As far back as 1981, when he brought the costume Tiger Tiger Burning Bright as part of his presentation of the band Jungle Fever, it was obvious to Carnival aficionados that Peter Minshall was not just a one-shot designer looking for approval from the establishment,but a new force to be reckoned with. This new thinking …
Hoping Minshall’s Fake Death News Will Bring Life to a Carnival Bereft of Ideas Read More »
It’s in the wee hours of the morning as thirteen groups of tired steel pan players gather ruefully in small, dim spotlights of illumination around the Queen’s Park Savannah. Observing these soldiers of a nation’s fortune reflecting in hushed tones about their performances and the points they had earned in the the Trinidad and Tobago …
As the tiny Caribbean democratic republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Approximately 1.6 million diverse people packed n 1,864 square feet of land) prepares to set the world on fire with her mass dramatic cultural event known as Trinidad Carnival or the Greatest Show on Earth, a number of thought-provoking issues rear their head, including: How …
The news about Black Stalin’s passing hit each citizen of Trinidad and Tobago in a special kind of way, both at home and in the diaspora. A story on the avalanche of tributes by Edison Boodoosingh in the Trinidad Guardian amply demonstrated the kind of reverence with which the Caribbean man was held. Describing him …
The folklore in Trinidad and Tobago about the prized member of the catfish family known as the Cascadura (and in Guyana and Brazil as Hassar), speaks ominously of: “Those who eat the Cascadura will, the native legend says, wheresoever they may wander end in Trinidad their days,” For wanderlust T+T native sons like Sam Selvon …
Pain For Those Who, like Selvon and Marcano, ate the Cascadura Read More »
Caribbean film enthusiasts can expect a sumptuous treat of original Caribbean creativity when Chee$e, the movie opens the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival at the IMAX Cinema, Roxy Roundabout, St James, from September 21-28 after a two-year hiatus. He might have been first seen as a 32-year old Caribbean-island novice newly-arrived in California to pursue an acting career. But …
It wasn’t by chance that Indian music featured prominently in the recent 60th Anniversary of Independence celebrations here. That’s because the Indians who came here as indentured labourers – which some say was a “milder” form of slavery- brought their music with them as one of the foundation tools for preserving their culture which would …
How Indian Music Served as a Good Dose of Medicine for TT’s Positive Development Read More »
Even as Trinidad and Tobago’s Mishael Morgan was triumphantly brandishing her Emmy Award in LA on the night of Saturday June 25, another young talented Trini named Akil Gerard Williams was quietly working a New York stage at this year’s edition of BAMcinemaFest, a vital annual showcase of independent filmmakers. “The Young and the Restless” …
As the Normandie Hotel prepares to open its sprawling arms to warmly embrace the expected flow of Art aficionados to its next exhibition at the St Ann’s grounds on June 9, a quietly tireless, resilient artist named Christopher Ross-Dick is waiting to emerge as part of his own exciting, personal evolution process. Here’s how Ross-Dick …
Observing the deluge of exciting artistic moveable feasts which have spontaneously erupted on the TT landscape with the opening up of the country after two years of COVID – 19 repression, one is forced to surmise whether the authorities are really abreast with the real benefits gained from what seems to be a super wealth- …
Checking out the Many Hidden Benefits Of the Sleeping Giant Called Carnival Read More »
