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| (From top) People lazing about on Maracas Beach; Locals go wild with costumes during the Carnival |
Roland was quite the happy man. Carib Lager — arguably Trinidad and Tobago’s (TAT) most popular beer — was giving him a nice buzz as he walked along the streets of Port of Spain, camera in hand. It was 3.15am on Monday morning — the time of day when the human body and mind is supposed to be in the state of deepest repose.
But this was Trinidad during the time of Carnival and sleep was nowhere on the radar. Even though Roland walked a deserted street, the deep-pounding, ribcage-rattling bass that had been the aural signature of Trinidad over the last three days was omnipresent. It was as if the gods above had turned on a celestial stereo, cranked the volume to the maximum and then forgotten all about it.
As Roland rounded a corner, he was greeted by Cocoa Bunnies — a band of revellers who go round smothering people with chocolate during what’s called J’Ouvert (‘daybreak’ in French) in TAT. The Cocoa Bunnies rushed towards him gleefully and smothered him in chocolate in exactly 7.5 seconds, ignoring his pleas of “I don’t want to play, I’m a press photographer”. J’Ouvert, also called Dirty Mass, marks the official start of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival with revellers smearing themselves with mud, paint or chocolate and dancing to calypso on the streets. It starts before dawn and goes on well into the day. This was the first of the street parties that would go on, one after the other, for two days.
Whether it is the Cocoa Bunnies or Mud Angels, every group carried their own music. And I’m not talking hep iPods or mp3 players pouring music privately into the owner’s ears. There is nothing subtle and soft about the way the Trinis play Carnival. A truck with a tri-axle trailer and a high output generator accompanied each group, along with a DJ with a console who would make a professional recording studio’s mixer look like a hobby harmonium. Sound blasted through a dozen loudspeakers.
And to that foot-tapping music, everybody danced. From graceful twirls to raunchy thrusts to some very suggestive pelvic swaying, everybody was slave to the rhythm. But wait, the DJ truck was followed by another truck that provided fuel to these uninhibited gyrations — the bar truck! Atop these, generous barmaids handed out stiff drinks that comprised of flavourful and forceful Trinidad rum mixed — ‘mixed’ is rather misleading — I would say, garnished, with Coke or Sprite.
While J’Ouvert officially runs from Monday to Ash Wednesday that marks the beginning of Lent, there are enjoyable events on the days leading up to J’Ouvert Monday too.
I arrived on the Friday night of Soca Monarch. Soca is a style of music and the Soca Monarch is a music contest where artists compete for the Soca Monarch or the Groovy Soca Monarch. I watched the stylish singers and curvaceous chorus girls strut their stuff right from front row.
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| A band performs at Brian Lara’s All Inclusive |
The Kings and Queens Masquerade, showcasing fantastic costumes inspired by mythology, reality or fantasy, is another unique event. And these costumes are so huge and intricate that they sometimes weigh up to 200 pounds and are often on a chassis with wheels.
On Saturday night, the stage was set for Panorama — a competition where bands make beautiful music using steel pans. The depth, radius and curvature of each pan determines the note it plays. Each band has at least 50 steel pans with a player for each. Their music would make a philharmonic orchestra clap in appreciation.
We headed to Maracas Beach on Sunday for a little breather. Besides the blue sea and soft sand, the beach is also known for ‘Bake and Shark’ — a sandwich with fried shark fillet stuffed between deep-fried bread, accompanied by an assortment of condiments like tamarind sauce, mango chutney, honey mustard, chilli sauce, ketchup, fried onions, etc. Divinely delicious!
Back in Port of Spain in the afternoon, it was time to get decked up for one of the most sought-after events — Brian Lara’s All Inclusive. This smashing party is usually held on the Sunday before the Carnival on the grounds of Brian Lara’s house on Chancellor Hill and is the place to be and be seen at.
On Tuesday, it was time to watch the Parade of the Bands, where everyone dressed up and paraded in wild and wacky costumes. The music was even louder and the vivid costumes would have shamed a rainbow. But what really amazed me was the energy. It was as if there was an invisible electric field around Trinidad and everyone had plugged into it. The festive atmosphere and the dancing went on non-stop throughout the hot day.
On Ash Wednesday, I woke up to a deathly silence as if someone had pulled the plug on the celestial stereo. In the airport, hand luggage mostly consisted of fancy headdresses. Dark circles underlined bleary eyes and a whiff of rum hung in the air. In a corner sat Roland, trying to get the last of the chocolate out of his ear.
Carnival was over!
Ready reckoner
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Getting there: You can get to Trinidad via the UK or the US. Visa is on arrival.
Traveller’s tip: Carnival is a busy time and you need to book well in
advance. Carry earplugs, sun block, sunglasses and very comfortable shoes. If you’re going to participate in J’Ouvert, take along some old clothes too.
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Travel trivia
Soca music was created in 1963 by Garfield Blackman, better known as Ras Shorty I or Lord Shorty. The form evolved as a fusion of calypso, cadence and Indian instruments like the dholak and tabla. Lord Shorty called Soca the soul of calypso.
