Carnaval Comparsa Mimicking Fidel Castro

During the three days of Carnaval there was a lot of street dancing called “comparsas” from which the village folks derived a lot of fun and entertainment. Here are a few popular ones: Las Cubanitas, Los Negritos, Los Africanos, Las Chinitas, Las Hawaiians, Los Indios, Las Americanas, and Las Estudiantes. At times the comparsas mimicked a village scandal like a theft, a mean teacher, an arrogant boss, a couple that eloped, or even a product that was not good. One year Belize produced a starch named Darara and it too darn stiff for the clothing, so the men danced and ridiculed that product called Darara. Well last year you had an example with Elvin Penner selling of Belize passports. That was the manner in which comparsas were composed.

In this comparsa in the 1970’s you see the men of San Pedro mimicking Fidel Castro and his dominion over the people of Cuba. You see Cuban ladies dancing and you see a refugee with his life saver as he tried to make his way from Cuba to the free world. You see the plight of Cubans and their happiness after they land in San Pedro to dance the Carnaval.