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I survived Carnival 2011.
And oh, the Tuesday experience–Carnival Tuesday, epitome of all that is mas.
I feel so conflicted about writing about Carnival Tuesday because, well, I feel conflicted about my experience in every possible way. To be frank, I feel like there could be a post for all those who have never played mas before (or for those who aren’t Trinidadian and/or don’t get to do this often, fly in, get any costume they can get their hands on, and party it up, to a lesser extent), and one for those who have experienced it (and, to a lesser extent, live here and know the entire carnival cycle from promotion to registration to actually getting on the road).
On the positive tip….
I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to play mas. I am beyond lucky in that, living here all year long, I get to experience the entire carnival experience, from Ash Wednesday postmortems to Carnival Tuesday elation and exhaustion. I can go to band launches, fetes, panyards, and all the other carnival events without needing to book a flight or make it a “once in a lifetime” experience. It’s all here, and I’m here, and I’m here for the long-term. It’s a part of my life. I can never forget that and I can never underestimate how amazing it is to have that.
Along the same lines, then, I have to say that I had a beautiful costume:
I successfully applied fancy makeup (and, after this close-up was taken, I applied awesome face jewels):
I had buljol and bake (saltfish salad on coconut bread) for breakfast:
I danced behind a truck for two days (Monday and Tuesday) to great soca tunes and had a great time with friends and Mr. Man. I had drinks on the street, I took in amazing vibes from the band masqueraders, I saw hilarious and outrageous and outlandish and memorable behavior (and costumes, and get-ups, and moves….):
I roasted and sweated and thanked all the heavens that I was roasting HERE and not freezing anywhere else. I wined on everything–including Pollo Tropical (and buildings I had no business wining upon and which will thus remain unnamed):
I knew the words of every song. I got feathers in my face and glitter in my teeth. I met three blog readers who were sweet and wonderful and looking HAWT. I also saw beautiful costumes worn by truly beautiful ladies who wore them well and got on bad even better:
I saw the longest false lashes I have ever seen. I saw the best wine-off I have EVER seen (thanks, girl in Leo and wining skinny boy by one of the last music trucks!), and I saw a band member wine away on a female security guard who continued to nonchalantly eat her chips as he wined away on her:
I got to see Port of Spain at its best:
I crossed the Savannah stage for the first time in my life:
I got lost in a sea of purple in my section:
And I had soca monarch runner up (who should have been both Soca Monarch winner AND Road March winner) Iwer George on the music truck for my band, psyching us up and rather hilariously singing over his recorded track:
Oh yeah, and I got a picture with fellow Oracle section mate (and soca superstar, and singer who sings the song “Where Yuh From” that got me through the finish line of my half-marathon) Kes:
I even managed to keep most of my face jewels on for the entire day, despite being sticky, glittery, and sweaty as you can see:
I got to do all the things that make Carnival Tuesday, well, CARNIVAL.
So yeah, on paper, I had myself a time. I did.
But I know that it could have been SO MUCH BETTER. It should have been so much better–and I’m still digesting it.
I’m not ungrateful, but I’m also not naïve about the business that is carnival. I don’t think that just handing over a costume to your masqueraders, putting a music truck on the road, and the hell with the rest of it, is enough when you pay this much for this kind of experience (and have had an experience where things DID go to plan). I expect a lot more—and believe me, I’m not a high-maintenance kind of girl.
I also think that, if I didn’t know what I know about how important carnival is to so many people (Trini and not), and it weren’t so important to ME, I would definitely look at my experience on Tuesday a lot differently.
But I need to be honest. If Carnival is about putting on any ol’ costume and hitting the road, then yesterday was fine; it ticked all the boxes.
If it’s about getting quality service, security, and consideration for the VERY steep price that you pay for this experience… then that’s a different story. And it’s story that is coming your way tomorrow–as I said before, I need to cool myself if I’m to be fair on this one.
