Carifesta XIII is in progress in Barbados. This edition of the region’s premier festival of the arts has underlined a number of issues affecting the festival and a number of patterns that have formed, indicating trends that have developed.
More immediate has been the public impressions of the event. The Barbadian public, as well as general observers, have made very significant comments expressing their views, and these have been characterised by large-scale criticisms, lamenting the several hitches that have plagued the festival.
From another angle, it is of interest how much of a force majeure Guyana has become in successive Carifestas, and how much this has been noticed currently in Barbados. This may be placed against the factor of the waning emphasis placed on Carifesta by some Caricom nations and the declining stature of the festival as the tour de force in the arts of the region.
