Tag: Soca

3 Canal J'Ouvert. Photo by Elliot Francois

Our time — Trinidad Carnival in the new millennium

This is the mother of all West Indian style carnivals around the world. The intoxicating mix of high-energy music and street performed by masqueraders, some in costumes 50ft tall, make the massive parade an unforgettable experience of a lifetime.

Candy Coated Love Fest is held on Carnival Friday. Photo courtesy Candy Coated Events

Endless wuk — a Trinidad Carnival guide

A brief history of Carnival The history of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago can be read as a history of banned things. When the French arrived in the 1780s, they brought a tradition of pre-Lenten celebration, most visibly represented by masquerade balls. The island’s economy and society was supported by slave labour, and those slaves

A menacing blue devil intimidates the crowd. Photo by Atiba Williams

Trinidad Carnival: the birth & evolution

Central to understanding much of the Trinidadian psyche is to understand the festival culture of the island. And no festival is greater than the Trinidad Carnival. The dynamism of the festival has sparked its reproduction throughout the rest of the Caribbean island chain, and as far away as Toronto, New York, Miami and Notting Hill. But everyone knows that Trinidad is the “mother of all West Indian carnivals”, which attracts visitors from all over the world, including international celebrities like Halle Berry. Its roots are here

Machel Montano

Behind Trinidad’s Music

Trinidad’s multicultural heritage gives our music an intriguing eclecticism, and a range of rhythms and styles that’s guaranteed to please

Machel Montano performs at CIC Fete. Photo by Jermaine Cruickshank, courtesy Machel Montano

The Trinidad Carnival season

The ritual of Trinidad Carnival involves more than buying a costume and jumping in the streets for two days. Let us initiate you into the customs of Carnival. It’s a season — a lifestyle!