The J’ouvert festival recently unloaded itself unto our weary Brooklyn and it now stands firmly, surely, as my favorite annual cultural event. Starting at 3am, its hypnotic, rhythmic procession of steel drums and motor oil covered revelers snake their way down Flatbush to … Continue reading
Yes, there were at least 3 shootings and innocent folks were killed and yes, its weird when detectives tape off an area and mark bullet casings on the sidewalk as marijuana and jerk chicken scents intermingle and people carry on as if nobody was just shot 10 minutes before in that very spot. But, people keep on keeping on and they surely did this last Carnival weekend. I attended J’ouvert which is a warm up to the main carnival but for many people its the main attraction and is celebrated more then the carnival parade itself. Its more folkloric in nature, starts in the middle of the night, allows all to participate and is a bit more dionysisian in its ritual and practice. I was blown away, for the first time, by steel drum bands. A hypnotic and voracious aural attack fueled by rum, paint, sweat and played on instruments crafted from left over found materials. Lots of car parts found new life as musical instruments. View a video of a steel-drum band in the parade at the end of the post.
4 am
A shooting happened minutes before at the McDonalds pictured.
Shooting leftovers. (Victim was not gravely injured)
loved this painting. Reminded me of Lima, Peru style murals.
Teenagers near my apt at 9:30am.
Liked these juxtapositions. 6pm.
After several shootings during the parade police presence ramped up.
Police helicoptors starting circling at 5 and finally ended at 11pm.
Two men in the lights of a police helicoptor
Crowd dispersal.
In the light of the coptor.
