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Is carnival still a t'ing of beauty or is it all about nakedness and money? Leh meh 'no..? |
Travel Info Is carnival still a t'ing of beauty or is it all about nakedness and money? Leh meh 'no..? Travel Tips Carnival to me is still a thing of beauty but it does sadden me to see what it has become. I am in complete agreement that the vast majority of bands are all about the bikinis and the beads but one can't deny that they are still beautiful, albeit often boring and lacking in originality. For me personally, I still love a band that tells a story and a costume that supports that story. For all his madness, you have to admit that Minshall was a Master story teller. Half the time we didn't understand the story mind you, but we know it was a story he was trying to tell. That is why, regardless of who say what, I will continue to play in Revellers. I have much respect for their continued effort over the years to keep the story telling part of Carnival alive and not give in to the bikini, bead and let us not forget the almighty feather, lol, trend. Others Boy...........doh get me started. This is a HUGE beef for me. I remember playing mas as a child and as a teenager when mas was MAS. The bands represented something and mas told a story. The costumes were glorious in design and specticular to behold. You could tell what band a masquerader was representing by just looking at their costume. Now except for a few bands, is only beads, feathers and bikinis. Are we in Rio or in Trinidad? What is with the nakedness? I also think the prices of costumes are ridiculous. There is no other word to describe it. It makes me sad to see where our Carnival is headed. I try to encourage the younger generation to support the bands that are faithful to the true spirit of Carnival. I adore Carnival, it's one of the pluses of being Trini. But I think too many people only consider pretty mas when they talking about Carival, granted it's the finale, but to me it's the entire thing. I love the tents, the calypso competition, Dimarche Gras, Kiddie's Carnival, the fetes, the ole mas and more and if you factor all those things it still is a thing of beauty. I think times are changing, and we may find a return to the more traditional carnival, if more artists return to making mas....look at the reaction to Brian MacFarlane's Return to India, the Legend of Boyie....unbelieveable. People were raving about that band, and the king was gorgegous! Carnival is still a thing of beauty. i tink carnival is still a ting of beauty and it will remain dat way. some of the older folks in my family like to complain about mas is not de same as long time but i was watching this DVD ting where one of the top contributers of our mas was speaking and he said although the mas and the music has changed a bit becuase of the generation gap we need to jes learn how to bring both generations together and appreciate the fact that there is enough room for both. He said he grew up wit long time mas but he still embraces the new era. And quite frankly, I couldn't agree with him more. About de money and nakedness part of de question....take a look at Brazil's carnival and yuh would see why our mas still has depth, meaning and a unique beauty. the only beautiful thing about carnival now ah days is the fact that it have a lot of colour. Mas bands used to tell a story. The band had a theme and all the costumes depicted that theme. Now ah days is beads and feathers and d smallest, tiniest scrap of cloth with strings that you could find. You could imagine jumping round town in ah thongs, and sitting down on the side of the road in that? They should have rules about who could buy what, the worse thing to see is a 'big' person in ah two piece bikini, and every thing falling out and jiggling! Tell me why i must pay $2000 of my hard earned cash to get ah panty and ah bra with some beads and feathers? to some extent it's just about capitalism but if we were to look at the expression or the meaning,carnival is much more.it's a time of year when ppl can express what they've had pent up all year long.when a woman wines on a policeman it's just not wildness,it's her saying that she's liberated and can do what she wants, even disrespect the law.when u see ppl wining on burglar proof on banks,it's them saying, "we own the streets,tdad belongs to us." the madness,esp ole mas is that time when ppl let go,say what they really want to tell the authorities but hadnt gotten the chance to do so bcuz they are just lowly civil servants or whatever.sure, mas has evolved into sumting else and sure, alot of ppl are just into making money at that time but there's a much deeper social,political and historical background and much more meaning to the event (which by the way is the season,not just the two days on the road).that is also why no govt will ever try to stop it bcuz it will mean alot of disgruntled people walking around tdad and tobago and that's a catalyst for a far worse revolt and revolution.carnival is in itself a revolt but it's contained and monitored to some extent.could u imagine if there was no carnival and ppl worked day in,day out for their measly salaries,trying to make ends meet?the social situation in tdad and tobago is what promotes and encourages carnival.therefore,no matter the price,carnival will always be a thriving business bcuz ppl need that season and 2 days of freedom me |
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