BACCHANAL!!!!

I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago (if you do not know where it is it is right above South America. Very tiny. Easy to miss. Don't feel bad). Most of you have heard of Rio Carnival in Brazil. Trinidad Carnival is just as spectacular but in a concentrated form, for the most obvious reason--- Brazil is a billion times larger than Trinidad.

I have missed Carnival for the past 2 years. It is always on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it would fall on the 23rd and 24th of this month. So if you see me on any of those two days I can guarantee you I will be very pissed.

During the Carnival Season the only kind of music you woukd here in Trinidad is Soca. The original music of the land is Calypso, which I am sure all of you have heard a little of without even knowing it (Remember that scene in Beetlejuice when they were possessed at the dinner table and everyone was singing the banana boat song). But without a doubt soca is the dominant force brought forth by the younger generations. It is insanely addictive and once it is playing you cannot sit down.

The music is not even half of it. The real fun is at J'Ouvert which takes place on the Monday morning before the sun rises. Everyone bathes themselves in paint, mud and oil. Some people dress up in different costumes. One year I saw my teacher dressed as a female nurse.

Then there the masquarade that is in the streets of the islands capital, Port of Spain. The guys will really love this. Mostly women play carnival and the costumes are built onto bikinis. Alot of skin and a lot of fun -- for everyone.


If any of you ever get the chance to visit during Carnival I guarantee you would have the time of your life.