As Saint Lucia’s Carnival continues to evolve, concerns are growing over whether its traditional roots are being compromised in the face of commercialisation and generational shifts.
During a recent panel discussion at the Listwa Kannaval public lecture held at the Financial Centre, voices from across the cultural spectrum weighed in. Some sounded the alarm regarding what they see as the slow disintegration of Mas, while others defended the need to adapt to modern times.
Embert Charles, a seasoned cultural activist, warned of a troubling drift. “J’ouvert now is so organised,” he said. “If you don’t pay for J’ouvert, you can’t enjoy [it].” He lamented the loss of open access, recalling a time when “people who could not afford to be in a band went to J’ouvert”.
According to Charles, the heart of carnival – Mas – is at risk. “We begin to sort of disintegrate the Mas too much,” he stated. “The old Mas… has been struggling.” While he acknowledged the importance of the two main parade days, he cautioned, “You have to be very careful you don’t segregate it too much… and then you prop up certain elements of carnival which get more resources than others.”
Charles remained wary of these adjustments, particularly the growing gap between national and private events. “We’re experimenting with disintegrating the product,” he said. “At some point, we have to take stock to see where we are and whether it is working.”
Tourism and Culture Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire made it clear that the adjustments underway are not just strategic; they are necessary.
“Gone are the days we used to go to… the park and how jam-packed it would be,” Hilaire said, recalling the golden era of calypso finals. But times, he argues, have changed. “This generation that is coming is not going to calypso finals.”
To him, the solution lies in creating space, not forcing choices. “If we bring it a week earlier, with no competition for those events, they can now go to all the national events and still go to their favourite fetes,” he explained. It’s a compromise to sustain cultural participation while respecting the evolving social scene.
Hilaire, speaking further about the generational divide, said the purpose of separating the events is to give the millennials and Gen Z a chance to enjoy other events like the calypso contests and Panorama. “We’ve seen in the last two years, the numbers starting to increase again for finals, for Soca Monarch, for Panorama,” he stated, crediting the separation.
Acknowledging resistance from traditionalists, the minister said, “Some people may not like it, but it is reality.” Hilaire believes this evolution could reinvigorate national events rather than sideline them. “We don’t like it… it is not the ideal that we wanted, but it is a reality that we face in the modern society that we live in,” he said.
Former Minister of Culture Dr Damian Greaves also called on the nation to reflect on carnival’s deeper role in society, both as a force for unity and as a cultural product now navigating the pressures of modernity.
For Greaves, carnival has always been more than a celebration; it has been a powerful social equaliser. “Carnival [is] the great equaliser, breaking down the barriers of the stubborn hierarchical arrangements in the society,” he said.
Drawing a parallel with artificial intelligence, he posed a broader question: “Is AI man against machine, or man with machine, trying to produce better, as we… progress and evolve?” The underlying concern is whether culture and creativity are being enhanced by modern tools or overpowered by them.
Greaves said he remains optimistic about the cultural innovation unfolding within the carnival space and praised the creativity emerging in calypso and soca, particularly the blending of genres.
Furthermore, he emphasised the need to develop carnival and culture at large. “There must be a conscious and deliberate effort to harness that and to encourage it and help it develop in some form, from the schools and beyond,” he said.
