Satire, sugar and a carnival float

‘Tishetnix ghax naqa’ a sugar paste carnival float will be on display in front of the Law Courts in Valletta over the carnival weekend.

Noel Borg, of Mannarinu Caterers in Valletta, along with his two sons Carlos and Ismael, used roughly 40kg of sugar to mold the float, which started being constructed on 3 January 2016.

Built upon a solid moving base, Mr Mannarinu uses sculpting tools and spray paint to design a carnivalesque homage to Vallletta’s history.

“I guess It’s something you’re born with” Mr Borg said when asked how he learnt to use sugar paste to create elaborate structures.

Sprouting out of a book, the structure celebrates Valletta’s origins and its present in satirical manner.

A flipper wearing Grandmaster Jean Paul De La Vallette mounts a sea-horse-like dragon whilst donning his traditional garb. Whereas Valletta Mayor Alexei Dingli is placed upon a submarine shelled tortoise, a nod to the slow-pace of local councils.

Topping the structure is V18 Chairman Jason Micallef falling off a surf board, as the title of the piece would suggest. The model is based on a caricaturist’s rendering, and sitting next to him is a PBS icon.

Beneath him, stands a nod to the v18, however in another satirical twist, the V is falling down.

“Satire is important,” Mr Borg explains, “since it is at the centre of carnival”.

The sugar-based sculpture has tiny little winks to both Malta and its capital city, with the central structure being a bastion, and also having traditional Maltese luzzu hanging off the sides.

In true Valletta spirit, the capital city’s football club appears all over the sculpture with each character wearing the team emblem.

Adding to the comedic aspect of the festival, the float uses contrasting music to accompany the attraction, with the capital city’s anthem carefully placed in between dramatic film scores.