Describing the rake-and-scrape festival on North Caicos is nearly impossible when you're using only the written word and still photos. They can't capture the jiggle and bump, the sway and bounce that move through a crowd listening to island music.
Some people turn themselves over to the beat and hit the dance floor, with or without a partner. Most just stand and talk, but with hips and shoulders in motion. Others make the circuit here at Horsestable Beach, parading their style. Are they walking or dancing? It's hard to tell.
I go to a lot of small festivals in Richmond, which is known (or should be) for throwing a great street party. There are many similarities between those and this: The music is always too loud; there's plenty of food and drink; little kids bounce around in their own worlds; the young women are dressed for display.
There are small differences, too. Here I don't worry about carrying ID, as there is no wristband checkpoint to ensure only legal-age drinking. And in Richmond you'd never find the two hatted ladies doing basket work in one of the open shelters, listening to the music and wordlessly watching the shameless strutting and guzzling around them.
The biggest difference, though, is that movement, that bounce. People here are more likely to dance, not formally but as a part of being. And the men start first. Some guy will begin to groove and "wine" on his own, doing an uninhibited solo turn on the floor. That puts other hips in motion and the dance spreads through the crowd, becoming the essence of the party.
It's not about the food or the booze or the flashy boats or the short-shorts and see-through blouses. It's about the beat that's inside each person.
Some people turn themselves over to the beat and hit the dance floor, with or without a partner. Most just stand and talk, but with hips and shoulders in motion. Others make the circuit here at Horsestable Beach, parading their style. Are they walking or dancing? It's hard to tell.
I go to a lot of small festivals in Richmond, which is known (or should be) for throwing a great street party. There are many similarities between those and this: The music is always too loud; there's plenty of food and drink; little kids bounce around in their own worlds; the young women are dressed for display.
There are small differences, too. Here I don't worry about carrying ID, as there is no wristband checkpoint to ensure only legal-age drinking. And in Richmond you'd never find the two hatted ladies doing basket work in one of the open shelters, listening to the music and wordlessly watching the shameless strutting and guzzling around them.
The biggest difference, though, is that movement, that bounce. People here are more likely to dance, not formally but as a part of being. And the men start first. Some guy will begin to groove and "wine" on his own, doing an uninhibited solo turn on the floor. That puts other hips in motion and the dance spreads through the crowd, becoming the essence of the party.
It's not about the food or the booze or the flashy boats or the short-shorts and see-through blouses. It's about the beat that's inside each person.
RSS Feed