00:21St. Vincent and the Grand East continue to celebrate Vincent Mass, most important traditions and carnival seasons in the Caribbean.
00:28Let's go live with our special envoy, Belen de los Santos, who is in country to have all the latest information on these celebrations.
00:35Welcome, Belen.
00:38Hello, Luis. Again, such a pleasure to be with you once more from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, specifically from Arnes Vale.
00:47Just a few kilometers away from Kingstown, we've been touring the city and really enjoying this carnival that is underway,
00:57this carnival that is Vincy Mass, and that is heading into the most important day.
01:03Actually, today, Thursday, is one of the most important celebrations, and we've been talking about how the preparations were getting ready.
01:12We were in downtown Kingstown last night, and we can definitely say that many people did not get any sleep last night,
01:22and not because of partying, but because of that preparation, last-minute costumes, last-minute rehearsals as well,
01:31because the main events are coming, and those events are competitions, band competitions.
01:37We are going to have the Steel Band and the Steel and Glitter Festival featuring the Steel Band competition, and also some masquerades.
01:47So, the costumes meet the percussion, meet the music in general in this big celebration that is always highlighting the cross of this identity, diversity, and cultural heritage that we are working with,
02:05and really living with, here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
02:10Yesterday, as we were saying, we talked to Ali from the Nelson's Block, one of these mass bands that we were sharing with you.
02:20The bands are the group that prepare and then compete in this carnival.
02:26They compete with their own costumes, with their own storytelling.
02:31They were telling us a little bit about this tradition and also the importance of the artisan work that goes into this tradition,
02:39and also that the carnival here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a specific characteristic,
02:45and that is that they are trying to tell a story in the street.
02:49That's what Ali was telling us. Let's listen to her a little bit.
02:52Everything is made from hand. So, what we do is do traditional mass to depict, as my colleagues say, a storyline to tell on the streets of Kingston.
03:04So, you can watch it and say, oh, wow, yes, we have this. Oh, yes, this will happen.
03:10It may not come the way you expected or think it will come, but then when you see it, you say, wow, I didn't expect it to come that way.
03:17What we try to do, as we say, depict a storyline, and this is something we try to maintain.
03:23It is not what we find the young people want.
03:27And it's hard because we have been trying, not just this band, but other bands, the umbrella of bands,
03:34have been trying on numerous occasions to get back into the primary level and work with the children coming up so they can do the hands on in terms of sketch.
03:43You know what I mean? Come, you sketch it, let me see if you can build it.
03:47How best you can come and build it within a mass camp.
03:49How best you can take cardboard and turn it into something.
03:52It is hard. People find it's hard. But once you get the hang of it, you'll love it.
03:57So we were talking to Ali and she was saying that, well, there's really no translating the true spirit of the carnival.
04:11You need to be here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but we are trying our best to carry some of those voices,
04:18some of those ideas so that you can enjoy with us what is happening here in this beautiful island nation.
04:25So we will continue to bring you everything of this celebrations and festivities.
04:30Stay tuned to see the Steel Band competition coming in a few hours.
04:35We hope to bring you some of that. But for now, Luis, I go back to you.
04:39Thank you, Belen. We're going to be waiting for those beautiful images of those competitions that you were referring to.
04:44And we'll stay in touch to have all the latest updates coming from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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