WHO PLAYING MAS, WHO GOING HOME FOR CARNIVAL.....

[snowbird]

Yes, it is that time again; and for the umpteenth time, that feting sister of mine called to ask me....."Are you going to Trinidad for Carnival this year?".

She has been doing that allot in the last 10 years sensing that I am well over due for a T&T Carnival visit..... but my reply is as always...."ah tinking about it"

How about you, are you going home for Carnival?

And, are you (even those at home) playing mas?

[simplecandice]

I wouldnt be playing mas, I hope to go to some of the Calypso Tents, concerts and I may go a fete or two.

[Falcon]

Snow,
I not playing mas this year or next or never
I not goin home for Carnival eidder

[guyguy]

Meh big dorta mite ...

[Sirius]

Actually I avoid carnival like the plague. Some say it is culture, but if culture is a flagrant display of bad behavior, headache inducing music, sweaty bodies and smelly streets then I am more than happy not to have culture.

[Huma]

Actually I avoid carnival like the plague. Some say it is culture, but if culture is a flagrant display of bad behavior, headache inducing music, sweaty bodies and smelly streets then I am more than happy not to have culture.

There's a lot more to Carnival than that. I surprised to hear you narrow Carnival down like that.

[Sirius]

Actually I avoid carnival like the plague. Some say it is culture, but if culture is a flagrant display of bad behavior, headache inducing music, sweaty bodies and smelly streets then I am more than happy not to have culture.

There's a lot more to Carnival than that. I surprised to hear you narrow Carnival down like that.

Of course there is. However, that is the by and large of what it has become. Everyone is busy getting themselves in shape to go whining on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, and planning on which fetes they can go get drunk at. Perhaps if there wasn't such high emphasis on these aspects of Carnival, then I won't be narrowing it down to just that.

The fact is, the cultural aspects of it such as Soca Monarch, King and Queen of Carnival, Panorama and the like have become mere afterthoughts. I won't include Parade of the Bands because all it has become is seeing who can get whined on in front the camera.

I'm sorry if you don't like how I have described Carnival, but the further it degrades into a sex show is the more I will continue to lambaste it.

[snowbird]

Actually I avoid carnival like the plague. Some say it is culture, but if culture is a flagrant display of bad behavior, headache inducing music, sweaty bodies and smelly streets then I am more than happy not to have culture.

There's a lot more to Carnival than that. I surprised to hear you narrow Carnival down like that.

Of course there is. However, that is the by and large of what it has become. Everyone is busy getting themselves in shape to go whining on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, and planning on which fetes they can go get drunk at. Perhaps if there wasn't such high emphasis on these aspects of Carnival, then I won't be narrowing it down to just that.

The fact is, the cultural aspects of it such as Soca Monarch, King and Queen of Carnival, Panorama and the like have become mere afterthoughts. I won't include Parade of the Bands because all it has become is seeing who can get whined on in front the camera.

I'm sorry if you don't like how I have described Carnival, but the further it degrades into a sex show is the more I will continue to lambaste it.

Know what you mean about the 'wining ting', and the 'naked mas'.
Me I still equate mas with .... 'fabric and form', and being a long time 'mas player' ( I doz still 'chip') ....to me all of this 'lewdness' really detracts from the 'art form', which T&T seems to be getting further and further away from; thank goodness, people like 'McFarlane still knows how to 'present mas'.... look forward to his production again this year; I also like to see the 'kiddies'..... dem still playing mas.

[shield_2006]

Every Carnival Monday,unfailingly, Starlift-Pan all day-the biggest street Cocktail party in the world-slow and easy-time to talk and to greet friends and to play mas without running behind a blasted truck. The Ultimate mas experience. Look for me-this year ah in green.

I always Home. I like that!! :bounce: :bounce:

[snowbird]

Look, I never hid the fact that I am ah die hard 'mas player'.... however the one mas I would love to play 'in T&T' before ah die is 'White Sailor' (an did ah lil fancy sailor ting up here two years ago, buh it wuz'nt de same ting).

Last year I watched on de internet as thousands of people (some of meh peeps from Canada) come dong de road Carnival Tuesday wid 'All Stars'.... man de hair on de back ah meh neck stand up...... what a sight. If ah ever come home tuh T&T...... ah goin straight by Samaroo, buying meh sailor costume..... an All Stars.... ah dey.

[Huma]

The fact is, the cultural aspects of it such as Soca Monarch, King and Queen of Carnival, Panorama and the like have become mere afterthoughts.

You're kidding, right?

King and Queen, yeah, but Panorama is an afterthought in Carnival? To whom? Panorama gets massive media coverage every year, it's still one of the most hotly-debated and compelling aspects of the Carnival. And please...don't bring up the posers and limers...they don't comprise the majority of Panorama attendees.

I wouldn't even include Soca Monarch in this discussion as I find it represents a lot of what you've decried, so I'm curious you even mentioned it.

