Carnival Road March Returns To Belize

September 2, 2022
by Larry Waight +

It has been a little over two years that the streets of Belize City have not been overtaken by a flood of colorful costumes, excited revelers, and waist-catching carnival beats, but mark your calendar since the annual Carnival road march is back in business.

The Belize Carnival Association made the exciting announcement on Tuesday, April 26th, 2022, and revealed that Carnival 2022 will be held under the theme, ”We Outside! We back pon the road.” The much-anticipated event that brings people from all walks of life together to fete will be held on September 3rd, 2022.

For the first time since the pandemic hit, forcing the world to close its doors and cut off the public’s ability to socialize, Belizeans will finally be able to come outside and celebrate this momentous occasion. Locally the Carnival road march which also is a major attraction for international tourists is known to be one of the major highlights of the festive September Celebrations and is used as a medium to commemorate the Battle of St. Georges Caye on September 10th and Independence Day on September 21st.

President of the Belize Carnival Association wrote, ” It’s been two years since we’ve celebrated and played mas. It gives me great pleasure and honor to announce the return of the carnival. As Belizeans, we all look forward to such a joyful occasion, whether we participate in mas or watch the spectacular performance.”

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Carnival in Belize originally started out in the year 1975 and was the brainchild of five local Belizean women. These women are said to have used their children to parade through the street of Belize City dancing and singing as they went along. Those children however brought along their friends and over the years the event expanded to where it is now with the participation of several mass bands.

The day usually starts out with the Jouvert, which is held at daybreak on carnival morning and comprises participants being covered from head to toe in mud, before they proceed to ”bacchanal” through the streets of Belize City. Jouvert is highly traditional and is full of symbols, culture, and heritage.

While the names of the participating mass bands nor the route has been released as yet, this year’s parade is expected to be big and with the county’s patriotic colors on full display, patriotic songs on full blast, and friendly faces out for the first time since the pandemic hit two years ago, this September will be one of the most wonderful months to visit and immerse in Belizean culture.