By Jarryl Bryan
The COVID-19 pandemic has left no one unscathed in its wake, including the performing artistes. With the risks and social distancing requirements, creative performers have had to adapt to a new, more digital world.
One such person is Gavin Mendonca, who is the programme Director of the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival. Mendonca, an artiste himself, who combines local music with a unique blend of rock, has had to ensure the festival changes with the times.
In previous times, when the festival was held at Rock View Lodge located at Annai in Region Nine in 2014 and 2015, it would have featured a bonfire flickering in the background, roasting meat and live music.
The show was held in Georgetown in 2017 and 2019, while also being held at Manari Ranch, another Region Nine location, in 2018. According to Mendonca, the show was supposed to have been held at Manari in 2020, away from the busy city and ironically, technology… but that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing them even closer to the technology they tried to wean themselves off of.
“Due to COVID-19, these plans were all scrapped. Life for musicians, creatives and festival goers alike was turned upside down, and this festival, along with every other major social event around the entire world was just shut down,” Mendonca explained.
“What a blow to society that has been – since events like festivals serve many purposes especially when it comes to fostering community, preserving Culture and the various art forms, as well as offering people a human experience like none other,” he also mused.
With the option to host a live festival this year out of the window, Mendonca noted that the festival team decided not to let the year end without doing anything. And so, the virtual Rupununi Music and Arts Festival 2020, held under the theme “Memories of Years Past” was born.
The show was held on Sunday and featured performances from Guyana’s own Dave Martins with is evergreen track “Not a blade ah grass”, Tujay the Poet, Marva Newton, Buxton Fusion, the Kanaima Dancers and the Mighty Gabby of Barbados, among others.
Moving forward, Mendonca noted that they have plans to host their next virtual session on February 15, 2021, in a bid to celebrate the seven-year anniversary of the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival.
Spice
Meanwhile, the Christmas season saw local talent show “Spice and Clove” rolling out their third show of the year. Born in May out of a necessity to keep creative talents engaged during the pandemic, “Spice and Clove” held its “Carolling with the Creatives” show on Saturday.
Saturday’s show, which was streamed live on Facebook, saw singing performances from Shania Sampson, Synnovea Maynard, Olivia Morris, Crystal Van Diomen, Nyana Evans and Onika George, as well as rapping from Josiah Mentore aka Ele Ment and “Bear Sawse”.
Meanwhile, Joel Webster, Nicosie Xophe, Terrence Issacs, Nia Williams and The Shady Poet contributed to the poetry aspect of the show, while “Tujay” performed a comedy sketch for the online audience.
In an interview with this publication, “Spice and Clove” founder Gracie Hutson aka her stage name “The Olive” spoke of the year-long strides the show has made throughout the year in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it evolved into a Black Lives Matter themed event.
“Spice and Clove” started as a result of the pandemic and fans of the arts and creatives (mainly them) were starving for shows. They tagged me and Renata (Burnette) in a status asking us to put something together and after some nudging from Renata, I came up with the concept.”
“The first edition which was just “Spice and Clove” was supposed to be a one-time event but people started swarming and asking us to make it a regular thing. So, “Spice and Clove” Black Lives Matter was created around the time the Henry boys were brutally murdered,” she said.
The show had numerous positives. Hutson described how there were people on the show who had to muster the courage to perform for the first time and who have since embarked on a journey to develop their craft.
The show also allowed these creatives a chance to both practice and network with other creatives. She pointed out that even now, a number of these creatives who met for the first time on “Spice and Clove” are now collaborating for upcoming projects.
Making “Spice and Clove” a virtual reality did not come without its challenges. According to her, shoddy internet and other technical issues were some of the main challenges. There were cases where devices would die in the middle of performances or the internet would freeze up, something she noted is a distraction from the show.
“Additionally, the audio and sound quality sometimes cause viewership to go down because they can’t hear or see the person properly,” “The Olive” also explained to this publication. But notwithstanding the challenges they faced and overcame, she has big plans for “Spice and Clove” come 2021.
“There will be more virtual and when (if) the pandemic is over soon we’ll be at a physical location. (We’re) currently working on making “Spice and Clove” a company for creatives to train, promote and network,” “The Olive” also explained.
Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for the creative pool of Guyana. It has indeed been a tough year for creatives. But they deserve the credit for pulling out all the stops to still bring entertainment in the Christmas season.
