This year's Miami carnival will feature a tribute to slain college student Miya Marcano from a woman who knew her well.
During every carnival season, festival-goers in Miami will be surrounded by colorful costumes, massive trucks, and music coming from band leaders.
This year, Miami Carnival features more than 20 bands with their own theme and message. Among the band leaders is Giselle “The Wassi One” Blanche, who is using her platform to pay homage to Marcano.
“Wassi means the ultimate of a good time, fun-loving, free-spirited,” said Blanche. “It means me.”
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To know Blanche is to know carnival. She holds the title of one of the longest-serving band leaders for Miami Carnival.
“A band is an entity, led by a person,” said Blanche. “That person is responsible for picking a theme, ensuring that the masqueraders have food, drinks, music, safety, all of those things.”
According to Blanche, it takes months of planning to showcase what she calls the greatest form of cultural expression, but after a tough year, it’s not all she is expressing.
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“This section here is dedicated to Miya Marcano, my bonus daughter,” said Blanche. “That’s our butterfly. So that section is called Princess Miya.”
Carnival costumes in her band celebrate the lives of people she has loved and lost, including the life of Miya Marcano.
“She was a junior carnival queen,” said Blanche. “She loved the color blue and she loved butterflies.”
Marcano's disappearance last September gained national attention. She was found dead days after being reported missing. Investigators believe she was killed by a maintenance worker in her apartment unit after using a master key fob to gain entry.
“It’s one of the hardest times of the year approaching the anniversary of Miya’s death,” said Blanche. “It’s [carnival] a time that we spend the most time together, she’s at my foot helping me with everything.”
Marcano’s death and her family’s advocacy also led to a change in Florida law to strengthen renter safety.
“As much as I am delivering something joyful, it's also painful,” said Blanche. “When I say painful, I mean hard. It’s hard. I owe it to the people I lost to continue and strive for greatness. I think that’s the only way I can really and truly honor their legacy.”
Tickets for the parade are still available at Miami Carnival’s official website.
