BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THEY made their first appearance for the Sugar Mas’ 40/40 festivities a couple of days ago during the J’Ouvert Jam and, undoubtedly, they will do so again before the festivities conclude early next month.
After all, the mundaneness of their everyday lives does not necessarily cater for them to express themselves in the way the street festivities do.
This publication made its rounds on J’Ouvert morning (Dec 26) observing the different aspects of the event and spotted a number of interesting costumes, and while some were more outrageous than others, all are worthy of note.
Meet the characters of the Sugar Mas’ 40/40 J’Ouvert Jam.
It was shortly after the 5:00 a.m. hour had struck that a particular character was observed. If there were any difficulty deciphering the faces of the passers-by at that hour, this one was unmistakable.
He called himself “the mascot of the Xtreme J’Ouvert Troupe” and it wasn’t the long pajama-like pants which drew our attention to him, but rather the blue luminescent paint which covered his entire upper body. Not to mention, the paint bucket that he carried.
Speaking of mascots, this other character could easily be referred to as the Sugar Mas’ 40/40 Mascot. The shirtless man wore a pair of knee-length jean pants which was painted light blue and white. Against the backdrop of pure blue paint – which appeared to have covered his entire body – the numbers “40 40” were painted across the uppermost portion of his chest.
And below those digits, on the left side of his chest, was a painted flag of the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, below which were a series of fireworks. Did we mention that he wore matching blue shoes?
His face was also painted but in yellow and orange and it resembled some sort of mask.
Our next character’s choice of expression of his creativity was, to say the least, a bit confusing.
From the wig to the robe he wore spoke of patriotism, but the decorative aspect of the robe gave rise to many questions.
The wig was spray-painted in the form and colours of the national flag and, when his arms were extended horizontally, two flag were exposed flowing from the length of his arms, downward...
And then there were the panties…Yes, panties!
Attached to the flags were panties of different types and colours, from G-strings to thongs to boy-shorts. And of course, the getup was completed with a pair of pretty striped socks and a pair of clown shoes.
Meet Mr. Beer Food and Rum, and in time you will see why he was given that name.
Bedecked in a gold Christmas-like decorative headpiece, this individual was seen pushing a shopping cart which was not only decorated with red Christmas trimmings, but contained two large cooking pots and several bottles.
A sign attached to the cart read “When you seem me coming down is beer, food and rum”.
It is still not clear if he was selling food, booze or if he just wanted to evoke some sort of laughter or curiosity. However, if the latter was his goal, mission accomplished!
Obviously enjoying himself, our next character’s head was covered with some sort of yellow bonnet, which he paired with a close-fitting blouse and a skirt worn over a pair of three-quarter length jeans. The ensemble was completed with a pair of black rubber mountain boots.
What would you think if you saw a woman - obviously pregnant and seemingly almost at the point of delivery – jamming through the streets of Basseterre on J’Ouvert morning? Well that was not the case but what was observed did give rise to certain questions.
This personality, a woman, appeared to have stuffed a sphere-like object under her T-shirt so as to appear to be with child. Why? Who knows? But she did draw the attention of many.
From doctor to monster costumes, the different personalities exhibited at the J’Ouvert festivity, to say the least, sparked interest, peaked curiosity and provoked thought.
It cannot be said as a matter-of-fact, but it is believed that these characters would be back, most likely, within a couple of day. Keep an eye out for them.
