Here is a thought experiment. Sit down at a typical Trinidadian Sunday lunch. On the table in front of you: roti, curry chicken, callaloo, rice and peas, macaroni pie, sorrel…
There is a question that Caribbean people are used to being asked — usually at a dinner table in London, or a barbecue in Brooklyn, or a work meeting in…
On May 30, 1845, a ship named the Fatel Rozack docked in Trinidad. 225 people stepped ashore. They had been at sea for 103 days. They had crossed the Kala…
https://youtube.com/shorts/PH-kmfyJ_Po?feature=share 🪶 Fancy Indian Mas — The Indigenous Tribute of Trinidad CarnivalLong before Trinidad was colonized, before the first European ship sailed into its waters, the island was inhabited by…
https://youtube.com/shorts/yxqXoQ3_9zI?feature=share 🦇 Bat Mas — The Rare & Endangered Art of Trinidad Carnival FolkloreThere is a character in Trinidad Carnival so rare, so demanding, so physically extraordinary that many people…
https://youtube.com/shorts/LGpP_0CnSxs?feature=share 😈 Jab Jab — The Whip-Cracking Devil of Caribbean Carnival FolkloreHear the whip crack first. That sharp, pistol-shot sound — so sudden, so precise — is the Jab Jab's…
https://youtube.com/shorts/ev46uGroab8?feature=share 🐉 Dragon Mas — Caribbean Carnival's Symbol of Multicultural UnityThe Dragon stands at the canal. Water blocks his path — and water, particularly holy water, is the Dragon's great…
https://youtube.com/shorts/RhKnKQsJ2ug?feature=share ⚓ Sailor Mas — How Trinidad Turned Naval Costume Into Carnival ArtIn the 1880s, naval ships from Britain, France, and America began making regular visits to Port of Spain's…
https://youtube.com/shorts/21epZqIWgpg?feature=share 🎀 Baby Doll — The Most Haunting Character of Trinidad CarnivalShe approaches you in the crowd. She is dressed as an infant — adult-sized, in a bonnet and pleated…
https://youtube.com/shorts/SQAwiBJwafw?feature=share 🫏 Burrokeet — The Joyful Donkey of Caribbean CarnivalNot every Carnival character carries the weight of history on its shoulders. Some carry it lightly, joyfully, with a flick of…
