Too long to cross stage

THE EDITOR: Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is often billed as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth,’ for good reason, as it indeed is a spectacle to behold. Not all Trinbagonians partake in playing mas on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, but mostly everyone has a family member or knows someone who does. Our capital city Port-of-Spain is virtually shut down for two days of revelry, truly a sight to behold. Whether you like Carnival or not, it affects us all. Having ‘played mas’ for over 20 years, I am a Trini who enjoys the therapeutic value of so doing. However, there is one thing that occurs perennially that undermines this therapy that is, problems with routing of the ‘big’ bands that leads to delays and stalling, affecting the flow of the festivities. This actually is counterproductive as it creates stress.

It is no secret that Trinbagonians know about, and some even enjoy organised chaos. We like it so. However to bill an event as the greatest show on Earth and host thousands of tourists, I am afraid we have to do better than that. I had some guests in town playing mas, some for the first time, and with the kind of heat we endured Carnival Tuesday, the delays became unbearable. Many simply went home because they couldn’t take the pressure created by the stagnation of big bands in downtown Port-of-Spain. I feel it’s high time the National Carnival Commission, or whichever authority is responsible, take control of the routing of the big and medium sized bands and not leave it to them to meander through Port-of-Spain, making spur of the moment decisions as to which direction to turn based on what they see in front of them.

In this age of the computer this cannot be impossible. They may argue that incidents, like the one that affected the band Poison on Carnival Tuesday ( a truck pulling down a utility pole) can affect or throw off the entire schedule. However contingencies can be put in place to deal with inevitable mishaps. This is not impossible as we have a lot of smart people in this country. Importantly as well there needs to be some allocating of present times and time limits for crossing the stage in the Savannah, the highlight of most masqueraders’ Carnival experience. I was horrified to learn that spectators in the stands were bored by the lulls in action. As Anil Roberts would say, Whaaaat! My band crossed the stage at 9 pm on Carnival Tuesday. We must do better than that. I urge those responsible to make it better for Carnival 2K6.

NIGEL CAMACHO
Port-of-Spain