As has become his habit, when Robert Young hosts a band launch, he creates an experience. And so, on Thursday 13th, February he hosted a talk at Propaganda Space on Erthig Road, Belmont to share Kongo Day with the public. He held a similar talk a week prior, but Thursday was special. It would also be a showcase of the mas. You could tell because the who’s who of Trinidad’s creative sector were there, many with their cameras and phones in hand.

Kongo Day is the celebration of Congo in the Caribbean. It is an invitation for the average Caribbean person to recognise how much the Central African nation has influenced core aspects of who we are.

I have spoken about how the Caribbean wine is part of our Congolese ancestry in this blog before.

Young’s band is also a statement on sustainability. Banana leaves are central to the design, and will be processed using a machine loaned to the band by the UWI’s Field Station and Engineering Department. This year, Young is collaborating with the Small Island Institute to produce the band.

Last Thursday the streets of Belmont became a parade. The moko jumbie band Moko Samoko is based at the Granderson Lab which is above Propaganda Space, and as is typical they often take part in the launch, which they did. The presentation was led by Nigerian multimedia artist Jelili Atiku, who is doing an art fellowship at Alice Yard entitled “Carnival as a Conjuring of History and Memory”.

As always the images of Young’s band launches are stunning. You can see more by search Kongo Day on Facebook and Instagram.