Satisfying that Carnival Tabanca
Around July/August each year, intense Carnival tabanca sets in. Trinbagonians, true to the stereotype of avid limer, long for a tease to quench that thirst. For some it’s the Band launches, the sneak peeks of things to come; for others, it’s COCOA. Yes, cocoa.
J’ouvert in July with Cocoa Devils scratches that Carnival itch. It brings with it, all things that Carnival lovers crave. The pulsation of the music as the base of soca vibrates your being, the feeling of complete freedom, that sense of true island revelry and the beauty of Carnival when all barriers break down and the communion of festivity overrides all else.
You get your package (the ticket was of course purchased weeks in advance) a few days before. It contains the must haves – a jersey branding you a cocoa devil, sumtin’ to wave (party essential) and the tin cup giving you access to all the drinks that your chippin’ feet allow you to consume.
Pictures by Sophia Persad
On entering, there are cocoa police (my pet name) equipped with buckets of cocoa and oil that smear as much of the dark cocoa liquid on you as you wish. It is truly a reunion where in Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival events are at times, the only time, you see people for the year. It is not for the faint of heart…there’s no warming up in this party at 1:00 am, no breaks…the revelry must carry you into the daylight of morning. Drink in hand, heartache from the Carnival you miss, there is no way you can not start moving to those soca songs that were literally your anthems from a few months before.
Pictures by Sophia Persad
The hours always seem to fly by and then you see the sun peeping to bring the dawn. It’s a mixture of dancing, chippin’ behind the truck, being drenched by water trucks with hoses, the occasional surprise impromptu performance by a soca artist who is a cocoa devil for that night. Hugging…lots of hugging with friends you came with; friends you end up catching behind the truck; new ‘friends’ that want to share the cocoa. The experience is as rich as the cocoa you’re covered in. At 8:00 am you leave it all, drenched, remnants of the cocoa without a care for your appearance but satiated…you got that fix you needed, the tabanca is tamed.
About the Author
Priya Ramsumair I love all things tourism. I studied it, worked in it, and live it. I’m from Trinidad and Tobago and, unlike many of my countrymen, had the luck of living on both islands...my heart belongs to both. I’ve also lived in St Lucia, St Kitts and England. Studying tourism has given me a different optic when I look at my country and the others that I’ve visited and lived in. Tourism is the one industry that truly appreciates difference: the uniqueness of culture, food, religion, clothing and music. It encourages people to appreciate who they are and the countries that have become so ordinary because of familiarity. I aim to be an everyday tourist... to live the experience, every day, wherever I am...the familiar and not so familiar.
