The new Rex Nettleford Hall's 'Golden Touch' emerged winners at the UWI/UTech Carnival Road March last Saturday at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, in St. Andrew. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer A KALEIDOSCOPE of colours washed the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus, St. Andrew, on Saturday, as they staged their annual Carnival road march.
This year, the UWI and University of Technology (UTech) combined with Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires' 'Jamaica Carnival' to stage the first joint universities carnival activities. The road march was the penultimate event.
The march, which was billed for a noon start, failed to get underway until about 2:00 p.m. Organisers blamed the late start on the J'ouvert fete held the night before at the Student's Union on the campus. That fete ended after 5:00 a.m. that same morning.
Thus, at the scheduled noon start time, the campus was a virtual ghost town, with the only bodies in sight belonging to members of the organising committee and persons going about other business.
However by about 2:00 p.m., university students were transformed into costumed revellers dressed in glistening golds, raging reds, booming blues and pulsating purples. The costumes were true to carnival form very bright and very revealing.
The five costumed bands, representing Mary Seacole, Chancellor, Irvine, Taylor, Preston and Rex Nettleford halls assembled at Seacole to begin their trek around the infamous Ring Road. Apparently hell bent on creating some infamy themselves, they gyrated their waistlines and contorted their bodies in ways considered not human by many a by-stander.
Music courtesy of Trinidian Peter Coppin and the local boys Fame FM's Kurt Riley, Zip 103 disc-jocks Ice and Liquid and Irie FM's Nico Bam Bam, as well as copious amounts of Red Stripe seemed to be all the revellers needed to dance their way around, and that they did.
However not to be left out of the 'wining' were the women and men dressed in Red Stripe T-shirts, baby tee's, tights and shorts who travelled on the company's truck. When many a reveller took a wining break they kept at it, much to the delight of the men in the ever swelling audience.
After the Ring Road trek came the judging and the announcing of the first place winner. As it turned out there were two winners as the new Rex Nettleford Hall's gold coloured 'Golden Touch' and Irvine Hall's red and gold hued 'Heatwave' tied for the top honours. Second place went to Taylor Hall's Blue Lagoon, while Preston Hall's 'Purple Reign' nabbed third place. The combined Chancellor and Mary Seacole Halls' aquamarine and white coloured 'Wet Infatuation' took the fourth and final spot.
