Abu Dhabi Goans organized, traditional Carnival rendezvous at the picturesque Le Meridien Village, Abu Dhabi aptly coined as “Viva Goa Viva Carnival’ for the 6th consecutive year at the beautiful open air, by the poolside venue was a riot of color, food, drink, music and dance. Familiar expectations from eager and excited revelers were well anticipated by the organizers “The Abu Dhabi Goans” when planning for the Goan Carnival in the UAE’s capital! Originally, this event takes place in Goa three days before Lent. It was first introduced by the Portuguese. The festivities were a mindboggling mix of a colossal parade, participants dressed up in feathers, bright masks and flowers depicting various characters, cheerfully poised and carefree dancers and lively children all around.
‘Desert Rain’ began the musical proceedings welcoming the sprightly early birds. Rapidly filling guests brought an explosion of color and buzz flooding into the venue. Merrymaking families with children dressed in their colorful best gave the unequivocal feeling of the free happy spirit that King Momo mandates. A sip of Caju-cho and port wine at the entrance surely elicited nostalgia moving ‘spirit’ in the right direction.
This year the entry of King Momo was preceded by a peace messenger with the message of ‘MOG, MOIPAS ,MOVALLPONN’ (LOVE, AFFECTION, AND CONSIDERATION) a powerful community message relayed by the organizers. The legendary King Momo followed in a procession accompanied by his colorful entourage. King Momo was a man with a mission. In a well-articulated decree, King Momo reiterated the celebration of this year as a year of tolerance in U.A.E and urged all to strive to promote ‘MOG, MOIPAS, MOVALLPONN’ through tolerance. King Momo further advocated that all participating guests spread cheer and joy around themselves and their communities. While declaring the ‘Viva Goa Viva Carnival’ 2019 open King Momo commanded all vivaciously attired to join in the merriment, singing, and dancing. King Momo’s decree rallying all his ‘subjects’ and commanding them to eat, drink responsibly, make merry, dance and enjoy, was cheerfully received by an admirable crowd. And ‘submit to the Royal decree’ the crowd surely did throughout the evening. Unabashed dancing and good-natured merrymaking was the underpinning theme of the evening.
The colorful and musically inclined crowd was treated to a blistering blend of exciting dancing music by ‘Desert Rain’ and Abu Dhabi’s own, celebrated Goan band ‘La Vida’. Abu Dhabi’s fame DJ Rudy, a constant at the “Viva Goa Viva Carnival” was at his best, churning out a repertoire of an amazing and appropriate mix of Goan and trendy dance numbers. DJ Julius added to the flavor dishing out a perfect blend of popular dance numbers with ease .’La Vida’ kept the crowd on tenterhooks and on their dancing toes throughout the evening. Competently led by ‘Drefred Silveira’, ‘La Vida’ produced an astounding performance. The talented trio team “Desert Rain” led by the irresistible and amiable Edwin Rodrigues were amazing. All Musicians set the floor on fire with their high energy renditions. The high octane performances of all artists had the crowd craving for more. One crave led to another (read food) and lo and behold an incredible spread of traditional Goan thoroughfare including Pulao, Chicken Cafreal, Fish Reichado, Chicken Xacuti, Mutton Vindalho, Sorpotel etc was available at affordably priced carnivalesque food stalls. The cuisine also included kid-friendly meals and multiple snack options.
A celebration of life was clearly visible throughout the evening. There were a host of exciting prizes won by attending guests. There was a customary consensus among attendees that the celebration was a family-friendly event. The celebrations began at 13:30 and the unrelenting dancers and revelers were amiably hauled off the floor late into the night. The entire gamut of managing the floor for the event was structured, coordinated, moderated and presented by the cool and Inimitable Perviz De Souza and refreshing and inspiring Dean Fernandes. The exciting and memorable moments of the entire event were captured on Lens by Abu Dhabi Goans stalwart Neil Rodrigues. Covered by ZEE Connect, the event was conceived and conceptualized by Abu Dhabi Goans and supported and backed by Le Meridien, Abu Dhabi. The event was well attended by over 600 guests from all over the UAE. The organizers extended their gratitude to members and their families, all supporters, Sponsors, Le Meridien team, performers, photographers, Broadway sound, King Momo-Ericson Cardozo and his entourage and loyal guests. A special word of mention went out to guests who traveled from Dubai and other Emirates of the UAE. Reliable sources from the Abu Dhabi Goans team confirmed that their 7th annual” Viva Goa, Viva Carnival’ will be held on Friday a week or two prior to Lent in 2020.
