BAHAMAS – Nassau, Bay Street // Thunderball (1965)

It’s an orchestra of goombay drums, buzzing cowbells and pure lust: welcome to the Junkanoo parade in Downtown Nassau!

Why Bond was here
James Bond (Sean Connery) comes to the Bahamas to hunt down a high ranked member of evil organization Spectre. But first, he is being hunted: Fiona Volpe (Lucinia Paluzzi), a deadly assassin affiliated with Spectre and several henchmen chase the spy through Nassau, capital of the Bahamas. Luckily, it’s Junkanoo season – the whole town is in a carnivalesque frenzy dancing along the streets. Goombay drums and cowbells fill up the air with intoxicating rhythm. Bond dives into the party crowd and is able to shake off his pursuers – before the get him again in an alley next to the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” night club. There, they save the last dance for Bond, but it’s Lady Volpe who kicks the bucket on the dance floor.

How you gonna get there
When in Nassau, coming to the Junkanoo parade is not a question of where – but rather when. The extravaganza is held every year at Boxing Day (26th of December) and New Year’s Eve with different dance and music groups dressing up and roaming the streets of Downtown Nassau. The biggest parade runs along Bay Street from 2am and lasts till late morning. The Bahamians dance their way from Straw Market eastward to Prince George Wharf, but people also fill up the little lanes up to Shirley Street. Also, around the Bahamian Independence Day (July 10th), the Ministry of Tourism established an annual Summer Junkanoo to pump up the excitement till December. Check the official homepage of the Bahamas for times. Next to Nassau, other Bahamian islands and even expatriates in Miami and Key West celebrate the festival at different times throughout the year.
When the Thunderball crew came to Nassau, they didn’t wait till christmas, but staged the street festival in April. The whole New Providence island came to help with the “look-alike-party” – and ended up totally drunk. Scenes had been filmed in the eastern parts of Bay Street around Prince George Wharf. The alley, Bond finally escapes to and gets caught again in front of the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, is East Street. Unfortunately the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” club had been a set up, too.

Good to know
The origins of Junkanoo are not quite clear, it was seen as a holiday for former African slaves back in the colonial times. Nowadays it’s pure joy – and serious competition. Many Bahamians take preparations over the full year for the party. Neighborhoods and sport clubs form dance groups to study moves, orchestras improve their sound and costume makers putter around for the fanciest and gayest dresses.

When it comes to Junkanoo, judges line up along Bay Street to watch the performances. They check on choreography, rhythm, variety of the music played and sure the diversity of the costumes. Though highly appreciated by the Bahamians, too vulgar dancing is subjected to a penalty. The best performance groups can win prizes, cash – and the hearts of the people.
To view the frenzy, most tourists come early at night and try to catch a table on one of the upstair restaurants and bars along Bay Street. But to feel the vibration and the heat of the dancers, it’s best to dive right in and mix with the locals dancing next to the groups. Performers chatter the cowbells to a buzzing height, the thud of the drums reverberates from the shop fronts. An ever-stomping beat from all the feet dancing their happiness into the streets mixes with the music groups.

 

If you dance all night long, at some point – maybe when the sun fills up Bay Street from the East – you will need to refuel. No problem: Around Prince George Wharf many street vendors line up to serve smoothies, cocktails and beer. And at those places, where the smoke gets the thickest, you’ll surely find yourself some deep-fried conch, the Bahamian national dish made out of sea snails.

© 1965 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Danjaq, LLC. (2), © Huntingbond (1,3,Gallery)