Trinidad’s Carnival

The Thank God Carnival comes around every year to soothe the island’s image of a modern-age Sodom and Gomorra. The point is that watching hip-swaying women dancing in the streets of Port of Spain in G-strings really takes a sound heart. Nevertheless, scores of foreign sunbathers flock to this paradise-like neck of the woods to have fun in the picture-perfect and world-class Trinitarian Carnival, dubbed locally The Greatest Show on Earth.

Carnival celebrations and fanfare get cracking as soon as the Holiday Season is over, with a musical contest known as The Panorama Competition as some sort of show startup that takes place the Saturday before the carnival opening at the Queen’s Park Savannah and the surrounding streets. The show goes on into the wee hours of Monday morning.

That’s the time when the J’ouvert or Opening Day pops up. The moment is marked by scores of people that swarm over the streets dressed in ragged and eye-catching clothes. The J’ouvert is the perfect time for those tourists who don’t dare put on their most exotic rags on Tuesday during the Play Mass. For those who do it, the chance of running behind a moving truck with a blaring steelband on board is close at hand. The truck, by the way, is paint-sprayed, mud-stained and full of people dancing to the beat of frenzied carnival music. Quite an experience to remember!

Seven hours later, the celebration is in full swing. Music trucks, the children’s carnival and good calypso music always make people’s hearts beat faster than ever. This Trinitarian Carnival has an Olympus of its own where every year the celebration’s gods will be heard in the Caribbean and all around the world.

Trinidad’s big bash is a great moment for having fun and keeping good company and for watching merry people disguised in a variety of ways. Happiness, sensuality, laughter, and even a tad of spiced-up erotica sprinkle the celebration from the word go. And foreigners get carried away with so much fun, either by putting on their own costumes or doing the winning. But, what’s the winning all about in the first place? Winning is a sensual way of dancing in which the rotation of hips and butts to the beat of the drums is the name of the game. It’s hard to explain, so you better click on <b> www.trinitobago.com </b> for a look at the video clips there. And don’t miss out on the Trinitarian Carnival, only comparable to Rio de Janeiro’s in Brazil.

With the opening of the carnival, the panyards or rehearsal areas for steelbands pop up by the hundreds. Another must-see during the carnival season is the place where costumes and disguises are sewn. For many foreign travelers, the scary Blue Devils Show is an event that sends chills up and down the spines of even the boldest people. The frolicking of the carnival fetês reaches its climax with steelbands’ live performances from dark to dawn. One final note about the Trinitarian Carnival: this is not a made-for-tourists celebration, but rather a way of extolling life at its best, especially among Trinitarians. But don’t feel distraught by this comment. Fortunately, everybody is welcomed to join the party.