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CARIFESTA A CRITICAL TOOL OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Assistant Secretary General, Foreign and Community Relations (FCR) in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Ambassador Colin Granderson said, CARIFESTA is a critical tool of the integration process as it promotes greater awareness of the many sides of our heritage.

Ambassador Granderson, who was addressing the Launch of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) on Wednesday, 23 April 2008, told an outdoor audience of thousands of Guyanese and a strong delegation from the Region that the Festival was the major forum for cultural expression and cooperation in the Community and the wider Caribbean Region.

He added that culture was increasingly being perceived as the root and fruit of the development of the Caribbean Community: “…the root, because it goes to the heart of who we are as a people; the fruit, because it is the product or manifestation of our identity. This product, through our cultural industries, can also bring significant economic returns,” he explained.

The Assistant Secretary General underscored the need for CARIFESTA to become a dynamic process in order to remain interesting and relevant, and acknowledged the artistes of the Region whom he said were the chief proponents of this dynamic process.

He pledged the continued support of the CARICOM Secretariat in ensuring the success of this special event which he said, provided us with a unique opportunity to see and to celebrate ourselves as a people of one Region.

Against the backdrop of a dazzling display of revelry, artistry and showmanship, the Government of Guyana yesterday rolled out its well-advanced plans for the staging of CARIFESTA X and according to Ambassador Granderson, “if what we see tonight is but a small taste of what we can expect from CARIFESTA X,” then the Region should anticipate what is to come with great excitement.

The rich cultural presentations choreographed by Paloma Mohamed, the Artistic Director of CARIFESTA and her energetic team included Guyana National Combined Steel Band tantalizing the crowd with Caribbean rhythms Masquerades who exploded on stage with a riot of colours and drama; African Maroon and Javanese dancers from Suriname with their fusion of drumming, dancing and martial arts, blazing a path for the piece de resistance, the Limbo dancer, Makeba Gabriel from Trinidad and Tobago who ignited the audience with her fiery performance. The evening’s launch climaxed with the spectacular unveiling of the CARIFESTA Logo and song signalled by His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo.

The launch of CARIFESTA attracted delegations from several CARICOM and Latin American countries including Directors of Culture, Members of the Interim Festival Directorate of CARIFESTA; Representatives of the Regional Culture Community and Members of the Artistic Community. CARIFESTA returns to its birthplace after 36 years on 22-31 of August and will be hosted under the theme: One Caribbean; One Purpose – Our Culture; Our Life.

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