On a slightly lighter note, just to go off topic for a little while :
I cannot have a blog online, no matter of the main subject, and not talk about Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago.
This country "lives" for Carnival. It is THE main yearly EVENT that absolutely everybody looks forward to, but not all for the same reasons. I will explain.
Carnival is a mixture of different side events, starting no later than the day after Christmas, December 26th. Many will dispute the "start" of the Carnival event as such. Some claim it starts in August with the first presentations of the new carnival costumes for the coming year, others claim no Carnival should be mentioned until after the end of year festivities, others again claim Carnival starts with the first Carnival "fête" (which is the local word for a Carnival party)', whenever that happens. Technically though, Carnival is dependent on the Catholic religion, and tied to whenever Easter falls. I am not going to elaborate there though as it is better explained elsewhere on the net as soon as you google Carnival.
In my own opinion, here in Trinidad and Tobago, it starts on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, for the simple reason that radio's seem to keep the new Carnival tunes on a low simmering fire and finally burst loose as soon as the last drops of Christmas liquor have been consumed, the last bits of Christmas turkey and ham have been cut, the last carols have been sung and the last gifts have been exchanged. On Boxing Day the new tunes hit the waves and Christmas is immediately been put on the back burner till next year. The temptation is big though to start playing the new tunes of Carnival of Barbados for example of the previous summer, and for the last couple of years i have noticed that the radio jocks seem to disregard that unwritten Boxing Day rule more and more, that is how hot this country is for Carnival!
Now, Carnival itself, again, technically is only two days, a Carnival Monday and a Carnival Tuesday, but the Carnival season may take months, weeks depending on when Easter falls. During that period, between Boxing Day and the actual Carnival days, numerous Carnival fetes are being held at all kinds of venues, all catering to different types of Carnival enthusiasts. All fetes will have music by local deejays, pushing the local music, some will have live performances of which some are more the playback type with live singing and then some show up with a complete band, brass, strings, drums included. Some fetes cater for the "oldies" crowds, some for the teenage groups and some are just a nice mix. Some have Soca music, others more of the Calypso kind, Bollywood style Chutney music is a newer show stealer and this year I even saw a stage with more Euro style Techno music. So there is really something for everybody.
Then there are the "all inclusive fetes" which is exactly as it says, it includes everything, the door entry price, the music, the foods as much as you fan eat (and are willing to stand in line for) and yes, all and any drinks. For the drinkers, this is heaven on earth as you will be able to sample (or drink yourself Lazarus, remember, it is as much as you want) local spirits and beers, rums, but also most of the popular international spirits, whiskies, vodkas, wines, champagnes and cognacs, you name it. Oh yes, and you can get water too, but I think most of Trinidadian Carnival Runners would agree totally with my old great-aunt's statement that water is for the ducks! Having said all of that, not everybody is a drinker, there are people who roam through all the parties high on fruit juices, elegant waters and soft drinks, but would be the exception to the general rule. In fact, there are very religious people who love Carnival, including some of my in-laws who totally enjoy Carnival without any alcoholic drinks whatsoever, no spirits, only spiritual entertainment!
These all-inclusive events are not cheap, but to international standards certainly not expensive, and if you do enjoy your drinks, they are definitely worthwhile, price-wise. There are also eents though where you just pay the cover price to get into the fête and then they have chit-systems where you buy chits and then use them to order drinks and/or foods as you wish.
Talking about foods, you will find all the local specialties, doubles, boiled corn, blue foods, wild meats, Arabic dishes, Chinese dishes, Indian dishes, Italian and Mexican specialties and the rare European dish or the American barbecue style dishes. In other words, unless you have problems standing in line, or if you can not eat standing up or if music and drinks have influenced you more than the smells of the dishes presented, it is hard to walk away from an all-inclusive event hungry. Generally it is not allowed to Cary foods outside the event area, else people would buy just one ticket and carry foods for the whole set of 20 friends outside of the event, but by the end of the party, you would still see the odd person with doubles or pies walking out with amounts which will either feed himself/herself for a whole week or make all the neighbors happy.