Either way, mere afterthoughts to whom? And what does it matter if the majority isn't interested in them?

Carnival is there in full force for anyone who wants to experience it. Take a walk through Woodbrook and visit any of the dozens of mas camps to see the costumes being made and wire being bent. Visit a tent or two, preferably one of the not-obviously-PNM ones. Go to the vintage shows in Kapok, Hilton etc. Lime by a pan yard...hell, join a pan side. Take a walk early on Monday morning to see Ole Mas and traditional mas sans the sweaty, flashy revelers. Go to any of the dozens of Carnival-themed plays and lectures held at UWI, Nalis, UTT et al.

It's hard to dismiss all that. And all of it is alive and well, speaking from firsthand experience. Hell, what I describe there is naught compared to what a real Carnival person could tell you.

Of course, if you just look at the flashy stuff that's fed to you by the press, or walk down Frederick Street on Carnival Tuesday you're bound to have a narrow view of Carnival...

Sorry Sirius, but yuh being uncharacteristically ignorant about this issue. Instead of lambasting the aspect that growing, support the aspect that falling into shadow. Yuh might get some people interested in them instead of just sounding like a narrow-minded grump.

[snowbird]

^^^
your are quite correct there Huma; I am not sure how many people do this, but I actually have friends who go down to T&T every year.... just for the shows, and Panorama in particular; one friend, flies out Carnival Monday morning... for him, it's over by that point. I have heard rave reviews about the 'Thee Canal Show' at Queens Hall. Those 'chutney' fetes with the tassa drum bands are a big hit with foreigners, so much so that we now do them at Trini fetes overhere for our Canadian friends....yuh shud see dem screwing in de light bulb :D

Last year some Canadian friends accompanied some relatives down for Carnival.... a few of them couldn't make up their minds if they would attend the 'Demarche Gras show' until the last minute... by then there was not a ticket to be had.... not even from scalpers. There were also so many people asking for tickets at the door, their feeling was 'the organizers could sell twice as many tickets, and still leave some wanting.

Sometimes I think 'outsiders' have more of an appreciation of our culture than we do.

[Huma]

Sometimes I think 'outsiders' have more of an appreciation of our culture than we do.

Canadian culture?

[snowbird]

Sometimes I think 'outsiders' have more of an appreciation of our culture than we do.

Canadian/Trini culture?

No, Trini/Trini culture? dis is an Trini forum no? Is Trini Carnival we torkin bout no?

(stop being a smart arse, wen ah ask de question.... who goin home, ah didn mean 'who goin home tuh Canada', ah tink daz why yuh jump in... No :evil: )

[Huma]

No, I just curious...anytime it's something bad, it's your country, your culture, your politicians. When it's something good, suddenly it's ours.

[Falcon]

Maaan two of you miserable!

Even when allyuh agree on something, allyuh find something else to argue about.......... :lol:

[snowbird]

Maaan two of you miserable!

Even when allyuh agree on something, allyuh find something else to argue about.......... :lol:


doh meddle man, is ah luv hate...'Tobago luv'.... kina ting :lol:

[Solachica]

I does have to work on dem 2 days but tht doh bother me.
Other people does be glad for the 2days off and I know people who does fly out to.

Ah not sure if ah going soca chutney this year. Is every dam year rain does fall and soak we tail. :lol: I started going becos is big lime with friends, family and coworkers.

Me ent have no $$ and really ent care to go north for all inclusives.

I not really intrested in general.

[Sirius]

The fact is, the cultural aspects of it such as Soca Monarch, King and Queen of Carnival, Panorama and the like have become mere afterthoughts.

You're kidding, right?

King and Queen, yeah, but Panorama is an afterthought in Carnival? To whom? Panorama gets massive media coverage every year, it's still one of the most hotly-debated and compelling aspects of the Carnival. And please...don't bring up the posers and limers...they don't comprise the majority of Panorama attendees.

I wouldn't even include Soca Monarch in this discussion as I find it represents a lot of what you've decried, so I'm curious you even mentioned it.

Either way, mere afterthoughts to whom? And what does it matter if the majority isn't interested in them?

Carnival is there in full force for anyone who wants to experience it. Take a walk through Woodbrook and visit any of the dozens of mas camps to see the costumes being made and wire being bent. Visit a tent or two, preferably one of the not-obviously-PNM ones. Go to the vintage shows in Kapok, Hilton etc. Lime by a pan yard...hell, join a pan side. Take a walk early on Monday morning to see Ole Mas and traditional mas sans the sweaty, flashy revelers. Go to any of the dozens of Carnival-themed plays and lectures held at UWI, Nalis, UTT et al.

It's hard to dismiss all that. And all of it is alive and well, speaking from firsthand experience. Hell, what I describe there is naught compared to what a real Carnival person could tell you.

