Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2017 (#28)

Witness battles
for supremacy
In addition to pan and soca,
there are countless competitions
for Carnival’s myriad
artforms.
n Calypso wars culminate
in the Calypso Monarch
competition at Dimanche
Gras on Carnival
Sunday. There are also
crowns for different
calypso styles — including
the entirely improvised
extempo — and for the
juniors
n Spectacular individual
costumes, junior and
senior, compete for the
titles of king and queen of
the bands
n Kiddies Carnival features
some of the best
designs of the season
n Stick-fighting (“bois”)
competitions take place
across the country
n Traditional and ol’ mas
characters such as the
Dame Lorraine (a man in a
dress with stuffed bosom
and bottom, satirising
bulky colonial matrons),
the ominous Midnight
Robber with his grandiloquent
speeches, and the
talkative Pierrot Grenade
compete at events
through the season.
“The Dying Swan - Ras Nijinsky
in Drag as Pavlova” charted
new territory in the 2016 King
of Carnival Competition
maria nunes
“Make a ritual of the sunrise”…
For some, it’s pan. For others, it’s J’ouvert that
is the centrepiece of their Carnival.
At 4am on Carnival Monday, the “reign of the
Merry Monarch” begins as thousands of people
gyrate through the streets, disguised in the
trappings of “dutty mas” — oil, grease, paint,
mud, cocoa, clay, old clothes, or provocative
costumes delivering stinging socio-political
commentary. Traditional bands feature characters
like jab jabs, blue devils, bats, and more.
66 discovertnt.com