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Young women and young sailors make their way through the crowd to hand out flatbreads. The Mass is drawing to a close. A few minutes later, after a short procession to the Rock of Saint-Louis, a wreath of flowers is cast into the sea. As has been the case every year since the Corossol festival was founded in 1963, the tradition is upheld. At the bar, volunteers from the Association Le Corossol (ALC) are already hard at work. Throughout the day, they’ll be busy serving refreshments to visitors, whether they’re playing, dancing, chatting, or have participated in the garfish fishing contest early that morning.
“Back in the day, on August 24, the sailors would all head to Gustavia to celebrate,” says Patricia Cassez of ALC. “They’d all dress up as sailors, take part in a procession, and go from house to house in Gustavia. They’d spend the day and night there, and it would continue on the 25th. So the elders, including Félix Danet, decided we needed a festival in Corossol. That’s how it began in 1963. And then, since the ladies couldn’t have a celebration without God, there was a Mass. People would gather; there was nothing—no tent. We’re trying to keep the tradition alive, with the little girls in their traditional dresses and the little sailors!”
Arlette Gréaux recalls, “Up in the neighborhood, along with Félix Danet’s sister, Clementia, we’d prepare the flags, the dances, and the festival. They called the festival ‘Saint-Louis’ because many sailors had ‘Louis’ in their first names. We held the first festival when Félix Danet was on the city council. There was a beauty pageant. Young girls would climb onto surfboards, and people would bring them the outfits they had to put on without falling off! There was also Marie-Joëlle Magras, née Félix, who choreographed beautiful dances with the young women—the French cancan, for example. The problem today is that fewer and fewer young people are stepping up to help prepare for the festival. So it’s not easy. And then, how many times has it been canceled because of hurricanes!” A few days before the festival, Arlette lost her mother. “But I made sure to come, at least for Mass,” she confides. My mother was from Merlette, but all three sisters married sailors from Corossol! ” Although she didn’t take part in the afternoon and evening festivities, Arlette was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had won first prize in the raffle: a Caribbean cruise for two, courtesy of the ALC and ATA Voyage.
As for the party, it was wonderful, musical, family-oriented, convivial, and warm.
