Organised last Sunday by the Swali* association on the occasion of the Fête de la Musique, this parade marking the start of the summer holidays had the theme “Women in Music”.
For this first edition of “Mas Vakans” in Saint-Martin, inspired by a long-standing tradition in Guadeloupe, participants were invited to wear a T-shirt bearing the name of their favorite female artist. This was a way to pay tribute to the women who have left their mark on Caribbean, Afro-Caribbean, and international music.
The organizers had initially planned to address the issue of violence against women. But the project ultimately took a different direction. “Rather than always presenting women as victims, we decided to value them, to celebrate them through music,” explains Xavier Macbeth, interim co-president of the association’s mas section.
Led by three young whip-wielding men, the procession, made up of about twenty participants, set off from Galisbay at 18 p.m. to the sound of drums. The group then passed through Marigot, Sandy Ground, Bellevue and Concordia in a festive and family-friendly atmosphere.
Beyond the festive aspect, the event aims to maintain a cultural dynamic outside the carnival season and to keep Caribbean traditions alive throughout the year. The Swali* association now hopes to establish Mas Vakans as a fixture on the Saint-Martin cultural calendar and make it an annual event. _DR
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/vie-locale-mas-vakans-un-deboule-pour-celebrer-les-femmes-artistes/
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