Of course, if you just look at the flashy stuff that's fed to you by the press, or walk down Frederick Street on Carnival Tuesday you're bound to have a narrow view of Carnival...

Sorry Sirius, but yuh being uncharacteristically ignorant about this issue. Instead of lambasting the aspect that growing, support the aspect that falling into shadow. Yuh might get some people interested in them instead of just sounding like a narrow-minded grump.

Huma, everything you have described - except for the Panorama bit which you are quite right gets its fair share of coverage - is all preparation for all that I have described previously. Vintage shows exist sure, as do plays and lectures, but if they are such big affairs then why aren't they well publicized? You want to talk about costumes being made and wires being bent but look at what those costumes are after they get on the wearer - feathered bikini outfits.

If you see it as being a narrow minded grump, so be it. However, the vast majority of Carnival has become a sex show and that much is plain for all to see by anyone who watches on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Even when they cross the stage and are supposed to be an artful showcase, all that is to be seen are masses of people grinding on one another. You yourself have just admitted that the aspect I am lambasting is the aspect that is growing, while what you describe is what is falling into shadow.

If you appreciate all these other aspects of Carnival that you have mentioned then I would like to hope that you are not just attending them but doing what you can to make them of greater interest and focus. Do not ask me to do it because I do not find those things interesting.

The cultural aspect of Carnival is fine; I would not participate but it's a good thing to have going. However, the countdown to parade of sweaty, grinding bodies that it has become is something that I see as severely detrimental to the country and will continue to lambaste left, right and center.

[Huma]

...I do not find those things interesting.

Coulda save quite a bit of time by cutting to the chase.

If you're not interested in all the other aspects of Carnival, what exactly are you lamenting? You just aren't a Carnival person...nutten wrong with that. But doh put on airs about the superficial side when yuh doh care about the deeper side.

(Some of) The biggest bands are feathered bikini suits, but many smaller bands still uphold the traditional form. This is what bothers me about your statement...it doesn't seem based on any real familiarity of, or observation with, actual Carnival celebrations. Anyone who's actually attended a parade of the bands or stood around downtown during Carnival Monday and Tuesday would know that the "All of Carnival is beads and bikini" sentiment is a huge exaggeration. You just seem to be basing your entire opinion on flashy TV bits and other people's statements.

It's the equivalent of lambasting hip-hop because Fifty Cent is the biggest thing in the industry right now.

[Sirius]

Not true - I have attended in the past and then stopped when it began to sicken me.

I do not have to be interested in an aspect of the country's culture to think it would be a good thing to exist. It just means I would not personally participate. Which is why I say the kings and queens and panaroma etc are good.

That said, I can also say when certain aspects become too flagrant and prominent that it is a very bad thing indeed. Which is why I will lambaste this half naked grinding that it has become into the ground.

Perhaps if the grinding part of Carnival wasn't the main emphasis but the cultural aspect was the main emphasis I would be able to keep my response to "eh not my cup of tea, you guys have fun."

Hope that clears it up.

[snowbird]

Have to admit, for anyone who truly appreciates the true 'art form' of what mas represented.... the bending wire, the fabric, the creativity, all in an attempt to present a story.... I can see where they can get turned off as the majority of Trini revelers seem to now opt for this 'naked' style of mas, with the bulk of the costumes mas produced in China.
Sadly I admit T&T Carnival, which evolved into 'street theatre' over the years, and was unique to T&T in this form, has now simply turned into one massive 'costumed street party'....... it is pretty sad when even though someone is in full costume that you still have to ask them...'so what yuh playing'?

To make matters worse, this bikini and beads Brazilian style mas is now being exported as 'Trini mas' (Carnival and mas is now a big year round industry).
In Canada the only part of our mas that has remained truly 'Original Trini style are the 'individuals' save for a few small bands; and funny enough, most of those leaders who have stayed true to the 'art form' are from the other islands of the Caribbean..... go figure

People like the late George Bailey, my maternal aunt Elsie LeHeung, Lil Hart and Harold Saldenah must be rolling over in their graves..... funny thing is, my aunt and her husband Stephen LeHeung got out of the mas business when the 'Young Harts' (Lil's sons introduced naked mas)..... now over here it is Harold's son Louis who is 'championing' naked mas...... he is our 'winningest band leader' having won band of the year 15 times in the 29 years that he has been involved.

anyway, while I have enjoyed mas over the years, after last year, I have officially gone from 'Reveler' to 'Spectator'..... for all of the reasons you stated Sirius.

[sylvestter]

ah readyyyyyy!

first fete this weekend.

[snowbird]

ah readyyyyyy!

first fete this weekend.

:D oh yeh, who fete? All Inclusive?

[MizTrini]

I know thisis later but i had to respond...i went to carnival and i played with legacy... i had fun and its a type of freedom u dont have in the USA... btw i done bk my tick for 2010.