Trinidad & Tobago Disptach 4: Post Carnival

by Adrienne Wilson on

Somehow I can’t figure out which is worse, having the lyrics of an infectious Soca tune stuck in my head (i.e. I want a big bottom gyal fuh mi to wine up on, big bottom gyal, big bottom gyal / I want a nice sexy gyal fuh mi to wine up on, nice sexy gyal, nice sexy gyal…) or the throbbing, achy feeling running up and down my every limb from the last two days of Carnival. I managed to impress the locals with my stamina, dancing all day in 80 plus degree heat without complaint and storming across the stage at the end with the energy of a raging bull, but the behind the scenes aren’t as pretty. I’m wondering if I’m too old for this kind of play or if any of the other revelers are spending their Wednesday recouping the same way as myself. Anyhow I’ll try to relive the days as best as possible without mentioning my every gyrating move.

Monday morning started early, somewhere around 3 AM with a rum and coke in tow, body paint smeared across my flesh and the joining of other free-spirited individuals ready to play Jouvert (pronounced joo-vay). I’d be lying if I said I was coaxed, bamboozled and such into this wacky business by the likes of another Blogger, but the truth is I was enticed by the event long before we met. It took one mention and I was there. Our Jouvert band was small with 40 actual participants and those from the streets that decided to join us on the road. The cling-clang, ting-tang sound of the steel pan could be heard from the band on our truck as we followed along in fluid motion, marching, stomping, dancing and waking the town. We enjoyed ourselves immensely until the sun started to shine when we hurriedly planned our escape. Somehow the paint began to feel a little less glamorous with the dawn of day and I had to get back in time to shower and play half-mas with Poison. The others would be come out for Carnival Tuesday.

Two showers later and a couple hours passed before I tossed on my Monday attire for Carnival. Short jean shorts, shimmery costume top and streaks of paint that wouldn’t come off made for a complete wardrobe. Let the bacchanal begin! We hit the road around 10:30 AM this time taking advantage of the cooler morning temperatures, winin’ and ah winin’ to all the popular Soca songs. The day continued moving with people having good times. And while everyone was really surprised by my performance I must say I even impressed myself that Monday, but then there was Tuesday.

It was difficult getting up. My body was already feeling sore and the day would be longer and more grueling, but the show had to go on and did so at 7AM. Things were going well for my band, Poison (one of the largest mas bands in Trinidad) until we took a turn and went off normal course for parading. This soured several regular masqueraders’ attitudes and they danced little as our convoy made way through St. James. For my first time, I had no clue what was going on and was unaffected by this huge change except that it made the day longer. When all was said and done and we finally had the opportunity to cross the stage around 7 PM I felt as charged as ever and ready to do it all over again. Well almost…

(For more complete coverage of this festival stay tuned for links and more. This snippet does no justice to the affair.)

Postcards from Trinidad: Eight

by Adrienne Wilson on


Sad to say it, but Carnival is over here in Trinidad & Tobago. Funny part about the whole thing is you’d never know it even happened. The streets are cleaner than I’ve ever seen them and the city is slightly quieter than usual even with the normal hustle and bustle. Now it is time to start preparing for next year’s Carnival and to give one last burst of color, confetti and streamer to the recently past affair here is a shot taken in the National Library days before.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/28/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Tobago without a question is the official cool down spot for post-Carnival activities. It is the place to rest one’s weary limbs after hours of parading and wining through POS streets. I’ve got my plans made to cool it on the quiet sister island after all the partying has come to a halt and I’m looking forward to the affair immensely.

Today’s word is a slang word used in Trinidad & Tobago:

lime – to hang out in a group

The official term for hanging out with your pals, boyfriend, girlfriend, family or whoever is ‘lime.’ I recall from my very first visit trying to understand the meaning of the word and the depths to a lime and where one can occur. While it often felt as if people were just loitering in the streets and on corners of closed neighborhood shops they were actually ‘bustin’ ah lime.’ My friend and I took part in some liming of our own, sipping on an Apple J and posting up against a wall. So in short yuh can ‘lime’ at a beach, fete, house, or against the wall.

Definition of today’s word and past Trini slang is compliments of the online Trini dictionary.

Past Trini slang words: bawlin’, bacchanal

Word for the Travel Wise (02/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

In celebration of these two days of Trinidad & Tobago’s annual Carnival a.k.a “The Greatest Show on Earth,” I’ll be devoting this feature to some more Trini street lingo. Keeping it short, sweet and to the point let’s start with the first word.

Today’s word is a slang word used in Trinidad & Tobago:

Bacchanal – scandal, arguing, confusion or big party

I’ve heard this word many times in Soca songs and from the mouths of natives but couldn’t fully comprehend what they meant by ‘bacchanal.‘ The dictionary dot com defines the word as a drunken or riotous celebration. When asking a friend of mine to use it in a sentence he went more towards the trash-talking, arguing, scandal definition of the word. His sentence was a bit R-rated so I’ll leave from this post, but relating to carnival he noted you wouldn’t necessarily place it in the same a.k.a category as “The Greatest Show on Earth” or a.k.a “Carnival” category, but use it to describe the onset confusion from a huge event. Many of you probably already knew this one, but I’m having a slow, non-thinking, too much fetin’ moment. Forgive me.

Bacchanal can be found listed here in the online Trini dictionary or on Dictionary.com.

Past Trini slang words: bawlin’

Postcards from Trinidad: Seven

by Adrienne Wilson on


As I prepare for the full-scale Carnival experience and ready myself for the long grueling days ahead I thought I’d give one more round of sound for the kiddies here in Trinidad who can boogie with the best of them. Erik gave mention to the Children’s Carnival event when writer Karen Walrond of our sister site Blogging Baby and Trini native pointed out how precious the little ones look in their face paint and gear. I happened to catch these secondary students in action on my out the National Library as they marched, danced and soca bounced to the rhythm and beats played by the trailing bands.