The lift doors open and three devils with oiled chests, curved horns and gold hotpants get in. It’s a bit of a squeeze – they’re burly chaps, and there are six ladies in sparkly bikinis with huge feathered headdresses already in here.
And then there’s me, feeling rather under dressed – or should that be overdressed – in a vest top and skirt.
For most of the year, the Hyatt Regency Trinidad predominantly serves the business market (see our hotel review). Trinidad’s rich reserves of oil and gas mean it’s a commercial centre, and the lifts in the island’s plushest hotel would usually be full of suited and booted executives from all over the world.
But today is Carnival Tuesday, and everyone on the island, let alone in this hotel, is here to party. So three devils, six go-go girls and one bewildered tourist is par for the course.
Disregard Rio and let there be no mention of New Orleans. Ask any islander where the real Carnival happens, and they’ll tell you that it’s right here in one of the Caribbean’s southernmost islands. There’s nothing quite like being in Port of Spain for this captivating riot of colour and noise. The country goes into unofficial shutdown over Carnival, because no one wants to miss the party – and Trinidadians know better than most how to throw a party.
Sell Trinidad Carnival to clients who love the Caribbean and love letting their hair down. It’s the ultimate trophy trip – one for list-makers to tick off.
The five days of carnival
It’s said that there are only two seasons in Trinidad: Carnival, and getting ready for Carnival. Serious preparations start as soon as Christmas finishes, and there are plenty of parties or ‘fetes’ in the week or so preceding Carnival, most notably one held every year by cricketer Brian Lara.
His huge mansion sits on top of the tallest hill in the capital, Port of Spain. Out front there are bars and food stalls and a large sound stage – it’s like a mini festival and everyone is in their finest. Anyone can buy tickets to attend.
The main events really begin to ramp up on the Friday before Carnival Tuesday. Friday night sees the soca Monarch competition. The fast, thudding beat of soca music is the heartbeat of Carnival, the driver that keeps people dancing in the streets for two solid days.
Arrow’s Hot, Hot, Hot and Who Let The Dogs Out are both soca tunes. Visitors can watch live or head to a bar with a big screen to hear a few of the tunes that will be blasting out from the sound-systems on Monday and Tuesday.
Soca Monarchs are crowned, but perhaps the most coveted title – Road March – can’t be decided until Tuesday. It is the song played most often by each band as they pass the judging point.
Saturday night is all about the music too – but the more traditional steel pan. Bands from all over Trinidad and Tobago practise all year for the Panorama Finals, held in the Grandstand at Queen’s Park Savannah in the centre of Port of Spain.
It’s a magical event – performers young and old are fired up and the sound of hundreds of pans played together is thrilling. Tell clients to get there early to get a seat close to the stage.
Sunday brings Dimanche Gras, and the competition to see who will be crowned King and Queen of Carnival. Again held in the Savannah grandstand, all the bands that will march or ‘play mas’ (meaning play masquerade) in the main parade submit contenders, dressed in vast, complex costumes.
Though the Rio-style bikini costumes have grown in popularity in recent years, there are still a healthy number of the intricately designed, themed costumes that make Trinidad’s Carnival unique. It’s fascinating to visit a ‘mas camp’ and see how the costumes are made – on kitchen tables and in the backyards of houses by volunteers, surrounded by sequins, feathers, cardboard and even metals such as copper.
Monday is when Carnival proper begins. We were up at 3am, dressed in our oldest clothes, all ready to play j’ouvert. The game stems from the days of indentured labour, when the only time slaves could celebrate was the early hours. Then they dressed up to mock their masters, now, j’ouvert bands march through the streets throwing mud, paint and oil at one another. It’s great fun, and a good way to get involved in Carnival without the cost or commitment of playing mas itself.
Monday afternoon sees a kind of practice-run for Tuesday’s main parade. Most marchers will wear at least part of their costume. We wandered the parade route, checking out the floats, music and costumes.
Tuesday is the big day, and it starts at 9am. The bands, in full costume and accompanied by floats carrying steel pan bands or DJs blasting out soca tunes, move around the Carnival route.
We had reserved seating in a stand with a roof next to the judges – the best seats in the house, bookable for $50. We could see perfectly and could pop down to the street side for the full atmosphere.
The music is so loud that it’s a good idea to bring earplugs, and make sure clients don’t forget cameras and batteries. It’s a photographer’s paradise: thousands of people in colourful costumes dancing in the street.
Whether clients play or watch, it’s an awesome spectacle, utterly infectious fun, and a definite contender for the ‘Best Show on Earth’ title.
Carnival packages
Local operator Banwari tailor-makes Carnival packages, offering agents between 15% and 20% commission.
They can organise for clients to play j’ouvert or mas, book tickets to fetes or for seats to watch the parade, Dimanche Gras or Panorama, provide guided tours during carnival or to island sights, and transfers.
A package for 2010 Carnival including bed and breakfast accommodation for five nights, Panorama tickets, the cost of playing mas with one of the bands, transfers to the parades and a tour of the north coast and beaches was priced between $1,300 and $2,100 per person twin-share.
The cost varies depending on the accommodation, starting from comfortable guest houses up to the Hyatt. Prices for next year will be released shortly.
British Airways flies five times a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from Gatwick to Port of Spain.
