Carnival Tuesday
Trinidad's Mardi Gras Celebrations

The grand fete Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Tuesday...

Whether you call it Fat Tuesday,
Mardi Gras celebrations
or Carnival Tuesday, it's all the same in Trinidad.

It's the big day, the day after the madness of Jouvert, the second day
of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival celebrations.

It's the day when Trinidad carnival costumes are worn in full, when you when get to play your pretty mas in all its befeathered glory. Welcome to true Trini Carnival...

 Trinidad's Mardi Gras Celebrations 

Celebrations being early on Shrove Tuesday morning...

"Can't we stay in bed a moment longer?" "Yes we can", comes the reply, "if you wish our Carnival band to leave us behind."

I'm out of bed in a flash. It's time to get jazzed up and prettified. Time to make full use of the carnival make-up and glitter I shopped for so diligently. Hurry, we must hurry, it's time to be on our way.

I'm in a trance; I can't believe we're up this early, and about to embark on our second consecutive day of partying on the streets of Port-of-Spain. I'm excited; Trinidad Carnival is often called the world's greatest show, and it's aptly named.

 Preparing for Battle 

Feet are a priority on Carnival Tuesday, during Trinidad's Mardi Gras celebrations, especially since we were on the road all the previous day, getting up before dawn to play Jouvert.

So don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Comfortable well-worn-in shoes, made for long days on your feet, are essential. Sneakers are the most popular footwear, and the can easily be decorated if you choose.

See Trinidad Carnival Tips for other suggestion about how to make the most of your Carnival experience.

 Gathering Masqueraders 

Hair done, costume on, car parked, and my husband has us double timing it down the boulevard. "We're late, we're late, for a very important date."

I think he read Lewis Carol's "Through the Looking Glass" far to often as a child. Thankfully the band is still there when we arrive.

The band's music trucks, overstuffed with gigantic speakers, dwarf us as they stand at the side of the road like prehistoric brontosaurus. The rumbling in their techno-tummies pumping soca rhythms into the gathering crowd of masqueraders.

 Soca Party Jam 

Our band is like a giant beast slowly awakening from slumber. Soca is the heart of the beast, pumping musical blood through its veins.

The grand fete begins. We are off to our first judging point, girded and ready to astound the judges with our finery in this clash of carnival bands.

 Greatest Street Party 

8 hours of jumping up, chippin' and winin' call for liberal amounts of lubrication to get the joints of this great carnival beast working smoothly.

Larger, rum and coke, whiskey and coconut water, vodka and orange juice, what ever you desire, we plan to be well lubricated for these Trinidadian Mardi Gras celebrations.

 The Carnival Parade 

This is the world's greatest street party. And yes, it's a parade, though not in the sense that most Europeans and North American's think.

The parade is more than just the consequence of having a great time. It's also a tradition that stretches back to Africa, and to emancipation celebrations shortly after the end of slavery. It is a demonstration of a people's freedom.

 Carnival Competition 

As we draw near to the first judging point we get into our sections, groups of 200 or so similarly dressed masqueraders.

Neither the spectators nor the revelers can help themselves; the whir and flash of cameras engulfs us as we wait to cross the stage.
Everyone is a star on Carnival Tuesday.

The time has arrived for us to display for the judges. We rush on stage in sections, the color coordinated segments of our temporary carnival tribe.

Time to play mas and get on bad!

 Carnival Tuesday 

Time blurs over the next few hours as the grand fete continues to snake its way around Port-of-Spain. We dance further during Carnival Tuesdays Mardi Gras celebrations than we would consider walking on any other day.

We end up celebrating across 3 competition stages, including the big venue down town and the Queen's Park Savannah, getting into sections each time we rush the stage to dazzle the judges.

 Play Mas Till Las' Lap 

As the day cools our carnival bands begin to loose some of its cohesion as the party takes over the mas.

There are some bands that play mas late into the night, but we are usually forgo the traditional las' lap, that final fling before Trinidad's Mardi Gras celebrations close at the stroke of midnight on Carnival Tuesday.

We usually leave the band just after twilight, when things begin to get a little crazy, and we make our way home with mixed emotions. Yes, we're tired, but we've are equally elated, we've just enjoyed another fantastic day in Trinidad. Carnival rocks!

Join us next year when we do it again...