In the meantime, if you played with YUMA, I’d welcome your thoughts on the Tuesday experience (and on Monday, too). And, if you played with a different band, I’d love to know how your experience regarding the Savannah stage crossing went—I want as much perspective as I can get when I put together my post on the not-so-pretty parts of this experience.
In the meantime, I’ll be working away on my post on Carnival Monday, aka “The Best Time I Ever Had On The Road EVER.” I want this done while it’s still fresh, with plenty more pictures to come… I didn’t take 500 pictures for nothing!
I played in LEO and i had a great time. For my first foray back into mas after 6 years i picked the perfect band. The vibe was perfect. The band members were great and the whole atmosphere was saturated with people who truly enjoy mas and came out to have a good time. It’s rare to see a band stuck on Frederick street for over and hour still finding the energy and verve to keep wining. Thats how high the energy in Yuma was.
Yes.. there were some down points, but for a first try I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully they’ll have learned from their mistakes and make the necessary changes without changing the feel and spirit of the band itself. It would be disappointing if they changed to much they were no longer the same Yuma of monday and tuesday.
Looking forward to seeing you next year
The point you make about the energy is totally true–when I played last year, the band was stuck on Frederick for a few hours first thing in the morning and I’d say 90% of them had no pulse, much less energy, while waiting.
Thank you so much for commenting–it really helps to see how others saw it and, on the selfish tip, makes me feel better about the experience! And glad you’re back for the mas after the break!
Monday was good, except for the fact that we did not cross the stage-considering it’s the first time in a few years, this was very disappointing for a lot of us. The Monday wear was different- very cute. The food was excellent in my books- we’re accustomed to the usual carnival pelau, so I was truly pleased when I saw the Hakka boxes *LOVE their food!*
Tuesday was not as enjoyable- we were literally at a stand still for a few hours- it was certainly not AN hour…then to cross the stage we waited a cpl more hrs bunched with the masses in POS. I must say, though the security detail was lacking, there were moments where I saw good effort.The band had a generally positive, vibe, but due to poor road mgt, the band was not fed until 6.30/7pm. Personally I didn’t bother, cuz the food was out all day-I understand it was pretty cold & I heard complaints of people falling ill.
To me the “first time” excuse doesn’t justify the hiccups- these are ppl who hv left large bands & hv a lot of experience in the industry.The thing with YUMA is that the pre-road experience was so superb that it set expectations extremely high for the actual on the road experience. They initially seemed very organised, great communication with masqueraders for the past few mths & the band generally had a great vibe from inception.Nonetheless all bands hv hiccups, but like I said- the expectations were set pretty high.
Oh! costumes-GORGEOUS but poor quality. I can deal w/ gems falling off etc- what I can’t handle is my waistband collapsing & falling to the ground! YUMA takes its masqueraders concerns into consideration always, so I’m sure next yr will be bigger & better!
The Hakka food on Monday WAS the best! I’ve never been there and now I’m definitely going to check it out.
Stage-wise… Oh gosh. Since I’ve never done it, I’ve never missed it, and if going on the stage means THAT level of chaos, I don’t feel it’s worth it. But for those who have played for years and know how exhilarating the stage can be, I can understand how crossing the stage makes up for it. It just didn’t for me this time… hopefully next time.
As for the first time excuse… I totally agree. People with experience should know how to react to the unexpected better than what we saw on Tuesday.
I’m glad you’re not writing them off. I’m not either, as long as they respond well to the concerns (and do something about the costume quality)!
I played with Yuma and I had myself a time!! Albeit there were issues but nothing that could warrant me not enjoying myself after spending so much money! My costume more or less held up for the day and the band was great. The waiting on Frederick Street was not Yuma’s fault exactly and i wish people would stop bashing them for that, unfortunately that was the route the NCC designated and Yuma in their effort to please its masqueraders obliged so people could cross the stage.
Thanks for the feedback, Drea, and I’m glad to hear you had a great experience! It’s been good to know (in a sense!) that we weren’t the only ones with issues reaching the stage, and on the positive side, the energy in the band never quit for all that time–our band was pure sass. However, I think the band should have responded better to those things that were within their own control (namely food and drinks–even just handing out water to masqueraders when they realized the wait was going to be so long and away from drinks trucks).
