For two days each year, Trinidad’s capital, Port of Spain, hosts ‘the greatest show on Earth’ – a raucous mix of music, costume and revelry known as Carnival. The festival has become more or less synonymous with the Caribbean island of Trinidad and is an intrinsic part of its identity and popular culture. For many Trinidadians, Carnival is not merely a celebration, but the culmination of months of planning and preparation. Musicians, choreographers, performers and enthusiasts face the ultimate test of their skills and stamina in the highly competitive arenas of the road march and calypso tent. Making use of interviews with artists and other participants, ‘Bacchanal!’ explores the place of Carnival in Trinidadian society and the people who take part in it. Topics covered include: how the festival reflects and affects attitudes towards religion, language, humour, politics, male-female relations and folk traditions; the historical role of the Carnival, its roots in colonial society and slavery, and its traditional function as an expression of subversion and revolt; the effect of contemporary social and cultural influences on the Carnival; and the increasing involvement of Indo-Trinidadians and women, the competing musical forms of reggae and soca, and the impact of tourism and commercialization.
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