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[Odler]

(by Hazell-Ann Mitchell)

This year, most might say that carnival fell in line with the

political climate. It was stormy, swift and furious. The sounds

were creative and many interesting issues were dealt with. From

relationships to crime to politics to Ben Ladin, and more whine,

jump, wave.

One woman sang a socca asking for a man to bring out the 'jammette' in

her.... That was explicit.

Another female sang: "Man does come; man does go... Ah give yuh one

chance, you muck it up". Of course, patrons were not singing "muck",

the phonetic association was too tempting. This year´s was one of

female anthems.

Bonjai Garlin sang 'them woman does lie' and men had their chance to

get back at females. His sound was more of a chant; it came out very

lyrical and rhythmical. He tied in one competition with another

singer.

I saw him perform live at a restaurant; he was electrifying. The parades

went on with masqueraders wearing less and less and whining more and

more...

The tents were well patronized, and many foreigners came to enjoy the

festivities.

There were tales of 'invasions'. Let me clarify this. When

performers come from foreign countries to participate in the 'Mecca'

or birthplace of calypso and steel band, this is considered an

invasion. So this year we had a Celtic invasion, a Bajan

invasion... and even an American calypso hit.

The only damper on the festivities was the high occurrence of

criminal activities. Many were robbed (petty thefts), and many held

up with weapons.

All in all, the season was welcome as a release from the tumultuous

political climate... I think this is the general consensus.

Hazel-Ann Mitchell

Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Thursday, February 14, 2002