One of the things I missed the most about home when I lived away was the food. It’s crazy how many cultures influenced what we eat regularly in Trinidad and Tobago. You can literally taste our history. I remember when I was a student at UWI, Mona a classmate’s husband was on a business trip…
A lone figure steps into the middle of a Belmont Street, signaling the start of the procession. He wears what looks like a floor-length dress; it’s made with dried banana leaves. He has a beaded headpiece that extends past his waist, with two straw-like spears attached to his back. His face, shoulders and arms are…
Note: Published in February of 2023. At the time I wanted a local paper to ask and answer the following: can influencer marketing increase Trinidad and Tobago’s tourist arrivals? The answer seems to be yes, but there is a concern that the opportunity is not being seized. February 19, 2023 – Business Guardian Tracey Lyons-White…
Note: I first wrote this in 2023. This year many people seemed to have taken to Paramin to experience the Blue Devils and just enjoy a different type of Carnival. It really does seem like this Carnival was the one to give us what we needed, and I love that for us. I will explore…
Trinidad and Tobago has officially modified its Coat of Arms to include the steelpan where the three ships of Christopher Columbus used to be. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the announcement, a national one, at his party’s convention: a political event. He said then, “You see them three Columbus boats in the emblem, they…
There were familiar names in both the Carnival Kings and Queen’s categories that made it into the semi-final round of next Wednesday’s (26th February) turn before the judges. Topping the men’s competition, and securing his place in next Wednesday’s semi-finals is Fareid Carvalho with Dralozo: A Being From The Sun. Nicole Hercules’ stunning De Tiger…
I received a late invitation to cover Kings & Queen’s preliminaries in the Savannah last evening. I accepted because it is one of my favourite parts of the Carnival, and a dream of mine to perform. The show, however, always takes too long. But is one of those things where it is better to see…
Last week (Tuesday 11th, 2025) I attended the latest exhibition of the work of master artist LeRoy Clarke at Castle Killarney (Stollmeyer’s Castle). I spontaneously decided to visit the exhibition since I was up and out early for the BP Breakfast talk about sponsorship of steelpan at the Energy Conference. The exhibition had just been…
As has become his habit, when Robert Young hosts a band launch, he creates an experience. And so, on Thursday 13th, February he hosted a talk at Propaganda Space on Erthig Road, Belmont to share Kongo Day with the public. He held a similar talk a week prior, but Thursday was special. It would also…
“You see Trinidad and Brazil we have the same vibration. Ile Ife, Ile Ife, she make me to understand.” Bahia Girl – David Rudder A conversation on Africa in the Carnival has to come with caveats. The earliest reporting of the Carnival was done by White elites who were hostile to the activities of the…