Caribbean Carnival Network are established

By José Armando Fernández Salazar

Santiago de Cuba.- To establish partnerships in the management, protection and dissemination of popular traditional festivals, the Caribbean Carnival Network was founded in Santiago de Cuba, integrated by 11 countries in the region.

The official announcement of the founding of the agency for cultural cooperation, was developed during a session of the symposium The Caribbean that unites us, held in Santiago de Cuba on the subject of XXV Festival del Caribe.

The Fire Festival, an event whose importance was included in the network, but it is not a carnival.

This collaborative tool is a model to join the political will in the region to protect one of the most important expressions of the Caribbean identity through exchanges of information and the creation of legal frameworks for cultural and business agreements.

One of the institutions that promoting the integration project was the Carnival of Barranquilla, whose director, Carla Celia told to Cubarte that one of the objectives of the network is to create spaces for each of the festivals contribute their knowledge and create a major event bringing together all those experiences and artistic expressions.

She added that one of the potential of the initiative is its look at the children carnivals, a practice which is present in several countries and that is the seed to maintain and enrich the Caribbean carnival tradition.

Alfonso Munera Cavadía, general secretary of the Association of the Caribbean said it was worth creating this network that would serve tool to unite the Caribbean, an area that has been separated because of colonial interests throughout history.

According to the founding Act, the Network will hold meetings biennially and its headquarters will rotate through the region, starting with Barranquilla, then Santiago de Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago. Plus it will create spaces for organizing seminars, conferences, book fair and exchanges in order to promote cooperation and friendship between peoples and analyze issues such as management model carnivals.

FESTIVALS THAT MAKE UP THE CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL NETWORK

Cuba (Santiago de Cuba Carnival, Fiesta del Fuego)

Bahamas Carnival (Junkanoo Carnival)

The Carnival of Barranquilla Carnival in Rio Sucio, Caldas

Granada (Granada Spicemas)

   Guatemala (Carnival of Mazatenango)

Martinique (Martinique Carnival)

Mexico (Cozumel Carnival)

Nicaragua (Joy for Life Carnival)

Haiti (Haitian Defile Kanaval)

Panama (Carnicol of the City)

Dominican Republic (Dominican Republic Carnival)

Trinidad and Tobago (Carnival of Trinidad and Tobago)

Source: AIN