Here's a direct quote from the veteran mas man:
Rubbish. What we have is the greatest street party. But when you see what Rio (Brazil) has the elaborate costumes, their Carnival reflests their culture. Brazil carnival is far, far superior to outs.
"Brazil's carnival is far, far superior to ours. We keep saying we are getting closer to Brazil but we aren't, each costume starts at US$2,500 for a costume. Anybody can join a samba school but you have to sign a contract and learn the dances. It's well-done stuff, not the crap you see here," he admonished.
Now I don't think that MacFarlane read what I had written just before this Carnival. The post entitled Marketing Carnival To the World
If as Mr. MacFarlane's said that it has been a bad business decision to continue he should know. I certainly don't think he did it because he wants to start controversy.
The controversy has been brewing for some time and successive administrations keep missing the point. It certainly not equitable to offer millions in prize money for individuals while offering pittance incentives to large bands. That will not keep the tradition alive.
As Mr. MacFarlane explained he has not been able to come up with a profitable business model to make it worth his while in the nine years he has been trying. That does not mean that no business model will work, just means that he has not found one yet.
What does this mean for Carnival?
Mr. MacFarlane is the only large mas leader to come out like this. If it's the same for others we can expect that it will be a wake up call for many of them and we will start seeing a reduction of the size of the now big bands.
Other than that, Carnival will go on. People are already getting ready for the 2014 Carnival.
What do you think?
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