Push back Mash by one month
Peeping Tom
Kaieteur News
January 31, 2007
If the Peeper had his way, I would have pushed back Mashramani this year to coincide with Guyana 's hosting of Cricket World Cup 2007. With so much still to be done to put Guyana in a position of readiness for CWC 2007, it is asking too much of the country and especially our corporate sponsors to come on board next month for Mashramani and then again in April for CWC 2007.
Added to that is the fact that this year we have the situation whereby Trinidad 's Carnival again falls in close proximity to our Mash Day celebrations. While Guyana 's Mash pales into insignificance when compared with the Greatest Show on Earth, the clashing of the two events means that the tourist stream will be affected.
I know of some folks who feel that the clashing of the two national festivals is a good thing for Guyana since our tour operators can lure the thousands of tourists in Trinidad for Carnival over to Guyana for Mashramani.
I however do not share the optimism. It would be an anti-climax to ask a tourist who has experienced Trinidad's Carnival to come to Guyana to enjoy Mashramani.
It will take some effort for Guyanese to unwind from Mashramani and then to prepare for CWC 2007. It would have made greater sense for us to have organized Mashramani this year to coincide with CWC 2007 and thus be able to show the thousands of visitors coming for cricket just what Guyana has to offer in terms of a diversified tourism product. With no casinos to spice up the night life in Guyana for CWC 2007, the tourism sector could have been boosted by having Mashramani coincide with CWC 2007.
Our tourism product is still not up to scratch. The Peeper took a night out on the town this past weekend and was disappointed. The few places that really had some “good action” were rammed pack and quite honestly the Peeper quickly got bored. I really do not think we have very much to offer to tourists when it comes to nightlife in Guyana .
With CWC 2007 just around the corner, Guyana will not see any major tourist numbers for Mashramani. I think the experience of this past Christmas is that the vast majority of foreign-based Guyanese are holding back on their vacations and will be coming home for CWC 2007. Mash is therefore likely to suffer from a decline in tourist numbers, as did Christmas 2006.
This is all the more reason why we should have pushed back Mash for a couple of weeks so that it would have coincided with Guyana 's hosting of CWC 2007. On those days when there is no cricket, we could have hosted the Mash events, converting them to tourist attractions and benefiting from the coverage afforded by the heavy presence of the foreign media in Guyana .
Mash this year is going to be controversial. I expect that there will be major problems from the religious community over the hosting of Mashramani. I believe that the religious community which was strongly opposed to casino gambling will in the next few weeks raise their voices in condemnation of some of the lewd conduct associated with the Float Parade and Costume Band Competition.
A few nights ago, I was looking at a television station airing a program about Trinidad 's Carnival. They featured two artistes one of whom was recently in Guyana to do a show. The “wining” on that show was simply “dutty.” I call it “dutty wine.” It was so lewd as to be deemed dirty dancing. Here we say “dutty” and not dirty.
As has been evident over the past few years of Mashramani, the gyrations and the skimpy clothing are leaving little to the imagination. What was formerly “suggestive” is now “live sex” on display. I cannot describe the vulgarity that has taken over as anything otherwise but live sex.
Do not get the Peeper wrong. I love it! I simply love it! But do not let my better half know that I said that. How I wish I was forty years younger!
However, I know for sure that this “dutty wine” is going to enrage the religious community. After all the religious community are taking a strong stand against social ills and I see a great deal of social ills resulting from this “dutty wine.”
Marriages are going to break up in this country; families are going to split apart because our men will simply not able to resist all this skimpiness and dirty dancing.
And goodness gracious! Can you imagine the effects of all of this on the moral fabric of society? Can you imagine the effect of this lewdness on our children? It is an abomination. And the religious community will not, I believe, hesitate to come out in defence of the decline in moral standards resulting from this “dutty wining”.
The religious community struggled to find a moral and theological argument against casino gambling. I am sure that they will have abundant epistles at their disposal when they take to the streets to condemn the vulgarity that has come to characterize the Float Parade for Mashramani.
Is this not all the more reason why we should push Mashramani back until April so that at least we can blame the foreign tourists for the descent into “dutty wining?