Recap

INTER-GUIANAS CULTURAL FESTIVAL 2012
When I heard over the radio that an Inter-Guianas Cultural Festival was going to be held in Guyana from
August 23-26, 2012, and that there would be a literary exhibit, it immediately struck me that this would
be a perfect opportunity to revive interest in Legend of the Swan Children and Macmillan’s fantasy fiction
series. So I made a few calls, and got myself on the ticket the day before the festival was to due to
begin.
Armed with copies of my own book, gotten on consignment from Austin’s Bookstore, two other books
from the Fantasy Fiction Series that I had on hand, my presentation board with my artwork and storyline,
my computer with the LSC trailer, and a few books from Canada-based Guyanese Authors, I made my
way to Guyana’s International Conference Centre, to the west of the Caricom Secretariat headquarters,
and set up shop.
Photo: MMM’s Corner
On Day 1 of the literary exhibit, I had a lot of fun. I autographed books, met the heads of the
Surinamese and French Guianese literary arts delegations, and learnt to pronounce the Dutch names in
Guyana properly (the Surinamese have Anansi stories too - Ananse to them!).
Photo: University of Guyana’s Alim Hosein, Coordinator of the Literary Arts Exhibit, with head of
Suriname’s literary delegation, Sylvana Dankerlui. In the background, the French Guiana exhibit.
Guyana’s very own E. R. Braithwaite, author of To Sir With Love, and Patron of the festival, attended the
opening, but I missed him, because I was being interviewed by a TV company. That hurt. E.R.
Braithwaite is celebrating 100 years on planet earth, but he looks 30 years younger by all accounts (as
with all the photos here, the one below was taken, with permission, from Ms. Dankerlui’s online album).
That evening, I saw an excellent French Guianese movie about the gold rush there (shades of Guyana).
Orpailleur is the name. I recommend it highly. A short Guyanese feature film, Tradition, was shown
before Orpailleur. The acting was excellent, absolutely believable, and it had some really good footage of
masqueraders doing their thing. Hats off to Margaret Lawrence (Director), Richard Pitman (Producer),
stars Lavonne George and Kijana Lewis, the Golden Arrowhead Masquerade Band, and all the others
involved! Choosing to see movies in the evenings meant, however, that I missed out on the shows at the
Cultural Centre, like the splendiferous one shown below. But thanks to Sylvana and Ismene Krishnadath
(author of Welcome Stranger), I’ve been allowed to enjoy it vicariously.
Photo: Suriname Night, modelling. Theme: Amerindian Culture
Day 2 of the festival started off slowly, especially for the literary exhibits, but with the University of
Guyana contingent playing Guyanese folk songs, waiting became a jocular affair. This time, we translated
Creole for the benefit of our Surinamese counterparts, and chatted with them about griots and the
importance of writing down family histories. Around noon, things picked up exponentially, especially for
me when Surinamese author, Ismene Krishnadath, expressed a keen interest in translating Legend of the
Swan Children into Dutch! The day ended on a high note with the presentation of a copy of my book as a
gift to a young girl, who couldn’t keep her eyes off it, but just could not afford to buy it (there was
another contributor, but he prefers to go unnamed).
Photo: The Guyana Book Foundation is an NGO, which publishes it’s own books for kids.
On Day 3 of the literary exhibit, which was actually Day 4 of the festival, there was a tinge of sadness in
the air. You could tell that the festival was winding down. Too many events around the city meant that
we only got the stragglers, whose minds were on other things. We broke camp early, anticipating an
enjoyable closing ceremony at the National Park, but the event left me with mixed feelings. There is
nothing more disappointing for artistes than to put their hearts into their performances only to have
sound system problems distort their efforts. Performers also had to contend with a small audience,
because it was JamZone’s final night as well.
Despite the odds stacked against them, the French Guianese drummers were impressive, the Surinamese
traditional Amerindian dancers, in their stunning canary yellow costumes, were infectious, and the
Guyanese Yoruba Singers had my newfound Surinamese friends waving their hands in the air with their
rendition of a song that I was not familiar with, but is apparently very popular in Suriname. Terry Gajraj
was also on hand to rouse the audience into participation with his catchy chutney soca.
Photos: Dancers from Guyana (forefront), and Suriname (background), jam to the pulsating
rhythms of French Guiana’s drummers. Below: Suriname’s traditional dance troupe
At the passing of the mantle to French Guiana, the 2013 host, my friends and I moved closer to the stage
to witness the unveiling of Guyana's monument to the occasion - three life-sized carvings done by artists
from all three countries, encircled by an iron rod depicting unity among our peoples.
Photo: Guyana's Minister of Culture, Dr. Frank Anthony, handing over the mantle to French Guiana Mayor
Unfortunately, hordes of other viewers had the same idea, and the monument was quickly swamped,
making it impossible for photographers to get a good snapshot of the joint creation.
Photo: Inter-Guianas Festival monument before unveiling
In conclusion, I must say this festival opened my eyes. When we think of establishing contacts, so many
of us look northwards across the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to the English-speaking world, and more
recently, southwards to Brazil, but relatively few of us look eastward. The friendships I've made with both
Surinamese and French Guianese have changed that for me. I now see amazing opportunities for building
cultural and economic relationships with our Dutch-speaking and French-speaking neighbours, and for
that I must thank those who conceived of the festival, and brought it to our door.
Photo: Guyana’s National Steel Orchestra’s dulcet tones herald the end
of the ceremony and the beginning of an evening of fun.
For more photos of the event, visit http://gina.gov.gy/wp/?p=958
Maureen Marks-Mendonça
August, 2012