Sometimes, Key West IS Best ! – A Week on The High Seas With Las Tres Reinas (part I)

I have many circles of friends, kindred spirits that have gathered along the way and I am lucky enough to call sisters or brothers. Las Tres Reinas is a special triangle within one of these circles, comprised of my nearest and dearest friends; Queen Melila, who I met in college, and one of hers, Queen Oneca. It’s a beautiful thing when worlds come together seamlessly and we get along famously! Together, we planned our 2nd Carnival cruise for the end of August, 2008 to celebrate Melila’s 30th birthday in September.

Day1

We set sail on a hazy Sunday afternoon from Tampa’s port, originally headed for Grand Cayman. However, due to Hurricane Gustav’s activity in the Western Caribbean and Hannah’s antics in the east, they decided to redirect us to…Key West. Can’t say I was thrilled, since I’ve already passed through there once and more importantly, it is still on American soil, something we all were trying to escape. Nevertheless, a hurricane is not to be messed with and we were all glad the trip hadn’t been canceled.

Sunday afternoon and early evening was spent getting accustomed to the rocking motion, making last minute phone calls, changing our clothes, and dining at the late seating (8.15pm). We had a few drinks and checked out the jazz club (Satchmo’s) featuring a live funk band of mixed Asian ethnic descent. They were pretty good, especially their sassy and confident female lead singer.  They ended up holding us down most of the week, although I honestly don’t know how they can sing “We Are Family” as many times as they did without starting to pull out their hair or at least moon the audience. True professionalism… Read more

Fhilos de Gandhy and other Blocos

They are immediately recognizable as you walk through the Carnaval areas. Men in white and blue with several beads around their neck. Over 10,000 men participate in the Bloco over the entire Carnaval and it is one of the most recognizable Blocos because of the intricate costume. Originally limited to Black men and followers of Candomble, over the years they have opened the Bloco to include all races and even allow tourists to participate. It is tradition for the men to give their beads to women in exchange for a passionate kiss. This is not a peck on the cheek or even a small kiss on the lips. These are the kisses that win awards and are usually shared by intimate partners. This has made the Bloco a draw for tourists looking for ways to connect with women watching or near the Carnaval.

Our very own Andre has participated in the Bloco for years. He explained that most of the men who are long time participants of the Fhilos de Ghandy stay in the middle of the group to enjoy the music. They also hope to connect with the original purpose of the Bloco, to spread a message of peace and tradition. The border and outer edges of the Bloco are often full of tourists and as the Bloco passed I saw many men happily participating in the tradition of kissing women who accepted their gift of beads. The beads worn by long time participants have been blessed so see if you can get someone to give you the beads without the kiss and you can still take advantage of the blessing.

The Fhilos de Ghandy is one of the most recognizable Blocos during Carnaval because of the elaborate costume. The other is the Masquerdas. The bloco is made up entirely of men dressed as women. Each year they take on a central theme for their costumes and this year they were superheroes. With red capes, horrible wigs, and water guns they follow behind their trio electrico in the Bloco, living out their annual drag celebration. As an outsider not aware of the tradition, I at first assumed that this was a drag group celebrating or possibly a gay group. This was not the case. We were told that in fact all, if not most, of the participants are straight men that only dress this way during Carnaval. From locals I learned that the group is made of mostly police officers and the water guns are actually a flirting technique similar to the beads of the Filhos de Ghandy. Women are shot with the water guns as the Bloco passes. Interesting way to pick up women…