What drives Carnival is the music. Calypso is the medium through which social issues are addressed using satire and wit, not only to poke fun at the powers and politicians of the day, but also to raise issues of relevance in the everyday lives of the populace.

Reading break is around the corner and, as can well be expected, students are overwhelmed by the exhilarating freedom that these seven days represent. The question now is what to do with this brief respite from the drudgery of lectures and course work. The more fortunate among us are headed to more temperate climates in places like Havana but if you can afford the luxury and can indulge yourself a little, there are two days of pure abandon and bacchanalia happening in the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Trinidad Carnival has been dubbed ‘the greatest show on earth’ and every year thousands take to the streets of the capital city, Port of Spain, in the pre-Lenten festival that precedes the Roman Catholic period of fasting and abstinence. The word ‘carnival’ comes from the Latin ‘carne vale’ – literally meaning ‘farewell to meat’ – a relic of the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat during the forty day period of Lent. The celebration of Carnival has broadened that original meaning to encourage persons to break from social norms and regale in the carefree abandon of the festival before the strict solemnity of the religious observances that begin the following day on Ash Wednesday.

West Indian-styled carnivals have been replicated in a number of countries and regions where there is a huge Caribbean migrant population, in the process spawning Labour Day in New York, Caribana in Toronto, and Notting Hill Carnival in the UK. This rich and colourful history of the carnival arose from the blend of West African festivals and the French Catholic carnival celebrations, and has survived from the nineteenth century until today.

What drives Carnival is the music. Calypso is the medium through which social issues are addressed using satire and wit, not only to poke fun at the powers and politicians of the day, but also to raise issues of relevance in the everyday lives of the populace. Soca music is calypso’s younger, more energetic brother. It is the party music that propels you to ‘whine’ – the quick gyrations of your hips and pelvic area to the beat of the music.

Carnival is an exercise in endurance and a test of perseverance and resolution. For two days, you will be walking miles in the sweltering heat, although that discomfort will soon be forgotten as you sway to the beat blaring from the music trucks that accompany the bands along the route. And if that doesn’t cure you, the bliss of public inebriation will probably do the trick. Unlike Peterborough, Port of Spain has no regulation on drinking in public.

Carnival is a celebration of freedom and how apropos that it comes when we can enjoy a week free of the shackles of scholastic responsibility. If you can’t make it to Trinidad, there are a number of Caribbean carnivals taking place during the summer. I’ll see you on the streets then, with a beer in hand, taking a ‘whine’ with that new friend you’ve just made!