The Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival was conceived in and continues to be mired in confusion.

When Prime Minister Perry Christie first giddily announced the idea with his usual bombast and fanfare, it was evident that he had little in the way of a comprehensive vision for the carnival or for cultural development. The intellectual laziness that has marked Christie's public career was again on dizzying display.

At first he wanted a Trinidad and Tobago-style carnival. He bragged that he was advised that the Bahamian version could eventually add one to two percent to our GDP, ignoring the economics of T&T carnival, especially the fact of the tens of thousands of Trinis who annually return home for the bacchanal.

Under pressure on the cultural content and authenticity of the proposed extravaganza and to appease his critics, Christie used Krazy Glue to attach the name Junkanoo. Two years on, the head of the Bahamas Carnival Band Owners Association has asked that the name Junkanoo be dropped, as it misrepresents what the event is all about and mostly adds to the confusion that has been a hallmark of the extravaganza.

By eliding notions of Junkanoo and carnival we are doing great damage to the genesis, history and potential of Junkanoo, especially in the minds of younger, more impressionable Bahamians. We are also sowing confusion in the minds of visitors. Thanks to the influence of public commentary and the advice of some working at the carnival commission, greater emphasis has been placed on showcasing Bahamian arts and craft and other cultural forms.

We were told that the event would bring in a significant amount of tourists and significant tourist dollars. It has failed miserably on both counts.

Significant
Unable to attract a significant number of layover visitors, the more lucrative tourists, there was a desperate attempt to lure cruise ship passengers with slipshod marketing, including wooden stick figures pointing the way to the carnival venues.

Meanwhile the carnival is a boondoggle for PLP cronies, with a massive government subsidized budget that is significantly larger than the under $2 million that the government spends directly on the Boxing Day and New Year's Day Junkanoo parades. Genuine Junkanoo is deeply rooted in our history and culture, wonderfully unique to us, extraordinarily artistic and is a valuable example of national discipline.

In a letter to the editor, a well-connected crony, with a relative in high places, claimed that some of those who criticize carnival are driven by self-interests as opposed to broader national interests.

In his mind, that some others have a clear and consistent philosophical position on cultural development comes across as self-interested, which only suggests the philosophical cast of mind of one who would also happily see thousands of acres of Bahamian land alienated to foreigners.

That this particular crony, who has used his high-placed connections to benefit himself while dealing with all manner of foreigners, should accuse others of self-interests is laughable. So much more could be said of this individual's grossly self-interested business interests and dealings.

There is a backstory to carnival. Beginning with the Pindling era and the destruction of Edmund Moxey's Jumbey Village, the PLP never developed a bold, sophisticated and imaginative plan for cultural preservation and development.

Following independence and during a quarter of a century in office, the PLP never developed a national art gallery or a center for the performing arts, two vital cultural institutions. It took the FNM coming to office for these institutions to be developed. The FNM also created the Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation.

With limited funds, there is always a need to prioritize public spending, including funds allocated to the support of cultural activities and events. Instead of a well-developed program of cultural development and support, the Christie administration has thrown millions at a carnival that is mostly ephemeral. How could what might be approaching $20 million spent on carnival thus far have been better spent?

National
Many, including this writer, have long argued for a national festival, which might include some elements of the carnival, including support for Bahamian recording and other artists.

Such a Festival Bahamas could be a week-long event showcasing all facets of Bahamian culture more in-depth, including Junkanoo, and might include guest artists from the Americas, Africa and Europe.

This festival would have some of the features of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival held annually in Washington D.C.

The current generic carnivalesque overlay attempting to mimic T&T-style carnival should be replaced with a more authentic experience of Bahamian folklore sand culture.

This writer is far from being prudish but the dancing in the streets by some was a sordid appeal to vulgarity and a bastardization of what the Calypsonian originators conceived at the genesis of carnival. Meanwhile, as Christie and the PLP keep throwing millions at a poorly conceived carnival, other centers of culture are suffering from a lack of resources. The New Providence Fish Fry is rundown and looking filthy.

Homecoming festivals should be better developed in order to showcase various Family Islands and settlements, and attract more domestic and overseas tourists.

So much more can be invested in the sailing industry, helping to better develop regattas and the building of sloops, a year-round industry that includes boat building and maintenance and the manufacture of sails. Alongside a renewed interest in sculling, more can be invested in preserving, showcasing and developing our maritime culture.

As a means to help sustain itself and to provide scholarships for Bahamian students in the global maritime industry, the LJM Institute, conceived by Bahamian entrepreneur and philanthropist Lowell Mortimer, plans to develop a maritime museum at Crystal Cay.

The museum could attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, helping to better monetize the visit of millions of cruise ship passengers who annually visit New Providence and who are desperate for more interesting things to do while in port.

At $10 a head for an entry fee to a museum filled with interactive exhibits, and with a gift shop and souvenirs, such a museum could generate significant revenue for the institute.

Replica
Given the popularity of the series Black Sails, a pirate drama which takes place in Nassau, and can be seen on Netflix and Showtime, the institute might build a small replica of a pirate ship, which cruise passengers may see as they enter Nassau Harbour, and which they may tour after arrival at Nassau. This kind of museum would benefit from a grant from the government for its development, which would: result in numerous and year-round economic benefits, offer another heritage experience for visitors and help to showcase our maritime heritage for current and future generations.

The greatest opportunity cost of the Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival is the failure of the PLP and the Christie administration to complete the redevelopment of the National Museum at Collins House on Shirley Street.

The building is now an eyesore and a sad testimony of how we continue to neglect and under-nourish our Bahamian soul, culture and identity while gleefully aping all manner of counterfeit imports. It is a sad indictment that more than 40 years after independence and nearly 50 years after majority rule that we do not have a national museum that displays to ourselves and to our children the history and heritage of The Bahamas; and displays to our visitors the pride we have in sharing our story with the global community.

The money spent on carnival might substantially complete the renovations needed for the National Museum and other heritage sites. This is something of which Christie could have truly boasted. Instead, he is beating his chest about a carnival, which has left little tangible in its place. How sad for him and for the country! What message are we sending to ourselves about our national story that we have failed to invest sufficient resources to open such an institution but can spend millions instead on an ephemeral carnival?

A yearly Festival Bahamas, combining the best features of the current carnival alongside a more authentic Bahamian experience, would be well worth the investment of public funds, though not the amount currently budgeted. Such an experience should more equally be underwritten by private and public funds.

An inordinate amount of public funds are being spent on this single event, while more important cultural projects languish, underfunded by Christie and the PLP, who have demonstrated that when it comes to supporting the arts, culture and the preservation of our heritage, that they are intellectually bankrupt and devoid of imaginative and sustainable ideas.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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