Dutch TV first:
NPO2TV, on YOUTUBE: VERY disappointing coverage of the royal visit of King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, on the islands, especially in Aruba.
The program I dozed through was titled: Nos Amalia en de Nederlandse Caribien,
It was a giant yawn. The talking heads were bored and boring.
What they showed: A millisecond shot of crowded Baby Beach, a weed strewn OLD image of Roger’s Bay with the defunct refinery, some pompous, self-important students at UA who all except one said they did not want to come back here, and the infamous disruption caused by Mirelle St Jago at the University. That insignificant blip, got extensive coverage.
What they didn’t show: They did not show anything that matters, no nature, no culture, no people, no fuzzy feelings, no warm welcome.
Nothing fresh and authentic. Thanks for nothing.
Channel 13, and the coverage of The Lighting Parade.
Same old camera work, zero effort narration.
Some stomach bug kept me from going out into the street so I stayed home with the remote, flicking back and forth between the Lighting Parade on Channel 13 and Ashton Kutcher on Netflix.
The highlight of the transmission?
The cars of Garage Central, the fun drone-shot Balashi commercial and the Dal Pest Control trio of criollo adz. Trash for Cash also went Criollo, telling us where to deposit garden debris and old tires.
At least, the commercials alleviated the total doldrum of the TV transmission.
Why was the parade so slow?
With just a handful of groups the pace was pathetic.
The groups inside the parade looked like they were having a good time.
Thank you TOB, Champagne, 25 years, Empire, and Los Laga Bai, 40 years, for stoking the fires, and keeping Carnival alive!
Royal & Infinity made a good effort, I liked the attitude of Royal’s baseball players and the road pieces of Infinity, looks promising for next weekend.
The music trucks resembled space ships, and the sound output was tremendous.
My friends in TOB report InFusion kept spirits and the level of energy up, 100% of the way.
The Heaven & Earth steel band was a nice touch.
Carnival is now big business, and I cannot fault the groups for charging heartily, it’s a lot of work, and Awg 1,500 per person times 350 participants, makes a cool half a million florin, a reasonable compensation for tons of trouble and attention to detail.
And you fuel the gray economy of hairdressers, beauticians and dressmakers.
You keep hundreds in business in the formal and informal economy.
And you innovated with technology and gadgets, LED toys, even a food truck, enabling messaging for snacks, mid-parade.
I realize that if the tax office attempted to regulate Carnival, or even ask questions, we will end up without.
Most of the 2,400 participants in this year’s edition of Carnival, 69th, are members of the island’s female community. They all let their hair down for one night, leaving the kids with family members and sitters, determined to forget about their daily pressures for a while, all looking just like JLo and Beyoncé, armed with lashes, hair extensions, dazzling make up and buckets of bling. Looking fabulous, feeling no pain for the moment.
Our Carnival also gets strong support from the gay community, resplendent under a glamourous shield, having a fantastic time, untouchable by mean, miserable Bible-thumping people.
The lighting Parade is a dress rehearsal for the Grand Parade and almost everyone except the TOB massa and Los Laga Bai held back, and did not reveal the extent of their fabulosity.
One thing for sure, I am coming out next weekend.
