For the first time, Saint Lucia’s La Rose Festival has been formally included in the Cultural Development Foundation’s (CDF) national Emancipation Month calendar, a move celebrated by some cultural activists but criticised by others as interfering with the solemnity of emancipation observances.
Proponents, such as Drenia Frederick, CDF creative producer, argue that La Rose, one of the nation’s two historical flower festivals, is deeply linked to themes of resistance and identity.
However, Aaron Ras Iron Alexander, President of the Iyanola Council for the Advancement of Rastafari (ICAR), views the inclusion as a distraction and argues that Emancipation Day (August 1) should remain focused on reparations and historical reflection.
The case for inclusion
The national calendar, which runs from late July to August 31, culminates on the date traditionally reserved for the La Rose (also known as La Woz) Festival. While many regard La Rose as a purely cultural or religious observance, its roots, according to organisers, tie deeply into the themes of freedom, resistance and identity that underpin Emancipation Day.
“It goes back over 150 years,” said Drenia Frederick, creative producer at the CDF. “It gave the then enslaved the opportunity to develop an alternate culture where they could take on various roles.”
La Rose groups and performances include the portrayal of various characters, for instance, kings, queens, and police officers, and features what Frederick describes as an “open-ended” practice that adapts with time. “In modern times, you could add additional professions and characters,” she told St Lucia Times. “Before, it was about the hope of becoming those things, but today, after Emancipation, we have achieved that. We can be anything we want to be.”
The festival’s main public observance takes place on August 30, featuring a church service in observance of the feast of Saint Rose de Lima, followed by traditional presentations, music and dance. But the work of La Rose societies stretches across the calendar year.
“La Rose, and to some extent La Marguerite, groups were the first forms of community support. They were sort of the first credit unions,” Frederick said. “So you begin to understand that it has its historical presence that is linked directly to Emancipation, even existing before that time. I think it dates as far back as the 16th century.”
For some, La Rose is a way of life. Yanette Oshun James, 27, a longtime member of the Mon Repos La Rose and now president of her own group, Lacourville La Rose, said the tradition gives her a strong connection to her ancestry.
“It connects me to my ancestors. It is definitely a way of expression, a way of life of our people, especially in the community where Iʼm from, in Mon Repos,” James said. She began as a police officer character in the group before becoming a chantwell and eventually leader.
The traditions continue throughout the year in community events and weekend gatherings. “Our forefathers saw it as an opportunity to mock the colonisers and, in the same vein, use their drums and rhythms to keep people together. It was really a celebration for us; what we call bouillée. So, we celebrate that freedom. And to me, this is one of the oldest forms of emancipation,” she said.
The case against
Still, not all are in agreement about the festival’s inclusion in Emancipation Month. Alexander voiced his concerns particularly about Emancipation Day observances in Castries on August 1. He said he was surprised — and displeased — to see La Rose included in the formal programme.
“It’s important to note that our ancestors at the time led a movement where they declared: ‘No reparations, no emancipation,’” Alexander said. “So, we have to accept the fact that emancipation is a process. And today, since our ancestors have fought and given their lives – the ultimate sacrifice – we must honour that by staying focused on the message of freedom and liberty.”
While ICAR has partnered with the CDF on Emancipation Month activities in recent years, including its own Marcus Garvey Market Day scheduled for August 9, Alexander warned that the inclusion of festivals like La Rose, along with carnival activities spilling into August, could dilute the seriousness of the month’s themes.
“I want to appeal to the Ministry of Tourism, the CDF, and other entities funding those carnivals into August. They should stop that practice,” he said. “Any community group seeking sponsorship for carnival events in August should be denied. Let them know these things are not acceptable.”
Alexander said that although he respects La Rose as a tradition, the festival should be observed separately and not overlap with Emancipation Day events.
“There were persons gathered at Constitution Park and William Peter Boulevard on August 1, who felt that La Rose wouldn’t have a place within Emancipation Day,” he said. “It sort of obscured the day, because while you had people chanting emancipation tunes and music, another truck was shouting ‘Vive La Rose!’ It was confusing.”
The ICAR president warned that if the trend continues, his organisation may reconsider its participation in future State-organised Emancipation Month activities.
“I don’t think we should go down that route again,” he said. “If that’s going to be the trend moving forward, I don’t think the Rastafari community will continue participating in the national emancipation activities as we have been doing with the CDF.”
Meanwhile, La Rose celebrations continue throughout August, with events listed on the CDF’s official platforms.
In the words of Rodney King “can’t we all just get along”……but as long as the celebrations are purely Afrocentric and “ The Thesis ” Remembering The Ancestors is in sync, then it’s fine with me. However, I clearly understand the Ras point of view, no other events should overshadow Emancipation Day. Black People should celebrate Emancipation Day as profoundly as they do for Good Friday and Easter . We should be chanting and drumming and go by the beach go out on boats and drop flowers and reef’s to pay homage to our ancestors that made it thru the horrible, horrific, horrific, barbistic , Slave Transatlantic Crossings. Our stories being told or talked about has become so lackluster, even the notion of asking for reparations has dwindled…..it’s not even bar talk anymore. These days they have found other methods of dividing us by the use of their political correctness terminology Black and Brown People which is fine with some who sees this and feels this as a close proximity to whiteness based on their programmed mentality. The thought we need a day to remember when they declared “we are free” but still maintaining a psychological noose around our necks for centuries for August 1st is pure melancholy. That La Rose Celebration should have its own date; “ a fi we culture” and our way of life must be preserved too….even this is too is under threat from the new generation who takes little interest our past history and folk tales for them history starts in the 1990’s onward up.