They are well worth attending though it helps to have a Trinidadian interpreter to explain all the
Posted in General on 15. Oct, 2010
They are well worth attending, though it helps to have a Trinidadian interpreter to explain all the political references.Any other religious festivals? Carnival is the biggest, but in the Catholic islands (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti and the French islands) there are also festivals on saints’ days, which involve a blessing in the local church, sometimes processions and then a day’s celebration and partying.Voodoo pilgrimages (in honour of a Catholic saint and their voodoo counterpart) take place year-round in Haiti. The early rounds of the Calypso Monarch competition are held in Calypso Tents (like-minded groups of singers rather than actual tents) and then the finals take place over carnival weekend in the main stadia. The other is for the more thoughtful and theatrical songs that compete for title of Calypso Monarch. First is the soca (soul calypso) music, the dance music that is the engine of the street parades – the winner is the song that is played most during the parades. Although carnival grew up around Mardi Gras, nowadays the concept has been extended to celebrate, for example, the end of the cane-cutting season in July or August (the Zafra in Cuba, Cropover in Barbados). Jamaica also has a carnival in April, while Grenada has one in August, and Barbados at the end of July and beginning of August.
He was considered to have let the side down so badly nobody would help him.The French islands stage mock weddings on Lundi Gras, and continue until Ash Wednesday, Mercredi des Cendres, for the burning of Momo, the carnival spirit. Once I saw a man dressed as a bat trying to get home on Wednesday morning (presumably he had fallen asleep on the savannah). It’s a matter of pride that everything stops on the dot of midnight on Tuesday. People have been known to leave their jobs so that they can “play mas”. Unofficially it starts a month or six weeks before Mardi Gras The weekend before Fat Tuesday involves non-stop partying.
There are carnivals all over the Caribbean to celebrate Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the last day before Lent. Traditionally, carnival was a final blow-out before Lenten fasting. In St Vincent, “Nine Mornings” starts today, with carol singing and parades on the streets of Kingstown on nine mornings (020-7937 6570; ).And carnival?Carnival is the biggest festival in the Christian calendar Carne-vale literally means “farewell to meat”. On 28 December, the Festival of the Innocents takes place: thousands of figures in brightly coloured suits and ghostly masks drive around the countryside, ending up in the main square of Hatillo for a parade (Puerto Rico Tourism: 0800 898 920; ).
Others take place at important moments in the Caribbean calendar – the end of the sugar-cane cutting season around the end of July, for example, is an excuse for yet more festivities.So what’s coming up for christmas?Gardens in the Latin islands – and especially Puerto Rico – are festooned with fairy lights and illuminated plastic Nativity figures. Food festivals are gaining in popularity, both local and gourmet cuisine: a celebration of Caribbean Creole food in Guadeloupe, the F? des Cuisini?s, takes place in August.Summer is the time for the more formal national Independence celebrations – parades, more carnivals, “jump-ups” (street parties). Then there are musical festivals – predominantly reggae, steel band and jazz events. These often merge into broader cultural festivals, such as dance jamborees. Almost every island has at least one festival during the year.