Ariapita Avenue, a long-established route for Mas bands coming from the judging point in the Queens Park Savannah and recently the Socadrome at the Jean Pierre Complex, became a massive parade of revelers on Carnival Tuesday 2020 Trinidad as they made way to the Victoria Square judging competition. The pulsing beat of Soca music coming from powerful sound systems on big trucks, or from steel bands were like a heartbeat moving bodies of masqueraders through this main artery of carnival festivities.

Something this year sounded and looked different from recent years; it was as if the essence of carnival was reemerging. 2020 saw a resurgence of Trinidad Carnival of yesteryear. The spectacle and the crowds had return.

From the break of Dawn (J’ouvert) on Carnival Monday, the Avenue was filled with the sweet groovy sound of steel bands playing their ‘Bomb’ competition song’; a pop song played with a calypso feel. That music puts one in a euphoric state; it’s like being awake in a dream while a symphony is playing. Desperados, Phase II Pan Grove, Trinidad All Stars, and Shell Invaders were just some of the bands that brought nostalgia to those old enough to remember when steel band ruled the roads. And as the band moved the revelers chipped gracefully along bumping and gliding to the rhythm of the music.

 

Like bees in a disturbed hive, the young and young-at-heart were seen swamping the Avenue at J’ouvert sipping ‘nectar’ from various containers. Costumed in tied-dye, paint, mud and powder, many seem to be having the time of their life frolicking without a care under the influence of alcohol and soca.

On Carnival Tuesday, the Avenue was lined on both sides with crowd of spectators who had gathered to witness the embodiment of bacchanal as she paraded through the street. Yes, she! For carnival is now women. Women expressing their beauty, sensuality and freedom as they move through the streets displaying their feminine energy for all to see. Mas bands like ‘Harts, Ronnie & Caro, Legacy, and Paparazzi, to name a few, all grace the Avenue with hundreds of beautifully costumed women. In many cases, sometimes the less the women wore the more gorgeous they looked for many were well endowed with natural beauty.

As an observer, I noticed a division among the generations. The younger folks were consumers of carnival; they brought whatever they wanted and paid the cost to have a good time. Whereas the older generation were the keepers of the traditions; many made or participated in the making of their own mas. They provide a unique spectacle and add depth and variety to the festivities that help to make Trinidad Carnival the ‘greatest show on earth’. They were seen coming down the Avenue performing the peculiar dances for their portrayal which included ‘Fancy Sailors’, Tribes of Fancy Indians’, Costumed Moko Jumbies, Imps and Devils, Gorillas, to name a few, together with individuals with elaborate costumes that juggled the imagination.

With family gathered under canopies, picnic baskets laden with goodies and vendors selling local tasty dishes to those wanting, all seem to be having a splendid time with Mas on the Avenue for Trinidad Carnival 2020.