Don’t let anyone fool you. Carnival is a SELFISH experience. Some of us (and I feel from your writing that I can include you here) need the masquerade of Carnival to get through the rest of the year. Carnival gives us power, control (borderline reverence from some), total liberation, a forum to express desire, creativity, and for some even fetishism. What we in Trinidad know for sure at Carnival is that you don’t have to hold out for universal approval. You can as we say “play yuhself!” So if pan is your thing, at Carnival, you can embrace that. If wearing six-inch spiked heels is your way of feeling power, then you can go for it.
But (and here’s the thing) in a global market, surely there still has to be consumer standards and more importantly consumer protection. I don’t agree with Anthony on giving the benefit of the doubt for a first try. If they have entered the market, then the products and services they offer need to be regulated. . And any band should welcome a consumer’s view of their product. In short, they have the right to offer their products and services for sale. You have the right to spend your money on the product. You also have the right to insert moral or social ideas into your consumption.
Absolutely great job with the blog by the way!
Nicole, I agree with you–especially given that (and I’ve only read up on carnival history and archives for the last five years or so) NO ONE who goes into this enterprise is 100% new to the business. You come up with bands, or with people who mentor you, and you work your way up, so you MUST know what is good practice and what isn’t. Sadly, that also plays out vice-versa: any band leader/team/individual knows JUST how far people can be shortchanged before they reach a tipping point and go elsewhere… and there’s just too much leeway and little resort to regulation against this.
I’m sorry it wasn’t everything you wanted and am awaiting your post on all that! But for now, I’ll just say you looked great! The first picture and the last picture are my favorites. If I ever get the pleasure of donning that much feathers, glitter, and that little clothes, I hope I have that much confidence!
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You took the words right out of my mouth…My bf and I played in YUMA(Taurus) and if we were to market Carnival as a tick in the box experience- well we definitely had that- music, food, costume- check x 3! However I’d a few issues…
1.TIME- We left late both days!!! I really don’t need to elaborate on the importance of punctuality during carnival- I think we are now another cautionary tale for tardiness on the road
2. Security- the band was a free for all with permanent stormers taking full advantage of masqueraders (witnessed 2 minor scuffles with non-masqueraders). I got the impression that the security personnel were somehow too timid to enforce the barrier and kick non masqueraders out.
3. Costumes- some of these costumes were poorly made. However I must give credit to the people in charge of Scorpio, Leo, Capricorn, Libra and Aquarius- oh and Virgo- these costumes were the most similar to the prototype advertised. Even so, my girlfriend played in Aquarius and the velcro from her belt was totally gone before we got to the first judging point.
With such vigorous dancing and general wildness on the road, I know that there would be some type of damage done but I was really disappointed with the quality of my costume and I kno alot of other people in the band felt the same way.
I am not sure if I’d play with YUMA again next year but I’m not totally closing the door on them. I am excited about how open they are on their FB page so i’m waiting to see how they plan to communicate the changes they plan to make b/c i’m only scraping the surface.
I noticed that some costumes not only looked closer to the prototypes, but they also held up MUCH better than other sections; Leo, Scorpio, and Gemini looked much more sturdily-put-together than Libra, Capricorn, and Oracle (and my goodness, did I see belt bacchanal in Oracle!) I also think the designs, while pretty, were a bit problematic. The tiny gems on metal hooks should have been backed with something (like how the belt dangly bits on Oracle frontline were backed, which stopped a lot of snagging) and a similar thing could have helped keep Aquarius tights looking nice.
I played with Island People. I saw probably thousands of Yumaraders-everywhere except IN their own band!! Quite a few stopped to ask me if I knew where their band was! Sorry, just thought that was funny. And I thought, the band must have been lacking vibes in order to have them running from it so.
