Carnival backstage | Closeup By Georgia Popplewell and Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Carnival is a time to shine: from performers on the soca and calypso stage to costumed masqueraders in the street and fete-goers showing off their most acrobatic dance moves. But “the greatest show on earth” wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of the many thousands who work behind the scenes — year-round or seasonally — on the organisation and logistics of the festival. Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Georgia Popplewell meet four of the people whose backstage efforts make Carnival happen
Kambule: on morning ground | Snapshot By Attillah Springer | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Early each Carnival Friday morning, before dawn breaks, crowds assemble at Piccadilly Greens in east Port of Spain for a re-enactment of a key event in the history of Trinidad — and of Carnival itself. Attillah Springer gives an intimate account of Kambule, when the spirits of the ancestors are invoked in a ritual of memory, story, song, and resistance
Look mas | Portfolio By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Photographer Jason C. Audain’s portraits of traditional Carnival masqueraders record both their intricate costumes and the human energy that powers their performance
The return of the baby doll | Backstory By Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) With a frilly dress and bonnet, carrying a replica of an infant, the traditional Baby Doll is a playful Carnival character with a serious message about the social roles of women and men. A new generation of activists have adopted the Baby Doll as form of feminist intervention, write Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner — like the masqueraders behind the Belmont Baby Dolls band
K2K — Where fashion meets mas (with a purpose) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Brand: K2K Alliance & Partners 2020 Collection: The Greatest Show Section: The Power of Believing (Believe that you can, and you will) Photography: Gary Jordan Photography MUA: Dion Samuel Model: Soowan Bramble Website: k2k-carnival.com
Choose your own Tobago | Destination By Nixon Nelson | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Everyone has a different idea about what makes a dream vacation. Whether you’re looking for quiet time or an adrenaline hit, to explore pristine nature or the stories of history, to get pampered or get wild, Tobago has something for you, writes Nixon Nelson
T&T Carnival | Did you even know By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Our new trivia column opens with a T&T Carnival quiz. Think you’re an expert on Carnival and calypso history? See how many of our twelve questions you can answer correctly
The Jimmy October Project | Snapshot By Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) “New Calypso” is how twenty-four-year-old Jimmy October describes his genre-bending music — a sound that feels like “home” to listeners in Trinidad and Tobago but also appeals to international audiences. Laura Dowrich-Phillips learns more
Dionne Brand: The reinvention of poetry | Closeup By Shivanee Ramlochan | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) Born in Trinidad and based in Canada, writer Dionne Brand has spent decades exploring the transgressive possibilities of poetry, says Shivanee Ramlochan — breaking through boundaries of genre in her quest to understand the shapeshifting self
Machel Cedenio: Racing for the hit | Snapshot By Sheldon Waithe | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) When T&T’s men’s 4×400-metre team won gold at the 2019 World Relays last May, it was thanks to a “finish for the ages” by Machel Cedenio. As Sheldon Waithe reports, the young athlete grounds himself with family support and mental preparation long before he even takes to the track
Q&A with Maya Cozier | Screenshots (May/June 2019) By Jonathan Ali | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Trinidadian filmmaker Maya Cozier talks about her new short, She Paradise
Kairi wild | Offtrack By Caribbean Beat | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Trinidad may be an industrial powerhouse, but it’s also home to wildnerness areas with a rich biodiversity, from forested mountains to mangrove wetlands. Photographers Jason Audain and Brendan Delzin share images and stories capturing the island’s wild beauty
Don’t buy shoes | Classic By Kerri Gilligan | Issue 157 (May/June 2019), Issue 73 (May/June 2005) Kerri Gilligan came to Trinidad for the first time when she fell in love. Then she met her sweetheart’s Tantie . . . Originally published in our May/June 2005 issue and re-published in our May/June 2019 issue
An evening with Dany Sanz By Kristine de Abreu | News & Online Exclusives A special invitation from Neishel Vilain Pierron and Band of the Year K2K Alliance & Partners brought French make-up artist Dany Sanz to Trinidad
Resurrection rice | Cookup By Franka Philip | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Brought to Trinidad from West Africa via the United States, Moruga hill rice was a staple of the Merikin community for generations, writes Franka Philip. Now entrepreneur Mark Forgenie wants to make this traditional food available to all
Destra Garcia: queen of queens | Closeup By Nigel Campbell | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) T&T’s self-proclaimed Queen of Bacchanal is a Carnival mainstay. But, two decades into her career, Destra Garcia remains underestimated by local fans and critics, argues Nigel A. Campbell
Stories of steel | Panorama By Mark Lyndersay and Sharmain Baboolal | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Carnival is the season of steelpan. But behind the Panorama stage, the future of T&T’s national musical instrument will be shaped by administrators, craftspeople, arrangers, and educators — like these men and women profiled by writer Sharmain Baboolal and photographer Mark Lyndersay
Unfinished Sentences: the inheritance of loss | Snapshot By Georgia Popplewell | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Trinidadian filmmaker Mariel Brown set out to make a straightforward documentary about her writer father. But as Unfinished Sentences evolved, it turned into a nuanced exploration of grief, family, and artistic ambition, writes Georgia Popplewell
Seven days in Tobago | Destination By Nixon Nelson | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) A mere week could never be enough to savour all the pleasure of Tobago — but Nixon Nelson suggests a seven-day sampler, from beaches to waterfalls to Store Bay’s curried crab
Diva Amon: as deep as it goes | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) The portion of the sea below two hundred metres is our planet’s biggest habitat, and the least known. Erline Andrews meets Trinidadian marine biologist Diva Amon, pioneering deep-sea research in our region
Carnival, Trinidad and Tobago | Wish you were here (Jan/Feb 2019) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Postcards from the Caribbean’s most extraordinary places
Q&A with Ian Harnarine | Screenshots (Jan/Feb 2019) By Jonathan Ali | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Filmmaker Ian Harnarine talks about his new short, Caroni
