I don’t know, but it does. And forgive if I am sleepy this morning, I spent the night on the streets in San Nicholas with ten thousand other revelers, shuffling behind the island’s most popular bands, beer in hand.
As promised J’ouvert Morning started at 4AM, February 3, leaving from Joe Laveist Sportpark, and meandering through the streets of otherwise sleepy San Nicholas, a long loop, back at 8am to where we started, with a stellar musical line up: N’ Fusion, Buleria, Tsunami, Steam, Le Groove and two DJ trucks.
The music is fantastic this year. N’Fuzion at the head of the PJ parade featured Rusty, a bus driver by profession, a veteran Carnival star and a crowd magnet. His song is super catchy; last year’s hit was Rising from the Dead, this year it’s ALIVE, feeling alive.
Tsunami has a song that keeps playing in my head, DO WHAT YOU WANT, sung by Blacky, inspired by the recent comment of the former MinInfra who declared in parliament he doesn’t give a damn.
Le Grove with T-Money, his real name is Tony Mingo, an old time favorite; he spins a classic by the name of SIDELINERS, a fun tune with easy lyrics.
Last but not least the most popular so far FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL by Rasta, fronting Buleria, wow, it’s all about love, we’re coming together to celebrate love – what’s not to like about this song??
Brass sections, drums, laser beams, mammoth speakers, costumes, body paint, hair styles, prima donna attitudes, thousands of diehard fans – it all played out in the packed streets of Aruba’s out-of-business oil town.
The SMAC organization, a not for profit, puts it all together with a handful of board members. Shannon Henriquez, a veteran Carnival queen is the chief coordinator, the president, she pulls the strings, Red Cross, Police, Serlimar, she has it all at the tip of her fingers.
In real life she is the Human Resources director of Aruba Air, but her company loans her out for the months before Carnival. The deal is the following, do your job, take care of 140 company employees AND run Carnival in between. How does she dos it?? She is a super woman. Did I mention a beautiful family? Yes, she runs that too. True, all districts and groups have their own leaders, but Shannon is the glue that keeps it all together.
You may visit the SMAC headquarters on Weststraat 7, Oranjestad, Aruba, or E-mail Shannon: [email protected], @smacaruba. Call 583 1800
