Immerse, Culture, Festivals and Events, Trinidad and Tobago
By Ray Funk ● Issue 149 (January/February 2018)
Walk tall, moko jumbie | Closeup
It’s one of the oldest masquerades in T&T’s Carnival, brought across the Atlantic from West Africa. The moko jumbie tradition once seemed to be dying away, but in recent years a handful of enthusiasts have created a moko jumbie revival, training hundreds of young people in the art of stilt-walking. Ray Funk investigates, and explains the power of these towering figures
Embark, Film and Television, Literature, Music, Festivals and Events
By Ray Funk ● Issue 142 (November/December 2016)
Word of mouth (November/December 2016)
Get the story Ray Funk explains how an annual storytelling festival captures the imaginations of Caymanians At the end of November each...
Immerse, Arts, History, People, Trinidad and Tobago
By Ray Funk ● Issue 137 (January/February 2016)
The history of paradise: on Peter Minshall’s Paradise Lost
“What you wear is the work of art. You play it.” — Peter Minshall It was the masquerade band that changed things, reshaping...
Immerse, Festivals and Events, United States
By Ray Funk ● Issue 135 (September/October 2015)
When mas was mas: Brooklyn Carnival
Brooklyn Carnival has grown to be one of the biggest events of the summer in New York City, drawing millions to Eastern Parkway on Labour...
Culture, Festivals and Events, Trinidad and Tobago
By Ray Funk ● Issue 108 (March/April 2011)
Rituals of resistance: the Canboulay Riots re-enactment
At 5 am on the Friday before Carnival, on a dark street in downtown Port of Spain, over 100 performers re-enact and celebrate the Canboulay...
Culture, Festivals and Events, History, United Kingdom, Caribbean Diaspora
By Ray Funk ● Issue 100 (November/December 2009)
Notting Hill Carnival: Mas and the mother country
Fifty years ago, England’s first real Trinidad-style Carnival took place – indoors, in the middle of winter, at St Pancras Town Hall....
Culture, Music, People, Trinidad and Tobago
By Ray Funk ● Issue 94 (November/December 2008)
Beryl McBurnie: the flowering of La Belle Rosette
In the spring of 1941, Beryl McBurnie, under her stage name of La Belle Rosette, started to feature in the New York press. From then until...
Culture, Music, Arts, Trinidad and Tobago
By Ray Funk ● Issue 93 (September/October 2008)
Golden Hands: Trinidad’s band of gold
Trinidad and Tobago’s steelbands focus each year on Panorama, the national steelband competition. But some bands are more adventurous....