“We’re in it to win it” – PM tells Mash band

Less than one week until the grand Mashramani parade takes to the streets, the Office of the Prime Minister’s band is ready to deliver an electrifying performance.
On Friday, the Office of the Prime Minister launched its Mash band for 2023. Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips urged revellers and other participants to perform their best. Some 100 persons will be participating in the band, which sports a theme of blue and gold.
“There is only one way we can win! That is if we are ready to go out and perform with vigour. When we go out there, we go out with our costumes…and we’re going to be electrified. We’re going out there with a lot of energy, a lot of innovation and we’re going out there to win the category,” Prime Minister Phillips told the band.
Coming out of a pandemic, the PM anticipated that this year’s celebration will be a big one. He called for the ‘One Guyana’ motto to resonate among the activities as they hit the road.
“On that day, we must come out as ‘One Guyana’. Let us let down our hair and be one Guyana. Let it be a day for family and a day for all of us to go out there and have fun. You’ve been working hard whole year and up to now, and Mashramani means celebration after hard work.”
This year’s theme for Mashramani is “Mixing and Mashing as One Guyana”.
Each year, since 1970, Guyana has observed its Republic anniversary by hosting a series of activities. These activities usually culminate on Republic Day, February 23, with a grand display of costume bands. This year will be no different and is expected to see a grand celebration post-COVID.
The word Mashramani was borrowed from the Indigenous peoples to describe their celebratory period of feasting and dancing after a successful preparation and planting season; meaning, “celebration after hard work”, though other coinages include “celebration of a work well done”, “a venture”, or “cooperative effort”, and “a celebration after a harvest”.