kiddies carnival

Two ma jor Kiddies events bring out the creativity of designers like Rosalind Gabriel whose costumes are pictured on these pages.

Iwish I could see things through your eyes, hear things through your ears. Fresh. A foreigner. Not knowing exactly what to expect.

I wish I could step out of this pot, wash off the stew, then turn around and enjoy an innocent view of the Trinidad and Tobago musical landscape. One thing is for sure. It would not be boring. Trinidad and Tobago, or “Trinbago” as we like to unofficially call this twin-island state, is a National Geographic wonder, where the official and unofficial exist side by side. Where contrast and contradiction seem to be the order of the day. Any and ever y day. We have an ethnic mix that is both integrated and segregated – Africans, Indians, Chinese, and Caucasians of all flavours, party together... and vote separately. There is wealth and there is poverty. There is order and there is disorder. There is nauseating heat and freezing air-conditioning. There is the traditional and the ultra-modern. There is just this tension that somehow... works. And nowhere is it more evident than in our cultural expression. What a mess. What a delightful irreverent irresistible provocative exhilarating unpredictable unforgettable mess!

At Carnival time in Trinbago, there are probably many things that it would be impossible to miss. Without question, music would be at the top of that list. You won’t be able to hide from the pulsating, the melodic, the infectious. Sitting in economy class on the flight coming in, you feel it. It’s in the accent and the body language of flight attendants or returning nationals. And there is no need to translate. Your heart beats faster and your pupils widen. Come, let me take you …