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Date: Monday 3rd August 2009 Location: National Stadium - Spring Garden, Barbados W.I. Promotions: Barbados Tourism Authority, National Cultural Foundation of Barbados Click on thumbnails to see the big picture/entire gallery The day starts with a fun Taxi ride to The National Stadium. All back roads... 45mph on a tiny road with a pick up truck coming on the other side, cars parked on both side, and of course the chickens and dogs on the sidelines .... indeed part of the entertainment. And all of this for only 20 Bajan dollars. Priceless! The imported TJJ crew (Daddy Chooks, Sweet Passion Juice, The Original Lime Flavor and Panidad [moi]) get out of the taxi straight to the stadium where "Judgment" is taking place. Get cameras and mic out of the bags... we've arrived! Now I must admit, I don't like "crossing the stage in Barbados". As a masquerader, I never liked it, but felt that it was a must! You wanna look cute in a costume? You want to jump and get on bad with your friends after? YOU GOTTA SUFFA! But now that I've experienced it as a reporter, I saw masqueraders walking with bored (out of their skulls) faces just like I've done. You see, there's no music truck for them... they literally just walk stuck to their own color coded section and wait until some security/band personnel tells them: "Okay, now jump and act like you are having fun! You're being judged!!" With that song that they put on to get them excited but it's only like a 50 feet spread. After that? Walk yourself back outside.... and the real fun starts soon after that torturous trek. Whoever cannot stand parts of their costume take them off as quickly as they try to get out of the stadium.
We
kicked things off with our POWER X FOUR friends in the stadium (large up
Chetwin, Kamal & the rest of the crew), then the lime continued with our BAJE
INT'L peeps (Ricahrd, Val ... big up) on the road. We take nuff pictures and
interview quite a few people... of course the mandatory wukkups are in place!
It's part of the job ... heh, I don't make the rules!!! We spread out.... our photographers go one way and Daddy Chooks and I go the other. We trek forward… we meet up with new comer for 2009 - REBEL VIBES. Let me tell you ... tweet tweet tweet! Large up Andre!! One music truck, one drinks truck (with some of the best rum punch) ... so everybody is together. Not a large band, but not tiny either .... it was just perfect! This band definitely had real vibes!! But we need to get going.... plenty other bumpa's to service and wukkup on. We quikly check POWER X FOUR again, and its vibes were as sweet as eva. The weather was perfect really, a lil drizzle here and there which was refreshing enough, but leaving the costumes intact! We finally get to HARBOUR LIGHTS where we met up with Red Sno Cone Juice (TJJ BIM) , fresh back from the other side of the globe ... good times! Boy these people have been here since early. My legs are feeling the trek, but yet again... we gotta wukkup. Now what I thought was hilarious was how women would keep coming up to me introducing their hubbies so I could wukkup with them.... was it the TJJ mic? Good Lawd! They were getting permission from their buzzed wives so trust me, they put that one to the test! After we couldn't wukkup no mo' (or better yet, ran out of masqueraders to wukkup on) .... we slowed the pace down and hiked back up the parade route to meet up with BAJE again for a final jump. We've reached Spring Garden, so we know the parade is coming to a end .... it's time for lllllunch! BAJE has a yummy West Indian meal (that caterer aims to please) that is just what you need after all that chippin' and wukkin'up! This
year, my old Nike's did not fall apart ... I think they have one more carnival
in them!! Barbados, you amazed me yet again! Can't wait for Crop Over 2010! Panidad ===================================== | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The drinks are flowing and the men look just like they should .... MARRRRVELOUS!
Oh! Of course las chicas lookie amazing like always.