Hello folks,
June is just around the corner and Blogging de Carnaval is over, but mas is a cycle. Since the 1920s in the United States and 1964 in London, England Caribbean people, predominantly Trinidadians, have held some sort of carnival celebration to commemorate the carnivals they missed back home. As DC Caribbean Carnival struggles to survive, perhaps we can take a moment to remember that this isn’t just about jamming and wining in mud or a bikini in the street. The carnivals represent the struggle and history (and survival) of an often misunderstood and overlooked Caribbean population that has been emigrating and helping to build this country up for more than a century. And if we can’t remember that and celebrate it, no one else will. Really.
Enjoy
L
*And by the way, crudely translated my title means Everything Carnival. Many people don’t realize that Trinidadians spoke their own version of creole for a long time. It’s a dying language now, as elders didn’t often pass it on to their children. More on that later, but check this link.
It is about so much more than wining and jammin’. In fact, Notting Hill Carnival was initiated by Claudia Jones who worked with CLR James and other revolutionary activists. She saw the Carnival as a celebration of unity and culture among Caribbean immigrants.