Disappointed Trini in New

Carnival is like Christmas. So just imagine the excitement that took over my body when my cousin called to tell me about the website www.ctntworld.com where we could see everything live and would you believe my house went into a frenzy with all of us dividing up so we could take away with us our own experiences.

My mother and her sister were in her grandson’s room, watching a three-inch by three-inch screen, something my mother would never do, but a true Trini never says never and my mother is a true Trini. My brother and his wife who couldn’t be in Trinidad this year because she is pregnant, could be heard blasting soca music from their room. I know she wanted to make sure her spirit was felt from miles away and the unborn child would be born with the beat of calypso and soca. And I took up the task of multitasking, informing everyone where to go to see Trinidad Carnival live while watching a three-inch screen and singing out the sweet melody of soca, hoping that I was doing it justice but not really caring if I did because I was witness to something spectacular and magical.

I called my boss to whom I am always boasting about my Trinidad and my best show on earth. But my excitement turned to disappointment when on Tuesday at 4 pm when all I could see were people and masqueraders walking through the savannah. No one stood out. What has happened to the big stage?

I love my culture and want the world to see us and appreciate and love it as much as I do. Go back to the drawing board please, I am begging, don’t show this image to the world again because I’ll be looking again next year with the rest of the world.

ALICIA ENILL

Trini in New York