Examining Carnival's all-inclusive model

RUBADIRI VICTOR

PART THREE

The modern Trinidad Carnival is a battle between two forces – the Mardi Gras and the Canboulay.

The Canboulay is working class and inclusive.

It draws its spiritual power from African ancestral masquerade and cultural traditions but has also been fed by masking traditions from East Indian and Native American sources.

It is fuelled by African music traditions, vibes and is led by sacred, secular, satirical and dreamtime masquerades.

The Mardi Gras is elite and exclusive.

It draws its spirit from European grand balls, alcohol and excess, and it has embraced fully the female fertility side of the festival – but without any of dreamtime fantasy associated with it.

It is increasingly self-absorbed and fuelled by titanic sources of state and private capital. It has been in the ascendancy for the last 30 years.

There has been resistance to the elite-led Mardi Gras takeover of the Carnival that has been quickened by the all-inclusive model.

Traditional Masquerades have experienced a rear-guard resurgence in the last ten years with some traditions like the blue devils, dragons, jab jabs, fancy Indians, sailors and fancy sailors mobilising to save themselves and their traditions, and also producing extraordinary portrayals that still are the centre of the Carnival’s remaining spectacle.

Because these are elder artisan and elder masquerader-led, these revolts have a due date – and already some of the storied masqueraders who carried some of the most impressive costumes for decades have retired or passed on in the last three years. Then there are the small artist-led traditional mas avant garde bands like clothing designer Robert Young’s Vulgar Fractions, fine artist Ashraph’s Cat in Bag , dancer Makeda Thomas’s Belmont Baby Doll, model Amanda Mc Intyre’s Dolly Ma Baby Dolls, and musician Nicolai Salcedo’s Citizen Bat.

Apart from those are a series of small to medium size bands that have popped up, fuelled by a need to create an affordable alternative to the monopolistic and massive Mardi Gras all-inclusive bands. Bands offering $1,000 costumes, a slew of artisan and old-school bandleader-led bands, many formed by friends and business partners pooling monies together to create an alternative.

The rise of cooler-fetes are a protest against the all-inclusive model culminating with Bunji Garlin’s Hard Fete which is an open revolt against the cellphone-poser, all-inclusive type parties.

Trinidad’s creative industries have flat-lined in the last 30 years precisely at a time when the creative industries have become the second largest industries on planet Earth, earning over $2.2 trillion annually and being the growth industry on the planet.

TT has not been able to participate in this renaissance because our government has refused to put in place the enabling environment of policy, legislation, institutions and fiscal enablers that are required to transform talent into industry.

One intervention from that list can not only transform the Carnival but the nation – I am talking about transparent, accessible grants for Carnival stakeholders.

There should be grants for king and queen costume making, traditional costumes, Carnival Monday and Tuesday, and J’Ouvert bands.

There should be grants for songwriting, production, music bands, studios and more. The full range of Carnival activity.

Band grants should have incentives for communities with options for truck ownership built in to create entrepreneurial models for trucks to become transformative units in communities that could then be re-employed during the season as transport for pans, bands, and more.

There needs to be an emergency formation of a guild of masters that attempts to document, codify, transmit, and honour our indigenous Artisan skills.

A guild of masters is an institution formed by elder master artisans working with young master apprentices working on re-creating masterpieces whilst the entire process is documented and codified.

Each element of this praxis is important. It must be master elders, master youngers, and they must be re-creating masterworks to be documented.

This process creates a new class of artisans for the modern age, institutionalises memory, indigenous practice, captures multi-billion-dollar indigenous IP and prepares the way for the future.

The core institution that returns the spirit of the Carnival and gives an impetus to its renaissance is the creation of the real Carnival and Steelband Museum.

Whereas the current Carnival Museum located at the Penny bank building is a nice starting-point institution, it is in no way even an incubator to the real institution.

The real Carnival and Steelband Museum will be a wonder of the world facility located in the Queens Park Savannah, where the 100 greatest costumes of all time will be on display in rotating seasonal shifts and where the full sum of the 300 Trini-style Carnival and all its heroes and inventions are on multi-media display.

It will be a living facility where costumes dance every day and practitioners are always in residence and working and where the brain thrust at the centre of Trinidad’s 300+ style Carnivals is humming.

TTCSI remains committed to the creative sector, recognising the immense cultural, economic and transformative potential of Carnival.

As the heartbeat of our nation's identity, Carnival, with its deep-rooted traditions and innovative expressions, requires both preservation and support.

TTCSI advocates for the empowerment of all creators, particularly indigenous artisans, ensuring their invaluable contributions to Carnival's legacy are honoured.

With strategic investment, the creative sector, especially Carnival, can drive national growth, celebrate our rich heritage, and showcase TT’s brilliance globally.