But in the interest of comparison, IP had faboulous customer service, from registration to lunch Tues when I literally had my hand held until I got my lunch. I got an apology from the supervisor after I was roughed up by security. Some issues with security-it was tight, but the rope-holders were more interested in checking out women in the band. We had a few stormers, yes, mostly Tribe and Yuma people.
The food logistics were an issue, but we had the comfort of the Oval for our lunch break, which occured around 4:30. One thing, the vibes never died down, I can say that with no bias whatsoever. We have decided though that Yuma has hotter men, so we may make the switch 2k12
I was wondering how Island People went! I figured most people had lunch hold-ups due to the stage fuss, but I’m glad that you got yours relatively early and that the band had energy–that’s one thing you can always count on in IP (and the GAWGEOUS costumes). I wouldn’t have minded getting eyes from security… if they had been there at all!
I think I’m a little lost in the lingo, but I’m sorry you were disappointed. I hope you were thrilled, however, by how amazing you look. I know all the hard work and dedication that went into it and damn it paid off!
the picture of you with your arm in the air and your lips sucked in? I totally make that face whenever I’m concentrating! so funny to see it on someone else!
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The Long & Short of it: It’s between YUMA and Bliss for 2012 people!
VIBE: The band size (2500) was small enough that I could point out a sexy man to come back and wine pon later after I found my drinks or relocated my friends (whom I would never relocate in Tribe). I love big groups but 5800 is TOO DAMN BIG Tribe! I would like to point out that the women were beautiful and the men were hot. Eye candy for everyone no matter what you’re into. Some men were so impressed with the “aesthetics” of it all that they were already talking about how they were doing YUMA again for sure come 2012! The vibe was great. Everyone was winin and carryin on- people were hype! The music was ok… I spent time at all the trucks, but I did notice that primarily ‘Soca Monarch’ songs were played, with very little else. So on the one hand you could say that the biggest hits were played, but they really needed to add more variety.
COSTUMES: The costumes were very pretty. Even though my bling was all over the road by 10am and the Oracle BL belt tore most of our stockings to shreds before noon, YUMA ladies looked GOOD. Our basic backline headpieces were bigger and fancier than some of the other band’s frontline headpieces! And we paid less! I wasn’t too crazy about some of the male costumes, but no biggie. I was really looking forward to seeing the Aries, Aquarius & Taurus female individuals that were so prominently portrayed in the costume media launches, but I don’t know what happened to them…
DRINKS & FOOD: Thoroughly satisfied with my drinks. I had no trouble getting drinks, no matter what I wanted, I got as much as I wanted, and when I wanted! And with drinks like coffee-flavored Patron and pink Nuvo flowing, I am not complaining! The food was nasty IMHO, but edible, and definitely not a deal-breaker. YUMA turned out to be pretty darn flexible though with regards to me switching my meal chit from chicken to fish (though they refused to do this at mas camp).
MAJOR PROBLEMS: We all know about the waiting in line to cross the stage and not eating until nightfall issue, so I will not address that in depth, but I will say that as an Oracle all the way in the front, with tired dead feet and a hungry belly, staring at the stage for hours upon end in the hot sun, IT SUCKED. If it weren’t for a friend who drug my tired lifeless body onto the Savannah, then I would have just crossed while sprawled out on the ledge of Truck #1. It is arguable whether that was YUMA’s fault, and I am in no mood to debate that. People have already brought up the idea that they should have brought the food to us when they realized we would be waiting for hours to cross the stage. I completely agree, and I’m sure they won’t make that mistake twice, should the situation arise again. I should also bring up security…There were several random people in the band, and when the “barriers” were nowhere to be found most of the time (especially when we turned corners), I could see why… It didn’t mash up my Carnival though! I was busy winin on every ras with a wristband!
WHY I WOULD DO YUMA AGAIN: What I like about YUMA is how interactive they are, and how they incorporate people’s suggestions into their program. For instance, after YUMA insisted that they were not doing repairs, but everyone complained about costume repair on the FB page, they opened up a repair center within a day or two. I am sure that they will be compiling a best practices list and working hard to eliminate all major issues from this year’s road march. They seem serious about building a good brand. I see that all bands had costume issues, and some had more food & drink issues than we had. Overall I rate them high and it is simply a toss-up between YUMA and Bliss to see who has the best costumes for 2012.
