This is not an expat Carnival!– Donald E. de Castro
He expressed that the stark contrast between the Road Town and Carrot Bay Festivals were like chalk and cheese.
According to de Castro, the St George’s Episcopal (Anglican) Church troupe that participated in the RT parade was the only one that made sense. He cited this inclusion as an improvement on celebrations from previous years.
“I think they had a troupe there saying experience Panama. What [does] Panama have to do with our culture?” he asked.
He also noted there were promotions highlighting aspects of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and stated emphatically that this had nothing to do with the local culture. “Carrot Bay was a superior thing, it’s shameful,” de Castro expressed.
The outspoken commentator said that organisers had a long way to go in getting the Emancipation Festival back to what it should truly represent and said examples should be taken from the Carrot Bay celebrations.
He also called for the inclusion of other islands and villages within the Territory in the annual Emancipation celebrations, “They have to include Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda. This is a Virgin Islands Festival, not an expat carnival! This thing [is] catering to expats…” he said.
de Castro also felt that more could be done to involve school children in the Virgin Islands history and culture than is currently being done.
“They had more half naked women and half naked children than they had in any other parade,” he remarked.
The commentator said he was annoyed at the irony that Festival Chairman, Mr Marvin ‘MB’ Blyden and Culture Minister Hon. Myron V. Walwyn were giving ‘big ups’ during the Carrot Bay Festiville Opening for the level of cultural involvement even as they were the persons responsible for the Territory’s Emancipation Festival overall.
He said more troupes were needed that represented the VI culture and noted the absence of funji bands from this year’s parade. “We have got to get it back…” de Castro said, “When they put a troupe at our Festival that is supposed to represent our culture and our history.”
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78 Responses to “This is not an expat Carnival!– Donald E. de Castro”
DD need to sit down he old self is it not an expact suffered through the five minutes to make him a father which local would put that old disgusting troll on them
You are a bit too harsh but I get your message. Some locals like to use expats but believe the expats must otherwise be quiet and not express themselves. Typical slave-master thinking. Donald must realize that everyone, local or expat, living in the BVI must be free to celebrate and contribute to festival.
A man culture is his culture and BVI has lost its culture and history.
Furthermore, when you attend Trinidad carnival, it is about its culture in Trinidad. What is wrong with the people of the BVI. It is a shame. Yes we can have outside participation but our history must remain. Everything is imported in the BVI
Do you know what racism is don't confuse bias/prejudice with racism, you dilute the damages caused by racism when you confuse the two.
Can't be upset at Decastro a people that refuse to have a standard/expectation is doom to die or be enslaved!!!
What are we celebrating emancipation or VI culture or both, Please define.
All that is besides the point. Even family respects their brothers' home. They don't come in, crap on all the furniture and paint over the place to suit themselves!
people like these wish for us to embrace a culture they themselves don't support. The culture back then did not allow for greed and wickedness of such rampant nature but these same people are cutting each others throats but would like us to go back to the days of our forefathers. nonsense.
Furthermore if you look into african culture and even see some of the untouched tribes in the furthest reaches of the african continent and even some of those that have adapted to modern day society. watch them celebrate see the gyrations, see the garb. clothes were a thing brought onto us by slave masters if you wish to go into history, the africans that came across were usually barely clothed and had hardly much clothes on their backs while working in the fields. And even upon emancipation how many newly freed slaves had dashikis and so forth.
And lastly before the good church goes off emulating the african sovereigns of yesteryear I think they should remember that many times those same kings and queens sold hundreds of their people into slavery in return for goods.
Time is changing, if there is no change there wont be no success to what the BVI is looking for. Look at where most of YOUR money is coming from people coming and buying your products you do not know if they are expats unless you know them.
If you do not want to change its on you but if there is a diversity of people that are looking to share there culture it is a good thing. If more children are open up to more cultures they will understand what other know and go thru.
Wait a bit! He runs a business right? We need not to use our expat money to support that old conceited man. He should be praying and trying to catch up with God for all those times he spent doing ev!l he trying to cause a rival.
We love you man but come on,give your energy to eco or v=green or something just not this right now
Love ya bro...
We need more like Donald DeCastro, not less.
So go ahead. Do us the favour that we cannot seem to do for ourselves. Boycott the August. Boycott the whole country! And let us get to work to salvage our own culture and country for our kids and grand. Give us the incentive to stay home and participate rather than leave to avoid the sight of our streets and our festival overrun by foreigners.