Tag Archives: carnival

In light of current general statements about economic diversification, it will not surprise my readers that I will proceed on my break, commencing today, only after some further comments concerning pan and culture. In fact, one of my intended video documentaries will be about my exposure to pan, which started …

“[…] What is perhaps most instructive from the data on Trinidad and Tobago’s national culture is our incredibly low score on long-term orientation (17 out of 100 vs 77 out of 100 in China and 50 out of 100 in the US). “It demonstrates a low propensity to sufficiently consider …

Disclaimer: I don’t work for Tribe Carnival. I am not a fan of the waste-generating, classist, exclusionary commercialization of Carnival. As a former Minshall and 3Canal player and fan, if I were to resume playing mas myself, it would most likely be with a mas band like Berkley Mas or …

There is a troubling pattern in our public life: moral leaders who sound their trumpets loudly, yet hollowly choosing the easiest battles while leaving the hardest untouched. Their sermons bloom like roses, but without thorns: ornamental, perfumed and harmless. They raise their voices against costumes, symbols and sensuality but fall …

Carnival is supposed to be joy. It is colour and music and rhythm and release. It is sweat on skin, feathers in motion and the collective permission to forget who we are for a moment. Carnival, we say, is culture. Carnival is freedom. Carnival is who we are. And yet, …

Soca star Patrice Roberts linked the negative effect of current financial challenges on the ability to experience the joy, love and togetherness of Carnival. As a consequence, she cancelled her scheduled ticketed concert on 22 January and will perform free instead. Her motivation, as reported in the Trinidad Express newspaper …

“[…] Most carnival costumes (beads, bikinis, feathers, clothes, uniforms, caps, wire bending, etc) are now manufactured in China at reasonable costs—transport included. “We definitely have the skillsets in Trinidad and Tobago to make these simple products. “Pan Trinbago (PTB) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) can provide the location, …

“[…] Here in Trinidad and Tobago, the Road March results still rely on a manual system—TUCO officials physically count song plays at competition venues. “This outdated process is not only time-consuming but also vulnerable to human error, bias, and undue influence…. Embracing digitalisation in Carnival adjudication could resolve these challenges …

During the Bush 2.0 Administration, pious Christian Nationalist and Attorney General John Ashcroft demanded that two nude statues, called Spirit of Justice and Majesty of Justice, in the Great Hall be covered up with blue drapes, because he deemed the human nudity “indecent” and “distracting”. These were works of art …

“[…] The modern thong and beads era, while bold and unapologetic, often leans too far into the realm of impracticality. The disappearing thong, in particular, vanishes in part into crevices of unknown depth, leaving little to the imagination and often sacrificing comfort for shock value. “The bikini, on the other hand, has …

Early one Sunday morning, around dawn, I drove to Macqueripe Bay for a photo shoot. It was five days before I gave birth, 31 years ago. There, as daylight cast her yawning gaze upon the empty shore, I unclad myself and let Skye and Corinne wrap me in two beautiful …

An indication given in a weekly column to deal with an identified topic “next week” is one that is difficult to implement. Things keep rapidly falling apart and the nasty quarrels between those in public life who are responsible for our governance burst into the news cycle with an intensity …