Port of Spain, Trinidad – With less than one week remaining for the Caribbean’s largest and most anticipated celebration, Trinidad Carnival, the island is a buzz with final preparations for the event. Hotels on the island are at full capacity with thousands of masquerade (mas) band revelers and bystanders eagerly awaiting the highlight of the festival, the parade of the bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, February 15 and 16.
As the final days of Carnival wind down, the pulsating rhythms from steel pan bands echo throughout the capital city of Port of Spain. Ranging in sizes of small, medium and large, steel pan bands can be heard practicing for Panorama, an annual musical competition that crowns the “best of the best” steel pan players, held the Saturday before Carnival officially begins.
For many, however, the highly contested road march song of the year is where the true test of musical creativity comes into play. The island’s talented soca performers vie for the coveted road march “song of the year” title. Decided by popular vote, the winning song will be chosen on Carnival Monday and then used as the festival’s anthem on Carnival Tuesday. Leading contenders for this year’s crown are JW featuring Blaze with Palance, Blaxx’s Hunting, Faye Ann Lyons with True Lies and Machel Montano’s No Behavior.
Carnival countdown would not be complete without the kings and queens costume competition, held at Dimanche Gras (Big Sunday), the official start to the two-day cultural celebration. During this night of competition, mas band leaders parade across a stage in elaborately designed costumes that often weigh between 50 and 200 pounds, reach up to 30 feet high and are usually attached to wheels, making mobility easier for the brave soul who will spend the next 48 hours in it parading and dancing in the streets of Port of Spain. Thousands of revelers dressed in ornately feathered and sequined headdresses and matching brightly colored costumes will join the band leaders for the parade of bands, the culmination of the festival, on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
