Carnival videos punctuated the day on Saturday (March 18, 2023). If the Mi-Lent is a popular celebration in Guadeloupe, where this day is a public holiday, it was not so in Martinique until this year. A “tradition” claimed by some street orchestras.
Snare drum, chacha and bass drum argued Saturday March 18, 2023 on the Fort-de-France seafront. A carnival in the middle of Lent? It looked very much like it. It was the street orchestra “le groupe A” that had invited to this “Mi-Carême-Edition”. Many have answered.
I like it, the carnival is life.
Many participants in this Lenten carnival in Fort-de-France. • ©Peggy Pinel-Féréol
It’s just a pause to revitalize and continue better.
Mi-Lent has always been a joy for me because at home in Guadeloupe we celebrate this day.
A little earlier, around 5 a.m., the hiking group Krizz Band had also pounded the pavement to the beat for a Shrove Tuesday slumber party between Cluny and the heroic Vietnam roundabout. The early hour probably limited the number of participants to a few dozen.
After the carnival period, Lent begins, which extends to Saturday Gloria (April 9, 2023). But a look at the calendar gives us a better understanding of this flare-up. Thursday, March 16, 2023 was the day of Lent.
In Guadeloupe, this date is a public holiday and carnival parades are organized. It’s very different in Martinique, as Mi-Carême is a normal day when everyone works.
Also, for Christians, there is no such break during Lent.
Christ spent 40 days in the wilderness and there was no halfway point in his ordeal.
Christian, interviewed by Stéphane Petit-Frère and Thierry Sokkan
The street orchestra “Groupe A” organized a Mi Carême video in Fort-de-France. • ©Peggy Pinel-Féréol
However, the organizers of the event probably speak of tradition.
Mi-Carême has always been an institution for Group A. We’ve been celebrating it for 30 years. This day was celebrated in the period when the capital was Saint-Pierre. After the eruption, despite certain tendencies, he had been stopped. We figured why not bring it back to life. We do carnival with friends. We’d wake people up, we’d do a vidé in our pajamas with a Tinain Lanmori for breakfast. Real family atmosphere. This is the first time we organize downtown. We had doubts but the mayonnaise seems to have taken. It may be a date we should mark on our calendar to return to our traditions.
“Mèt twel” Patrick, member of Group A
Lent should nevertheless regain its rights. The next festival is Saturday Gloria, which gives pride of place to the danmyé and bèlè drum, reborn after the period of joy abstinence.