Besides the fetes, there are also other side events, there are musical shows, theatre, comedy shows and then there is the pan-playing competition which almost totally separately from the rest is held every year at Carnival to see which group is the champion for the year. There are small bands, medium bands and large bands, of which the latter, on stage, is actually quite impressive and I have not heard any recording, digital or otherwise, which even comes close to how that symphony of notes, beats and differently tuned pan instruments sound in a live performance. If you ever make it here, do not miss out on that! Also, these pan groups hold many training sessions in their own "pan yards", their home bases, where during weeks, many evenings before the competition, you can go and enjoy the pan music, just a bit different from the rest of the instruments, and take in surprisingly melodious tones when it all comes together in a perfect way!
Also not to miss, in my opinion, and I know many local Carnival enthusiasts would disagree with me if I see the poor attendance it gets, is the Carnival Queen and King competition. This is the part where small individual, medium and very large, mostly moving, sometimes lit up, costumes compete for the biggest, most enticing and impressive presence on stage. To me now, the preliminary rounds are the most fun, as just like with ice-skating, it is nice to see all the competitors, it is even better to see an aw-inspiring performance, but admit it, it is also kind of like "fun" to see one fail. And when I say "fun", I mean not if it hurts somebody, but it is just the aaaaahhhh and oooohhh effect from the audience which brings many back the next years.
Before "The greatest show on earth", as they self proclaimed their Carnival, takes place, there is a mini version, yes, literally a mini version, with and for kids. In the category "cute" definitely the winner of the season. It is like a. Growing grounds for future Carnival players, with kids in all colors masks, made up faces, with special characters of Trinidad traditional mass like sailor's mass, devils, but also from "Pretty mass", pompously clad 19th century ladies.
And then, ladies and gentlemen, come the two high days of Carnival, Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday.
Monday morning, early o'clock, Carnival officially starts with "J'Ouvert", which is "opening" in French. This part of mass includes Juve players to assemble before the sun comes up and play dirty Mass, with mud, paint, liquid chocolate, you name it. Don't wear anything you treasure, cause afterwards, all you can do wth your clothing is frame it.
Later on Monday it is almost alike a general rehearsal for the next day. People go clothed in colors of the band they signed up with, sometimes in themed T-shirts and parade the streets in group, drinking, dancing, having fun, still passing the judging points where both the band and the chosen songs are noted and scored.
On Carnival Tuesday, the last day and the pinnacle of Carnival, everybody who signed up with a band comes on the streets, par ding in full ornate in front of the judges. They do this with a mix of sense of duty for the band to portray their characters well, but mostly with an all-out fun attitude, showing off the revelry they have been planning to the stage to bring for the whole past year.
You would have noticed that in the beginning of this article, I did mention that EVERYBODY looks out for Carnival! Not everybody loves Carnival though, and I can imagine if I would be living along the official route of Carnival, or close to one of the most frequented Carnival fête grounds, then maybe I would dislike it as much as some do now. But, having said that,everybody seems to look forward to the Carnival time, wether it is to play in a band, just to watch as a bystander, wether it is to sell as a supplier or as a foods or drinks vendor, wether it is to make extra money in over hours as police or other agencies, or wether it is to take advantage and go away for a couple of days, off the island to a quiet place to recuperate from all the complaining about Carnival of the last year.
For me, honestly, I did not captivate Carnival at all when I was first confronted with it some 15 years ago, but over the years, under the expert guidance of my wife and her friends, I have started to appreciate one part of Carnival at a time. Now I would have to say that I am still not a fan of Carnival as in that I wouldn't really come back for it every year if it were only for me, but as you noticed, I do believe it is a worthwhile event for anybody to experience at least once in your lifetime, cause else you actually would have missed out on something grand in your life!
