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Carnival In Trinidad Not The Place to 'Un-Wine'

Photo by TOM WUCKOVICH

Feathers, beads and necklaces are the order of the day for most costumes at the Carnival in Trinidad.

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By TOM WUCKOVICH

Special To TBO.com

Published: August 7, 2008

\Fren-ze\ n. Intense, wild, often disorderly compulsive activity. NOTE: See Carnival in Trinidad!

There are few words to describe this mother of all parties, but frenzy comes really close. You've got to see it to believe it. Better yet, be a part of it, and find out what it's like to "wine" down in the streets of Port-O-Spain with thousands of other revelers stoked by the African-influenced music blasting from tractor-trailer stacks of robust speakers.

In case you're wondering, "wining," or to wine, means gyrating and jostling your body against one or two, or perhaps three others, as you march down the streets in the run-up to "playing mas," and the actual day of playing mas - when it's all for real.

Every February, Carnival in Trinidad is a celebration that blows the beads off Mardi Gras in New Orleans and rivals Carnaval in Rio. You can't help but be swept up in the raucous atmosphere, which begins on the weekend, but reaches its zenith on Monday, the day before Fat Tuesday itself, when playing mas explodes on the streets of the capital city.

With music as the catalyst, thousands - visitors and locals - dressed up in colorful, albeit brief, costumes, sway in rhythm to the chest-thumping, ear-piercing beat of soca music. When the partying begins, it's nonstop until the day after Fat Tuesday when the country shuts down as if nothing happened, and revelers head to Tobago to really "wine" down after four days of almost unrestrained behavior.
Costumes are available for anyone who wants to buy one - some can cost hundreds of dollars. Then you're assigned to a "tribe" that wears identical costumes - such as Fancy Indian, Fancy Sailor, Bat and Butterfly, among others. The outfits are colorful and elaborate, but usually skimpy, and come complete with headbands, armbands, and hundreds of brightly colored beads.

The day before playing mas, there's a "run-through" of the festivities and you'll join other partygoers as they march through the streets or "chip," a form of short-stepping, until your reach Queen's Park Savannah, where lunch and drinks await - a welcome relief after hours of dancing and wining.

Here's the good news - you get to do it all over again the next day, and in full costume. If there's one thing you've learned during this "practice," it's how to pace yourself in the blistering Trinidad sun. But despite the heat and the lack of shade, you can't help but join in the hip-shaking, booty-shaking craziness - it just seems like the thing to do.

You can have a taste of how wild and wooly it will be if you also take part in J'Ouvert, Creole for "daybreak." This early morning ritual can trace its roots back to the days of the Caribbean slave trade in the early 19th century. Slaves would imitate the Carnival parties and costumes of their French owners by dressing in rags and covering their faces in ashes and mud.

J'Ouvert begins at 3 a.m. and you're warned to wear clothes that you might possibly just throw away after all is said and done. Participants, paint-smeared and some looking like the devil incarnate, line up behind a truck crammed with oversized speakers that will shock the drowsiness from your tired body. On the first jarring note, it's off down the streets, meeting passersby who join in or throw paint, mud, or anything else that will stick to the skin. Before the sun is up, everyone is covered in colored mud and paint and dancing wildly to the pounding drums emanating from the truck that snakes its way through the streets, defying anyone to stay asleep or in bed.
This outrageous spectacle lasts for about four hours before it's time to head back to your hotel to discard the spattered clothes, shower and get ready to do it all over again later that day when you play mas. As you prepare for the next events, the chorus of one song may run through your head, it goes something like this: "And we're not going home 'till the morning comes; and we're not going home 'till we see the sun."

This song and others like it are also part of the Trinidad Carnival tradition. Bands and singers compete to have their song judged the most popular song for that particular year. In the nights before finally playing mas, local performers entertain a packed stadium with their music, hoping to be named the top artist with the best song.

Another popular contest is Panorama, a musical fight among groups who play the steel pan. The steel drum originated in Trinidad and the distinctive sound can be heard around various "pan yards" before the final competition that includes up to hundreds of pans being played by rows of musicians.

Other competitions are also staged during the four-day event. The main costume contest is the Kings and Queens competition, and the entries are magnificent in both size and style. The competition takes place in the evening, but there is a junior version of the event that occurs during the Children's Parade on Sunday morning. The costumes' themes are amazing - from spiders to dragons to butterflies and mythical sea creatures.

But every activity is a build-up to the grand finale, the Band of the Year contest that is the highlight on Fat Tuesday. The "bands" are really the organized groups of costumed tribes who represent the stated theme with their costumes. You can see Indians, bats, birds, sailors and the like, shaking and chipping their way toward the stage and the judges' stand. Once there, they have just a few minutes to demonstrate to the panel how much spirit and power they can muster before being ushered off so another group can try to win the judges' votes.

It's all over after several hectic hours, and nothing remains except the litter and an occasional armband or feather that's popped from a costume. Visitors will usually go home the next day, while Trinidadians will head en masse to Tobago and its magnificent beaches, where they can really wind down.

After all, there's next year to think about!

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