I am likely to get a lot of flak from some Guyanese for saying this, but it seems to me by just looking around at the kind of people one encounters in our country these days that we had far more flamboyant folks in times gone by. When I was growing up on West Demerara, it seemed that almost every village had one or two unusual or comical characters – many actually seemed to take pride in being odd – and even in dress and demeanour we were a more colourful lot. It could have been from the absence of the various entertainment outlets or electronic gadgets we have these days, but back then folks, for my money, were more flamboyant.
The masquerade bands from that time, for one, would put today’s versions of that art form to shame. Not only were the costumes more elaborate and detailed, but the musicians were more polished, the flouncers more energetic, and the various character pieces like the mad cow and the tiger were played by fellows who were serious
