Richardo Keens-Douglas : Collecting Colonial Carnival History
By : Elysia Bryan-Baynes
For the thousands who attend Grenada ’ s Spicemas each year , it is hard not to be swept away by the colours , the community and the history of carnival celebrations . Visitors from around the world flock to the spice island to take part in the festivities . Grenadian storyteller , writer and actor Richardo Keens- Douglas is taking carnival lovers to an often-forgotten time in Grenada carnival history : Carnival during the colonial era , pre-Grenadian independence .
In a labour of love that took more than six years to complete , Keens- Douglas ’ s latest offering is called Lost History of a Time , Grenada Carnival Queens 1945-1974 . “ I was a kid growing up then . I was enthralled with all the pageant and the queens , and I wanted to share that with those who may not remember that time ,” says Keens- Douglas .
Trying to find the photos and the information was like trying to put together a unique mystery for Keens- Douglas .
“ A lot of people lost most of their
46
To Table of Contents