“Christmas in Guyana wasn’t complete without a
Masquerade band.”
— Hew Locke, OBE, RA, Distinguished
Guyanese Artist
The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Guyana Masquerade Day, to be observed annually on 29 November. The inaugural celebration will take place on the 29th November 29, 2025 at 2pm.
This national observance emerges directly from the urgent call issued by the UNESCO Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), held in Georgetown from April 23–25, 2025, which emphasized the immediate need to safeguard Guyana’s rapidly declining Masquerade tradition. That call was strongly
reinforced during the subsequent UNESCO-supported Masquerade Lives On Symposium, which examined the challenges confronting the artform and identified opportunities for revitalisation, innovation, and the development of sustainable livelihoods.
Guyana Masquerade Day is an initiative of the newly established Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc., to lead national efforts in preservation, education, research, and creative entrepreneurship within this national creative genre.
The launch ceremony will be held in the compound of the Guyana National Museum, where a 13-year old mural depicting the heritage of Masquerade
Arts, now under rehabilitation, thanks to supporters
including Continental Agencies Ltd, will be officially
unveiled. The mural was initiated by international
Guyanese artist, Errol Doris, Board member of the
USA-based, Guyana Cultural Association New York
Inc., and executed by students of the E.R. Burrowes
School of Art. The event will feature formal remarks
from cultural stakeholders and will culminate in a
grand Flounce Off by the National Masquerade
Bands.
The choice of 29 November pays tribute to Rudolph
“Putagee” Vivieros, the revered Guyanese
Masquerade ‘flute man’ who passed away on this
date in 2023. It also ushers in the start of the
Guyanese Christmas season, when Masquerade once animated villages, communities, and city streets, bottom houses and backyards across the country.
The Masquerade Association (Guyana) Inc. calls on all Guyanese—government, families, schools, communities, private sector partners, and cultural institutions—to join in this renewed effort to safeguard, celebrate, and revitalise this treasured element of our national heritage.
For more information contact: Chair, Masquerade Association (Guyana)
Inc; GuyanaMasquerade@gmail.com; WhatsApp +592-623-0388
