Part 2: By D.A. Robin
Angelo Henry enjoys judging day since it gives him the chance to put on a show and be rated for it.
However, he added, “Second day is when you get loose, and you interact with other revelers from other troupes,” he said.
He has been jamming with Carnival troupes for 11 years.
Janet Haddocks enjoys the “ambiance, the happiness, the people, the fun” of parade days. “The people does be so excited when they see you on the road dancing.
I’ve been doing it for 20 years or longer,” Haddocks said. She makes it a social occasion-like so many-and enjoys it with friends who join the same troupe.
Her preparation started the night before with trying out her costume, and applying layers of makeup.
She started the day with a light breakfast, explaining her natural energy would fuel her performances throughout the parade.
“This is something I’m doing for years. For me, [the lengthy route] is nothing.”
Dominique Porier is a French St. Martin reveler who has been enjoying the island’s Carnivals since “I was going to school.”
That’s been a few years. His motivation for jamming for the past few decades is simple. The Carnival tradition is so important to him that he and his troupe – Hot and Spicy – jam for Carnivals on both sides of the island and elsewhere. “It is our culture. It’s in our blood.
We have to keep this culture to save the Carnival on both sides of the island,” Pourier said. “We are from the French side, so we do the French side Carnival, then we come to the Dutch side. Sometimes, we go to Saba.”
He says the band’s performance fuels his own and drives him through the lengthy parade routes of Carnival.
“If the band plays good, you take the energy of the music, and you forget all the stress, all the tiredness, and you keep this all the time.”
For him, Carnival is as much about cultural heritage as it is about having fun. “We are lucky to have two Carnivals on this island.”
