New York Mayor Celebrates Caribbean Culture As Kes Brings Soca To Brooklyn
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has celebrated the city’s Caribbean community after joining revellers at SocaFest in Brooklyn, where Trinidad and Tobago’s Kes the Band was among the headline performers.
The event was held at the Brooklyn Museum on Friday night as New York’s massive Caribbean community kicked off a packed Labor Day weekend of music, culture and Carnival celebrations. SocaFest’s advertised line-up included Kes the Band, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons and the Viking Band, and Dominican bouyon band WCK.
Mamdani appeared to thoroughly enjoy his encounter with Kes frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, with photographs shared by the mayor showing the pair embracing and laughing together.
Following the event, Mamdani used his official mayoral account to praise the contribution Caribbean culture makes to New York.
“Few things make New York feel more like New York than the sounds, traditions and joy of our Caribbean community,” Mamdani wrote.
He said he was able to share that joy at SocaFest while surrounded by Caribbean New Yorkers, adding that Kes had brought Brooklyn to life with soca.
“It’s official: the fête has begun. See you on the road!” the mayor declared in his post.
The appearance comes as Brooklyn prepares for one of the biggest Caribbean celebrations outside the region.
On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate in J’Ouvert and the West Indian American Day Carnival along Eastern Parkway. City officials describe the West Indian Day Parade as the largest Caribbean parade in North America.
Mamdani is also expected to participate in Monday’s festivities. Speaking during a security briefing at the Brooklyn Museum ahead of the parade, he described it as one of New York City’s most joyous occasions and said he was proud to march for the first time as mayor.
For Trinidad and Tobago, the mayor’s SocaFest appearance provided another high-profile international moment for soca, with Port of Spain-born Kes the Band taking centre stage during one of New York’s biggest weekends for Caribbean culture.
The celebrations continue through the Labor Day weekend, culminating with J’Ouvert and the West Indian American Day Carnival on Monday.
