Guyana Carnival, 23rd Feb 2017 [VIDEO]

Guyana's equivalent to Carnival is called Mashramani, which means "A Celebration of the Harvest." This festival takes place with steelbands playing calypso music and costumed clad revelers. It is believed that the first Mashramani happened in the bauxite mining town of Linden. The next year other towns such as Georgetown, Berbice and Bartica joined in the celebrations. The celebration gets bigger and better each year as many faces of Guyana are seen as new designers throw their artistic abilities into the production of the festival. The costumes have become bigger and brighter with the infusion of the new and youthful designers.

The Carnival season takes place in February and there is an awakening of the races as each indigenous group comes out to party in their ancestral costumes reflecting the multiethnic society of Guyana. The carnival absorbs each ethnic group with their unique qualities, heritage and culture as they come together to play "Mash".