A false start of the First Lap

By Rhoma Spencer

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival First Lap was a virtual launch of the summer festival formerly known as Caribana. During this time we would have probably journeyed to Metro Hall for the Press Launch of the festival pre-pandemic. Nonetheless the opportunity to celebrate the launching of the carnival that we still have no idea what shape that could take or not this summer, was an epic moment with some missed opportunities.

The reality of the pandemic has forced us to reimagine the lens through which we view the carnival. It is not enough to be spewing, ‘Respect the Mas’ if the public is not given the context from which the mas originated in order to understand why we take to the asphalt on Carnival Day. The beauty of Toronto Carnival is that it often happens around the time of Emancipation Day, August 1. Perfect time to remind the masses that the carnival we so enjoy now is borne out of the actions of our post-emancipated African ancestors in Trinidad.

For the first time this year after over twenty six years of agitation by Rosemary Sadlier and the Ontario Black History Society, the bill M36, declaring August 1 Emancipation Day was unanimously passed in the House of Commons. How then did the ‘Creative Director’ of the occasion of First Lap not seize the opportunity to frame this production in light of such signal achievement?

 The purveyors of Toronto Carnival and the Festival Management Committee FMC have time and time again concerned themselves on the ‘pretty mas’ with little to no regard for the traditional carnival and those engaged in this type of mas portrayal. Just one look at the Virtual Carnival 2020 confirms this fact again.  This year’s Carnival is smack within Emancipation Day and not one mas’ band nor the empty Anchor seized the opportunity of the recent passing of the bill in Parliament to shine a light on this year’s carnival. 

 This generation would always not ‘respect the mas’ because they do not know the tradition from which it is borne. For the millennial, it’s one big street “pardey.” The designs of the costumes look the same from band to band with a different hue. No one designer is pushing the envelope of high fashion and haute couture. If indeed we here in the Diaspora purport to take a cue from the mecca, Trinidad Carnival, what then is the delay to take inspiration from the likes of mas á la K2K or the more theatrical and political Cat in Bag Productions?

 The Ontario Steelband Association OSA made a very good point of a “National Steel Orchestra” with its aggregation of pannists from the various steel bands in Toronto and the GTA. It was the little occasion for us to manifest Pan Alive at Lamport. However, Ontario Calypso Performing Artistes OCPA failed in demanding that their two representatives for Calypso and Soca be afforded the same opportunity as David Rudder to sing with a live band.  Both Fifi and Connector possess perfect vocal render to afford them the luxury given to Rudder.

 First Lap was a decent production that could have catapulted into epic proportions, if some philosophy and thought were brought to the presentation, positing the Carnival into its Emancipation lineage and its transposition on to Turtle Island. Alas, this would never see the likes of day until the FMC sees and understands the importance of an Artistic Director in its organizational construct when producing a festival of this magnitude. Rest In Peace , Johnny Cayonne, Caribana’s first Artistic Director.

(Rhoma Spencer is a Toronto-based actor, playwright, director, comedian and cultural critic .)