By *Jomo Sanga Thomas
(“Plain Talk” July 11, 2025)
Carnival has come and gone. Most Vincentians are seamlessly returning to their racial and class backgrounds. On Wednesday, a sporting treasure who warmed many local hearts with his football prowess opined that the real carnival is about to begin with lots of laughter and plenty of giveaways.
A man in the know disclosed a week before Carnival Tuesday that one mas band had 1,600 revellers, 1,300 women, and 300 men. With the average price of costumes at EC$700, women are outspending men 3 to 1. Is this because more women are working now, or a reflection of a graver problem in Vincentian society? Was it a politician or a calypsonian who remarked that things are so sticky these days that some of our women have taken to selling cats and dogs? Reports are that no pay for dogs.
And the real winner is? Rum! Private shows and parties — more rum. Every generation expresses concerns about the generation that follows it. Some say that there is no need to worry, but I have real difficulties explaining what accounts for the triumph of rum and drunkenness. I came of age when Rastafarians aptly described the drinking of strong spirits as the devil’s soup.
Today, men and women alike drink with the frequency and volume that is bound to have a profound effect on the health and judgment of many of our citizens. Is the embrace of alcohol a reflection of a larger mental health crisis in our society, or is it simply merriment taken to the 10th degree? Whatever the reason, our sociologists, counsellors, and national development planners need to get to work because we are on the cusp of a public health crisis.
Is it possible for us to have rhythm with less rum, or has that land-plane left the town long ago? Is there a way to teach responsible drinking, or is alcohol consumption inherently irresponsible? Is alcohol consumption truly an integral part of our country as some have said, or must we settle for the established trend that high mas of cultural expression step back, retreat or surrender to the over-commercialisation that has gripped and overtaken carnival?
Carnival is about people, and they came in droves to witness our spectacle. With increased connections as airlines added SVG as a destination, many foreign-based Vincentians came for the festivities. It would be good to know how many non-nationals joined us this year. If we can ascertain who came and where they came from, we can better market our carnival product.
Bongo Prime is a young and promising artist who is making an impact, gaining respect and success. He took the Ragga Soca title and emerged 2nd in the Soca competition.
Problem Child won the Road March with “Fraid horn” as well as second place with “Pong Pong”. He has emerged as a creative genius. Year after year, hit after hit, and his reach is expanding regionally and beyond.
Maddzart is as mad as he is artistic. In his presentation last Sunday, he predicted that even Comrade Ralph knew that he was going to win again. And so it was as he took the monarch with his masterful presentation of “Gravy Train”, a song that mocked those who he claimed hitch on to the ULP bandwagon because they suck on the honeycomb of power.
In winning the calypso monarch for the second year in a row, he cemented his place as a legend in the art form. He is the only artist who has rendered songs that won the Road March, Ragga Soca, and Calypso Monarch competitions.
Fya Empress came in second for the second year in a row. Is it my imagination, or did she sing one verse twice as she did last year? Her emotions and expressions are powerful evocations of her theme, but she may have to temper them so as not to trip herself up as she attempts to recapture the monarchy.
Zion I proclaimed in song that even though everybody knew who he meant, his quest is not for money or a crown. A crowd favourite in the tents, the judges looked the other way.
Some say Man Sick is sick in the head because of his rendition, “Nothing Good to Say”, in which he celebrated the governance of PM Gonsalves and his ULP over the years. Only last year, he belted out an opposition favourite, “Nothing to Show”. Followers of calypso know that Man Sick sings what comes to his head. Very early in the ULP’s administration, he labelled Gonsalves Pharoah and came right back to hail his “Education Revolution”.
We see it every day, but on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, flesh was on full display, an overabundance of it. Much of it is not pleasing to the eye, but there is now an unprecedented acceptance of nakedness. No matter how they explain or rationalise it, most of our women who carry around excessive pounds cannot be pleased with what looks back at them in the mirror each morning.
And no, please don’t say that you don’t eat a lot. Some of us have health-related issues that negatively impact our body weight. Still, an honest conversation with ourselves will lead us to conclude that our growing waistlines and bulging body frames are directly related to what we put into our mouths. SVG has an obesity problem, and unless we wage a serious battle to curb it, our people, especially our women, will increasingly suffer from swollen feet and painful hips, knees and ankles. Those who claim to be overly consumed by work and cannot find time for physical exercise will realise that much of what they rat race to accumulate will amount to fools’ gold. Soon, much of what they saved would be turned over to doctors and other specialists as they suffer heart, lung, and other organ failures.
*Jomo Sanga Thomas is a lawyer, journalist, social commentator and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.