Bacchanal Jamaica Carnival 2016: “LEGACY” Takes Over Kingston
Kingston became one moving Soca party on Sunday, April 3, 2016, as thousands of masqueraders poured onto the streets for the Bacchanal Jamaica Carnival Road March.
The 2016 season carried the theme “Bacchanal Legacy — Live the Dream,” celebrating the history of the organization while paying tribute to longtime Bacchanal costume creator and director Earl “Fuzzy” Franklin, who had died the previous year.
For Julianspromos, it meant another day inside Jamaica Carnival, capturing the costumes, music, artists and personalities that made the 2016 Road March one of the biggest editions Bacchanal had staged.
More Than 3,000 Masqueraders Hit the Road
By 2016, Bacchanal Jamaica had grown into a major destination Carnival.
Bacchanal director Michael Ammar Jr. told the Jamaica Observer that the 2016 Road March was approximately 20 to 25 percent larger than the previous year, with more than 3,000 masqueraders and 12 trucks taking part.
The procession left Mas Camp at Stadium North shortly after 10 AM, moving through sections of Kingston and St. Andrew before eventually returning to Mas Camp. The route carried masqueraders along Old Hope Road, Hope Road, Lady Musgrave Road, Trafalgar Road, Waterloo Road, West Kings House Road and Constant Spring Road.
It was a full day on the road.
LEGACY — Looking Back While Carnival Grew Forward
The name LEGACY carried more meaning than a typical Carnival theme.
Bacchanal Jamaica described the 2016 season as a retrospective, looking back at the costumes, characters and traditions that had helped build the organization while honoring the contribution of Earl “Fuzzy” Franklin.
Franklin had been closely associated with Bacchanal’s costume creation for nearly two decades, and his death in July 2015 gave the 2016 presentation an added emotional dimension. Bacchanal returned to elements of its earlier creative formula while continuing to expand the road experience.
The result was a Carnival built around memory without feeling stuck in the past.
Machel Montano, Kes and Caribbean Stars Join the Road
The road was also packed with recognizable faces from Caribbean music and entertainment.
Julianspromos’ original footage captured appearances from Machel Montano, Kes, Voice, Lyrikal, Usain Bolt, Tessanne Chin, Kaci Fennell and other personalities throughout the Carnival experience.
Machel Montano was more than a spectator. During the Road March, he performed from the Digicel truck near Devon House on Waterloo Road, stopping the procession long enough to give masqueraders and spectators an impromptu live performance.
Contemporary coverage also documented Usain Bolt and Tessanne Chin among the personalities enjoying the road that day.
That mix of Soca artists, Jamaican entertainers, athletes and thousands of masqueraders reflected how Jamaica Carnival was becoming an increasingly international Caribbean event.
Soca Soundtracks Kingston
The road belonged to Soca.
The current Julianspromos archive identifies DJs including Kevin Crown, Nuphoric, Barrie Hype, Private Ryan, Back To Basics, Tony X and Duchess among the names associated with the experience. Bacchanal’s season also featured DJs from Jamaica and abroad, with Private Ryan, Back2Basics, Nuphoric and Barrie Hype among those credited by organizers during the 2016 season.
And several of the biggest records of the 2016 Soca season followed masqueraders through Kingston.
Among them was Voice’s “Cheers to Life,” alongside records including Bunji Garlin and Vybz Kartel’s “Bicycle Ride.” Contemporary road coverage singled both out among the songs that had revellers moving throughout the day.
“Cheers to Life” would ultimately be identified as Bacchanal Jamaica’s 2016 Road March-winning song.
When the Rain Came, Nobody Left
Carnival weather did not cooperate completely.
Rain moved across the Road March, soaking costumes, makeup and masqueraders along the route.
It barely slowed the celebration.
Contemporary reporting described revellers continuing to dance through the showers, turning plastic bags into emergency protection for phones while the trucks and music kept moving.
For an event built around movement, that became another part of the experience rather than the end of it.
