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[Odler]

TRINIDAD CARNAVAL: ONE MORE MONTH

(January 19, 2004)

In exactly one month, it will be a Thursday, carnaval will switch to full gear in Trinidad and Tobago. The 2004 Carnaval Expedition will be on its merry way to the land of soca, calypso and steel bands.

Trinidad has one the best carnavals in the world, beside Bahia, Rio, and the Canary Islands. Where else would the Dream Team take a hiatus from the yearly Bahia adventure?

If you leave Miami and travel down the Caribbean Sea toward South America, the last islands you touch, before entering Venezuela and the continent, are Trinidad (1,864 sq miles) and Tobago (120 sq miles); 1.2 million people of African and Indian ascents live there.

The party takes place on the largest island. It officially extends from Friday to Ash Wednesday at dawn. In reality, carnaval starts weeks earlier: with rehearsals, competitions, and fringe events. Anything for a good party.

Carnaval is also a time for the Trini diaspora to return home, enjoy the food, the music, the sun, and expunge their homesickness.

Many foreigners, attracted by the same enticements, also take the trip. They come from the other Caribbean islands (Jamaica), from North America, and from Western Europe. They are seen by the thousands, populating the tents, the stands, and the marching groups, playing mask or not.

For the Trinidadian economy, carnaval is gold.

(The Traveller, Monday, January 19, 2004)