I cannot have a blog online, no matter of the main subject, and not talk about Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago.
This country "lives" for Carnival. It is THE main yearly EVENT that absolutely everybody looks forward to, but not all for the same reasons. I will explain.
Carnival is a mixture of different side events, starting no later than the day after Christmas, December 26th. Many will dispute the "start" of the Carnival event as such. Some claim it starts in August with the first presentations of the new carnival costumes for the coming year, others claim no Carnival should be mentioned until after the end of year festivities, others again claim Carnival starts with the first Carnival "fête" (which is the local word for a Carnival party)', whenever that happens. Technically though, Carnival is dependent on the Catholic religion, and tied to whenever Easter falls. I am not going to elaborate there though as it is better explained elsewhere on the net as soon as you google Carnival.
In my own opinion, here in Trinidad and Tobago, it starts on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, for the simple reason that radio's seem to keep the new Carnival tunes on a low simmering fire and finally burst loose as soon as the last drops of Christmas liquor have been consumed, the last bits of Christmas turkey and ham have been cut, the last carols have been sung and the last gifts have been exchanged. On Boxing Day the new tunes hit the waves and Christmas is immediately been put on the back burner till next year. The temptation is big though to start playing the new tunes of Carnival of Barbados for example of the previous summer, and for the last couple of years i have noticed that the radio jocks seem to disregard that unwritten Boxing Day rule more and more, that is how hot this country is for Carnival!
Now, Carnival itself, again, technically is only two days, a Carnival Monday and a Carnival Tuesday, but the Carnival season may take months, weeks depending on when Easter falls. During that period, between Boxing Day and the actual Carnival days, numerous Carnival fetes are being held at all kinds of venues, all catering to different types of Carnival enthusiasts. All fetes will have music by local deejays, pushing the local music, some will have live performances of which some are more the playback type with live singing and then some show up with a complete band, brass, strings, drums included. Some fetes cater for the "oldies" crowds, some for the teenage groups and some are just a nice mix. Some have Soca music, others more of the Calypso kind, Bollywood style Chutney music is a newer show stealer and this year I even saw a stage with more Euro style Techno music. So there is really something for everybody.
Then there are the "all inclusive fetes" which is exactly as it says, it includes everything, the door entry price, the music, the foods as much as you fan eat (and are willing to stand in line for) and yes, all and any drinks. For the drinkers, this is heaven on earth as you will be able to sample (or drink yourself Lazarus, remember, it is as much as you want) local spirits and beers, rums, but also most of the popular international spirits, whiskies, vodkas, wines, champagnes and cognacs, you name it. Oh yes, and you can get water too, but I think most of Trinidadian Carnival Runners would agree totally with my old great-aunt's statement that water is for the ducks! Having said all of that, not everybody is a drinker, there are people who roam through all the parties high on fruit juices, elegant waters and soft drinks, but would be the exception to the general rule. In fact, there are very religious people who love Carnival, including some of my in-laws who totally enjoy Carnival without any alcoholic drinks whatsoever, no spirits, only spiritual entertainment!
These all-inclusive events are not cheap, but to international standards certainly not expensive, and if you do enjoy your drinks, they are definitely worthwhile, price-wise. There are also eents though where you just pay the cover price to get into the fête and then they have chit-systems where you buy chits and then use them to order drinks and/or foods as you wish.
Talking about foods, you will find all the local specialties, doubles, boiled corn, blue foods, wild meats, Arabic dishes, Chinese dishes, Indian dishes, Italian and Mexican specialties and the rare European dish or the American barbecue style dishes. In other words, unless you have problems standing in line, or if you can not eat standing up or if music and drinks have influenced you more than the smells of the dishes presented, it is hard to walk away from an all-inclusive event hungry. Generally it is not allowed to Cary foods outside the event area, else people would buy just one ticket and carry foods for the whole set of 20 friends outside of the event, but by the end of the party, you would still see the odd person with doubles or pies walking out with amounts which will either feed himself/herself for a whole week or make all the neighbors happy.
