of the Guyanese people to rise above the suffocating racial/political divisions in their celebration of the festival that climaxes with parading of the bands and dancing in the streets following the annual flag-raising ceremony marking the anniversary of Guyana as a now 33-year-old Republic.

Since among the carnival celebrations across CARICOM those of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana normally coincide within a week to ten days of each other, Minister Teixeira is hoping that, in consultation with the Guyana Ministry of Tourism and the local tourism association they could come up with a plan to discuss with the organisers of Trinidad and Tobago's carnival a joint packaging of Mashramani and the Twin Island’s Carnival in 2004 to attract visitors from each other's country as well as the Caribbean Diaspora.

Guyana has made "significant strides" in staging Mashramani and Minister Teixeira said the Government remains thankful for the initial assistance from Trinidad and Tobago through its Ministry of Culture.

Now, she feels, the time is appropriate for the two neighbours, separated by an hour's flying time by BWIA, to discuss more "structured cooperation" with the airline and hotel industries offering special packages for both Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival and Guyana's Mashramani over a one-week period.

Maybe Barbados' T-shirt promotion of "Follow Me To Crop Over" that it took to Port-of-Spain this week, could offer some inspiration for any joint package arrangement between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago for Mashramani and Carnival in 2004, while efforts continue to interest more thanTrinis to Bajans' Crop Over 2003.
(Reprinted from yesterday's Trinidad Express)