Smaller crowds in Sando Mas

“Look how easy it is to watch the streets,” said La Rode. “Long time, that wasn’t possible. The crowd was so thick, you had to push yourself through. This year the crowd scanty, and it was the same for J’Ouvert Monday.” The sentiments were shared by Phyliss Bowin, 74, who has played mas since she too was a child. “This year is the worst for Carnival,” she said, dressed in the traditional Indian costume of Small band “We the Band of the Nation’s People.” “There are less people on the streets now and the bands are getting smaller and smaller.” Other on-lookers who preferred not to be named, including private photographers who have documented Carnival for decades, said the same. San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello, however, himself no stranger to Carnival having been manager of Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra, disagreed. “One would expect a decrease in participation given the state of the economy, but I am here looking at the Carnival and if there is a percentage drop it may be a 5 percent or ten percent here or there. To say there is a significant drop, I can’t agree with that. There are those who want to oppose and make claims that cannot be substantiated.

I have been in mas every year and I can draw an analysis of my own.” On the other hand, the apparently smaller crowd numbers did not affect the vibrancy of the masqueraders nor the quality of their costumes. Regrello commended the 15 bands, their leaders and their masqueraders for their hard work in putting on yet another Carnival in the city.