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Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, applauded Yard Mas for its theme ‘Land We Love’ which represents Jamaica’s cultural heritage.
While giving her address as guest speaker at Yard Mas’ band launch event on Sunday at Palace Cineplex in St Andrew, she said the eight new costumes the band launched represent a fusion of creativity, culture and national pride.
The eight sections launched are The Lost City, Jewel of the Sea, Swallowtail, Jonkonnu, Hibiscus, Blue Majesty, Lignum Vitae, and Rehgeh.
“This [the eight costumes] is not just another carnival showcase. This is a testament to the beauty, the resilience and authenticity of our Jamaican identity. Carnival is more than costumes and revelry. It is a platform, a vibrant stage, where stories are told, heritage is honoured and communities are united; uptown, downtown and around town, everybody comes up for carnival,” Grange said during her presentation at the launch event.
She said this year’s Yard Mas theme, ‘Land We Love’, is an opportunity to not just celebrate carnival, but also to celebrate Jamaica.
“Incorporating Jamaican authenticity into carnival celebrations reminds us that our culture is not static. It evolves, it adapts and it influences. It reaffirms that while we embrace global traditions, we do so with a unique Jamaican twist. Anything we take on, we make it Jamaican,” Grange said.
For his part, Andrew Bellamy, managing director of Yard Mas, said the eight costumes each have a design that pays homage to the history, culture, and legacy of Jamaica.
“To be fair, it [this year’s theme] came out of brainstorming within our director group. We had a few ideas, Dania Beckford, one of our directors pitched this idea, and immediately all of us loved it. Paying homage to Jamaica. We all admire everything that is Jamaica and makes Jamaica unique and special, so we took inspiration from whether it be the music, the culture, whether it be inna di swallowtail you nuh, everything that is unique to Jamaica and special to Jamaica, that means a lot to us. So, that’s where the idea came from, and then we were able to take that, fine-tune it, do the research, [and] identify the right designers,” Bellamy told The Gleaner.
“You know, clearly we’re actually a Jamaican band owned by Jamaica. So, you know, we had to have Jamaican designers, as well as you know, we had to establish, show respect for regional partners, regional countries who are dominating in Carnival as well, so we had some Trinidadian designers, as well as [a] Barbadian designer. [In] fact, we actually partnered with a band in Barbados, because we’re all about regional integration and finding a way to fuse everything and create this huge melting pot that is a huge win for all of us,” he said.
IMPACT OF CARNIVAL
Meanwhile, Delano Seiveright, senior government advisor and communications strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, is standing on his word that Jamaica can expect to earn billions from carnival this year.
“In 2017, the Ministry of Tourism partnered with Minister Grange’s ministry and the private sector to pilot Carnival in Jamaica, and it really has come together quite wonderfully. Last year, we expected about $5 billion-plus in revenues. We had about 9,000 revellers, 50,000-plus participants, people coming in from all over North America, Europe, [and] the Caribbean,” Seiveright said while delivering his address at the event.
He noted that Yard Mas, just like other carnival brands, has made a significant contribution to the development of the tourism industry in Jamaica, and overall, the nation itself.
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