Can you believe there are two Labor Day Parades in New York? I never knew that, and this piece of information really threw me off. I was about to give an earful to a news writer, when I realized she was not speaking about the real parade. She was referring to the fake one. Phew, that was a close one!
It turns out there is a Labor Day Parade and a Labor Day Carnival. One started in 1882, the other one, in the 1940s. One takes place on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the other, on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. One started as a real rally on Labor issues, the other one as a Costume Party in Harlem. One is purely American, the other was started mostly by Trinidadians and other West Indians.
Even though the Labor Day Carnival is not the oldest, to most, it is the real Labor Day Parade. I will never get used to the official name: West Indian-American Day Carnival. It doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it?
When I arrived in New York, my friends didn’t take me to Manhattan on Labor Day. I didn’t go see five white people and a few City workers stand on Fifth Avenue, waving some timid flags while a couple of marching bands went by. Instead, they took me to the biggest black block party in the U.S.
Attendance in Brooklyn is in the millions and constantly rising. Meanwhile, the people are going less and less to Manhattan, so much so that the parade has been canceled last year. They need to get back indoors and let us take care of the celebration.
If I ask any West Indian if he’s going to the parade, he knows exactly what I mean. And chances are, around noon on the first Monday in September, I would find him in Brooklyn, somewhere on Eastern Parkway or an adjacent street. He would probably have feathers in his hair and his body painted in bright colors. Or he could be wearing a T-shirt with the name, colors and coat of arms of his Caribbean country, plus the flag as a doorag.
All over Brooklyn, specially in the Crown Heights section, there would be kids and grownups walking on stilts towards the parade site, and others dragging their heavy steel pans. Around the neighborhoods, there would be loud music coming from everywhere: building windows, storefronts and passing cars. While walking the streets, I would be listening to every word and feeling every beat from the latest Calypso, Soca, Rap, Reggae or Konpa hits. The whole area would feel like a giant boombox.
Extra wide stands built on semi trucks with ridiculously big sound systems and speakers, richly decorated floats, revelers, masqueraders, onlookers, all rushing towards the parade’s starting point. Men, Women and Children in skimpy outfits smiling with joy, face and body full of paint and glitter, walking in groups towards their masquerade bands’ headquarters.
Others would be strolling along in full parade gear: huge circles made with heavy wire mesh, aluminum tubing, feathers, papier mâché, cardboard, all kind of fabric, tinsel, etc. Everything expertly put together and artistically spray painted. This ensemble is so heavy that it has to rest on wheels, sometimes.
And, there would be this divine aroma floating around the area. It’s coming from the food! The best tasting food in the world. Our famous West Indian cuisine: oxtail, jerk pork or chicken, rice and peas, all kinds of fried fish, codfish, salt fish, curried chicken or goat, stewed chicken or beef, callaloo, ackee, roti, beef patties, fritters, fried plantains, greens, salads, juices, sodas, Caribbean style cola, sorrel drink, mauby (or mabi), etc. And of course, hot sauce. No genuine West Indian would forget the extremely hot Caribbean Pepper Sauce, because the food would not taste wright without it.
The parade’s route is like a giant Cornucopia of Delicious Sounds, Beats, Rhythms, Dances, Flavors, Smells, and Colors. It is the largest cultural gathering in New York. Now, this is THE Labor Day Parade I know and love.
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Blog post by Tatán
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