Happy
Independence Day, Grenada!
February 7, 2007: Independence
Day! Noga and I went down to Tanteen, outside of St. George's, to
experience the festivities. In stark contrast to all of the
excitement felt in the air yesterday, the actual national celebration
was
entirely somber. Both Noga and I were in awe of our first
military
parade experience. Although the tiny island nation of Grenada was
celebrating its independence,
Britain sent over a gigantic
battleship. Venezuela, too, joined in the occasion and sent a
somewhat smaller, if much more regimented ship full of soldiers.
In fact, there were so many groups of uniformed individuals, it was surprisingly difficult to tell who was who.
These fellows kept Noga and I, and the rest of the spectators, in line.
The entire regiment from behind. Everyone paraded before us once in the middle of the parade, and then again on their way off the field. The theory was that they each pump their arms in formation as they march: straight arms, forward to shoulder height, then back to hip height. Some were more talented in the synchronization category than others. Oh, the Venezuelans, again, were the exception here. They had an entirely different march, and they were terribly synchronized.
This photo gives a sense of some of the bizarre contrasts seen. Sailors from Britain in white, followed by Brits in colonial uniform (at an independence celebration??) followed by Grenada's new, post-independence friends, the Venezuela.
The British are coming! The British are coming!!
These are, presumably, the folks who would put back the pieces of the soldiers who fall apart. A necessary contingent at any gathering of uniforms with guns. The guy in front is the only one who hammed it up with the crowd, flailing his arms with abandon - we all cheered for his enthusiasm amidst the somber soldiers!
The only women to appear on the field (besides the red cross people) came in distinct groups: between these two, the lighter blue are of lesser rank than the darker. They are a sort of "guard."
A 21-gun salute is conducted with a cannon, which was out of sight from where we were. The first 21-gun salute, that is. There was a second, even more alarming salute, later on, to come from the British battleship. Note the American flag in the photo above. As near as we could tell, America was unrepresented in the ceremony by actual persons. Just a flag.
The Venezuelans were a...scary...group. They were super organized. They had two guys (the one in the middle above, and on the right below) hollering commands which prompted the soldiers to change from one intimidating position to another. The ranks barked back responses to the hollerers. I must say, this group represented the uneasiness I felt at having so many factions of soldiers in different uniforms from different countries all on one small field, battleships and fort in the background.
One source of morbid amusement was the surprisingly wide variety of implements of destruction represented on the field at any one time. From a cannon to automatic weapons and rifles to muskets to...well...pointy sticks! (See the first photo, above.)
Yes, as far as we could tell, this is the very same band which erroneously played the Taiwanese anthem in place of the Chinese as thanks for building the country a new cricket stadium. This time, they appeared to get the songs right, although anything but the Grenada anthem was played with...mmm...moderate mastery. Bizarrely, again, Grenada is inundated with fantastic music, but the independence day celebration played only dreary militaristic, European tunes. Even the Grenada anthem was played with limited enthusiasm, and no one ever seems to sing the words. The people are wise to celebrate the rest of the year with the area's more compelling tunes. A pan band played in the intermission between the parade and the speeches.
Red Cross.
Never too young to join the ranks:
And then, there were SIRENS and ACTION as Grenada displayed the latest and greatest in motorized protection:
One marked police motorcycle.
One marked police car.
One Honda with light bar and siren.
One SUV.
One pickup.
One fire truck.
Then, last but not least, the Grenada motorcycle brigade brought up the rear. I can't remember their title, exactly. Can you make out the pink cycle in the back? This photo was taken on their first pass by the crowd.
By the time the final march off the field came around, they went for a more informal presentation (amidst all the soldiers in full regalia.) Each driver sported a lady passenger...and this one is on her phone!
In fact, there were so many groups of uniformed individuals, it was surprisingly difficult to tell who was who.
These fellows kept Noga and I, and the rest of the spectators, in line.
The entire regiment from behind. Everyone paraded before us once in the middle of the parade, and then again on their way off the field. The theory was that they each pump their arms in formation as they march: straight arms, forward to shoulder height, then back to hip height. Some were more talented in the synchronization category than others. Oh, the Venezuelans, again, were the exception here. They had an entirely different march, and they were terribly synchronized.
This photo gives a sense of some of the bizarre contrasts seen. Sailors from Britain in white, followed by Brits in colonial uniform (at an independence celebration??) followed by Grenada's new, post-independence friends, the Venezuela.
The British are coming! The British are coming!!
These are, presumably, the folks who would put back the pieces of the soldiers who fall apart. A necessary contingent at any gathering of uniforms with guns. The guy in front is the only one who hammed it up with the crowd, flailing his arms with abandon - we all cheered for his enthusiasm amidst the somber soldiers!
The only women to appear on the field (besides the red cross people) came in distinct groups: between these two, the lighter blue are of lesser rank than the darker. They are a sort of "guard."
A 21-gun salute is conducted with a cannon, which was out of sight from where we were. The first 21-gun salute, that is. There was a second, even more alarming salute, later on, to come from the British battleship. Note the American flag in the photo above. As near as we could tell, America was unrepresented in the ceremony by actual persons. Just a flag.
The Venezuelans were a...scary...group. They were super organized. They had two guys (the one in the middle above, and on the right below) hollering commands which prompted the soldiers to change from one intimidating position to another. The ranks barked back responses to the hollerers. I must say, this group represented the uneasiness I felt at having so many factions of soldiers in different uniforms from different countries all on one small field, battleships and fort in the background.
One source of morbid amusement was the surprisingly wide variety of implements of destruction represented on the field at any one time. From a cannon to automatic weapons and rifles to muskets to...well...pointy sticks! (See the first photo, above.)
Yes, as far as we could tell, this is the very same band which erroneously played the Taiwanese anthem in place of the Chinese as thanks for building the country a new cricket stadium. This time, they appeared to get the songs right, although anything but the Grenada anthem was played with...mmm...moderate mastery. Bizarrely, again, Grenada is inundated with fantastic music, but the independence day celebration played only dreary militaristic, European tunes. Even the Grenada anthem was played with limited enthusiasm, and no one ever seems to sing the words. The people are wise to celebrate the rest of the year with the area's more compelling tunes. A pan band played in the intermission between the parade and the speeches.
Red Cross.
Never too young to join the ranks:
And then, there were SIRENS and ACTION as Grenada displayed the latest and greatest in motorized protection:
One marked police motorcycle.
One marked police car.
One Honda with light bar and siren.
One SUV.
One pickup.
One fire truck.
Then, last but not least, the Grenada motorcycle brigade brought up the rear. I can't remember their title, exactly. Can you make out the pink cycle in the back? This photo was taken on their first pass by the crowd.
By the time the final march off the field came around, they went for a more informal presentation (amidst all the soldiers in full regalia.) Each driver sported a lady passenger...and this one is on her phone!