Carnival enthusiast Miranda van den Boorn

Leading up to the Carnival break, I met with FASoS’ true Carnival spirit. She is colourful, musical and creative: study adviser Miranda van den Boorn.

Twenty-two years ago her Carnival craze started, when she and her husband joined a ‘zaate hermenie’ (literally: drunk brass band, less literally: a brass band that usually only plays during Carnival). The ‘Peerlinkbend’, the brass band Miranda is part of, performs year-round. In Stein, where she lives, the Peerlinkbend is a concept. Every Monday, from 20.00 to 22.00, the Peerlinkbend rehearses in one of the city’s charming cafés. Miranda plays the saxophone. From 22.00 until 01.00, the Peerlinkbend stays together for a talk and a drink. As Miranda says “muziek verbindt, mèr ‘t gleske beer ernoa is even belangriek” (music connects, but the glass of beer you drink together afterwards is equally important).

During Carnival, from Friday until Wednesday, Miranda and her Peerlinkbend perform during the Carnival parades and afterwards in cafés. As a true Carnival-loving group, the Peerlinkbend designs and makes its own costumes. Miranda, as secretary, is the mastermind behind the band; she takes cares of logistics, ensures everyone adheres to the clothing theme when making the costumes and arranges who does the ‘schminking’ (doing Carnival make-up). Now already, while Carnival 2020 has not started yet, the Peerlinkbend is discussing what to dress up like in 2021.

Miranda heavily agrees with me when I say that what she does should be considered cultural heritage. “Increasingly fewer ‘young people’ are taking part in zaate hermeniekes, so I fear for the existence of this music format”. Her own sons are still enthusiastic about Carnival, but they also are not part of a zaate hermenie.

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