Rio on my block

In the US Labor Day was celebrated last Monday, on September 1, whereas in Europe this is done on May 1. Strange? In the late 19th century Americans felt the European Labor Day celebrations were a little bit too communist for their taste, so they decided to celebrate the union's struggles on the first Monday of September, giving workers a day off.

In Crown Heights they don't sing L'Internationale on Labor Day, like they do in Europe, they have a Brazilian style carnival instead. All day long carnival floats with lots of glitter, feathers, colors and flags for every Caribbean island you can think of filed along the Eastern Parkway, a few blocks from where I live. In my neighborhood the laborers' day is devoted to the West Indian American Day Carnival, a festival for Afro-American New Yorkers to celebrate there Caribbean roots.

I learned a lot from the parade. What the flag of Barbados looks like - blue and yellow with a black pitchfork on it. The newest fashion trend - a skimpy T-shaped piece of fabric with a Louis Vuitton motif strapped with a thin wire. And the dance move every 13-year old girl has to know - rhythmically rubbing your butt against the crotch of a guy standing behind you while bending over as far as you can.

Barack Obama was omnipresent. T-shirts with his image on them were on display right next to ones with Martin Luther King and Bob Marley on them. There were Obama pins, Obama banners and an Obama truck. The veneration peaked as the last carnival trucks passed by holding - judging by the excitement around me - famous music heroes.

"We love you Obama," blasted from the speakers. "O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma," the dancing, sweaty crowd answered. "When I say 'We-love-you-Obama' I want to see all your flags up in the air," the lead singer shouts. Around me the flag of Barbados waves in the air, and a Haitian flag, a Jamaican flag, St Vincent's flag and innumerable other flags, but I 

don't know to which islands they belong. Obama has won over the Caribbean, next stop will be the US.