Besides the fetes, there are also other side events, there are musical shows, theatre, comedy shows and then there is the pan-playing competition which almost totally separately from the rest is held every year at Carnival to see which group is the champion for the year. There are small bands, medium bands and large bands, of which the latter, on stage, is actually quite impressive and I have not heard any recording, digital or otherwise, which even comes close to how that symphony of notes, beats and differently tuned pan instruments sound in a live performance. If you ever make it here, do not miss out on that! Also, these pan groups hold many training sessions in their own "pan yards", their home bases, where during weeks, many evenings before the competition, you can go and enjoy the pan music, just a bit different from the rest of the instruments, and take in surprisingly melodious tones when it all comes together in a perfect way!
Also not to miss, in my opinion, and I know many local Carnival enthusiasts would disagree with me if I see the poor attendance it gets, is the Carnival Queen and King competition. This is the part where small individual, medium and very large, mostly moving, sometimes lit up, costumes compete for the biggest, most enticing and impressive presence on stage. To me now, the preliminary rounds are the most fun, as just like with ice-skating, it is nice to see all the competitors, it is even better to see an aw-inspiring performance, but admit it, it is also kind of like "fun" to see one fail. And when I say "fun", I mean not if it hurts somebody, but it is just the aaaaahhhh and oooohhh effect from the audience which brings many back the next years.
Before "The greatest show on earth", as they self proclaimed their Carnival, takes place, there is a mini version, yes, literally a mini version, with and for kids. In the category "cute" definitely the winner of the season. It is like a. Growing grounds for future Carnival players, with kids in all colors masks, made up faces, with special characters of Trinidad traditional mass like sailor's mass, devils, but also from "Pretty mass", pompously clad 19th century ladies.
And then, ladies and gentlemen, come the two high days of Carnival, Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday.
Monday morning, early o'clock, Carnival officially starts with "J'Ouvert", which is "opening" in French. This part of mass includes Juve players to assemble before the sun comes up and play dirty Mass, with mud, paint, liquid chocolate, you name it. Don't wear anything you treasure, cause afterwards, all you can do wth your clothing is frame it.
Later on Monday it is almost alike a general rehearsal for the next day. People go clothed in colors of the band they signed up with, sometimes in themed T-shirts and parade the streets in group, drinking, dancing, having fun, still passing the judging points where both the band and the chosen songs are noted and scored.
On Carnival Tuesday, the last day and the pinnacle of Carnival, everybody who signed up with a band comes on the streets, par ding in full ornate in front of the judges. They do this with a mix of sense of duty for the band to portray their characters well, but mostly with an all-out fun attitude, showing off the revelry they have been planning to the stage to bring for the whole past year.
You would have noticed that in the beginning of this article, I did mention that EVERYBODY looks out for Carnival! Not everybody loves Carnival though, and I can imagine if I would be living along the official route of Carnival, or close to one of the most frequented Carnival fête grounds, then maybe I would dislike it as much as some do now. But, having said that,everybody seems to look forward to the Carnival time, wether it is to play in a band, just to watch as a bystander, wether it is to sell as a supplier or as a foods or drinks vendor, wether it is to make extra money in over hours as police or other agencies, or wether it is to take advantage and go away for a couple of days, off the island to a quiet place to recuperate from all the complaining about Carnival of the last year.
For me, honestly, I did not captivate Carnival at all when I was first confronted with it some 15 years ago, but over the years, under the expert guidance of my wife and her friends, I have started to appreciate one part of Carnival at a time. Now I would have to say that I am still not a fan of Carnival as in that I wouldn't really come back for it every year if it were only for me, but as you noticed, I do believe it is a worthwhile event for anybody to experience at least once in your lifetime, cause else you actually would have missed out on something grand in your life!
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