"Matété a krab ki rann nou solid kon sa"- It's the crab ‘matété’ that made us so strong. This famous Guadeloupean song honours the local crabs that are eaten during the Easter holidays. In this period shellfish is cooked in different forms. Crab matété, for example, is prepared with rice, similar to a paella but with crab instead of seafood.
The crab festival is celebrated in Morne-À-L'eau, because the town is surrounded by mangroves where many coveted crabs live. To involve the visitors to the annual event, crab races, recipe contests or other different tournaments are taken place. Crab-based dishes are also being sold.
The festival is mainly organized to raise public awareness of the issues involved in protecting the mangrove swamp.