Carnival 2012 is over and the country is
settling back into its normal routine. 2 days of street revelry preceded by
endless fetes and carnival competitions are over. The ashes are received and
the 40 days of abstaining from something has begun. Folks have begun the
reverse journey from church camps et cetera in Tobago.
Why go Tobago? Cause it’s a twin island
republic and Carnival is also celebrated in Tobago, right? But Carnival
celebrations in Tobago cannot hold a candle to that of Trinidad, which has,
over the years, become a multibillion dollar industry. In fact, many young
Tobagonian adults make the journey every year to masquerade in Trinidad bands;
and the numbers are increasing every year from my own informal survey and
evaluation. Don’t ask me why Carnival in Tobago was allowed to die I will have
to go back to 1956; but in 1998, the THA attempted to revive the cultural event
by trying to have another Carnival type event in October -Tobago Fest. It was so well received by Tobagoninas that they
started maiming and killing each other! After six years the Tobago House of
Assembly (THA) decided to put it to rest. That’s the nature of our leaders. Just
kill the damn thing! Too much brain power to figure out a solution. So Carnival
in the Capital of Paradise kept dwindling pathetically. So much so that
churches went to Tobago to escape
the debauchery in Trinidad. Oy vey!
Up comes the Minister for Arts and Multiculturalism, Winston Peters with an idea to restart the 2nd
Carnival in Tobago. It would follow the original intent of having Trinidad
bands come to Tobago for an October palance. Minister Peters held a first
meeting with THA officials in October 2010. It all went downhill from there as
the THA made a hullabaloo about the Minister trying to “undermine the authority
of the THA.” In February 2011, 2 separate working committees (1 THA, 1 Gov’t)
were set up to look into the feasibility of the festival. To date, no fruit has
been borne.
Any Tobagonian can tell you that the
THA’s vehement objection is purely political. The Central Government is PP
while the THA is PNM. Objection to EVERYTHING is the order of the day. Most stakeholders believe that Tobago has nothing but gain from an October carnival as it cannot
compete with Trinidad’s.
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