I played in Oracle Frontline with a backpack and I can honestly say my carnival Tuesday experience left me disappointed and wanting for more. It felt totally anticlimatic!
I have a whole list of thoughts and comments on costume collection/distribution, but I won’t get into those at this stage…Suffice to say that work does need to be done on that front.
YUMA on Monday was cool, it was a bit of a shocker for me to be in such a small band after having grown accustomed to the size of TRIBE and I thought initially people took a while to warm up to the road but eventually things were in full swing! I liked the fact that they stayed near CIC in the morning so that we had lunch at a decent hour and then were back on the road, and Hakka was yummy!! The band seemed to have a nice vibe although once we got onto Aripita and into the standstill bits before Adam Smith Square I felt like interest waned…maybe I just have grown impatient with the waiting but I think I had much more vibes for myself last Carni Monday in TRIBE…I stayed with the band till nightfall while still in Woodbrook and then heard after I got home they had gone to the stage! I was MOST annoyed, till I heard they didn’t get to go on….while I could understand people’s disappointment at that I was kinda happy I didn’t miss out on the opportunity lol Sorry I know that sounds selfish, but I really would have been pissed if I missed out on my first stage crossing since 2006.
Carnival Tuesday was just impossible….the hours of waiting on Frederick Street while IP blocked us plus the congestion in the streets from masqueraders + spectators jamming everyone towards the top of Frederick Street made me miserable…You couldn’t move freely far less for wine, esp in a frontline costume and no one was listening to the DJs call to get into section as we got closer to the savannah entrance…think everyone was just frustrated at that point…Added to that was the fact that my backpack was killing one side of my collar bone…I eventually shifted it so it stopped hurting but the new position was unstable so it kept coming off my back once I did any kinda jumping…just don’t think that harness design was the best…so that added to my frustrations and I never really got into the mood of mas. I felt like my costume was more of a hindrance that a beauty….
Other people seemed to be having a good time though in-spite of the waiting…I saw quite a bit of costume malfunctions going on though: beads dropping off and belts giving trouble, bras snapping including my own (my straps were plastic straps) Luckily I had taped down my bra to myself with double sided tape and that held up extremely well cause I didn’t even notice the straps burst on my own costume till someone pointed it out
I was prepared for the mucho tights shredding that would have occurred with all the diamante on those costumes, although I don’t think alot of the girls thought about that fact and many of my friends were complaining at the state of their tights by the time they reached the bottom of Frederick Street! With respect to the costumes themselves, from far all looked very pretty, but on closer inspection you could see that some just didn’t match the prototype and there were obvious differences in costume quality amongst the sections, which in my mind in a no-no.
Given that the band was caught downtown for so long I was happy that drinks never stopped flowing, however I thought the band should have (1) brought lunch to us since they decided to sit it out and wait to get to the stage and more importantly (2) made the decision to reverse the band and go the normal route, hit the lunch stop and then head back to the savannah….I would not have minded crossing the stage at a later time if it meant I got to parade my mas, cause honestly I didn’t do anything standing up downtown for so long….I even went and sat in KFC to rest a bit for about 45mins, something I would not have dreamed of doing any other year!
On the security standpoint, I felt that at times they were not as present as they should have been, while at other times they were doing their job well. Monday things seemed to be smoother than on Tuesday as I almost always saw the green mesh up and present, separating the band members from the public. Security were even encouraging you to come into the band if you were walking along the pavement at some points, so I thought that was good. Things seemed to go awry most downtown on Tuesday as I saw several random people, not from other bands but just spectators, walking across the band, liming in the band etc…
Once we got into the savannah some semblance of excitement returned, but I did not like the fact that frontliners were not given any priority in the scheme of things, something which I have become accustomed to with TRIBE. I was at the FRONT of Oracle while waiting on the ramp and as security started letting go their chain I felt like everyone just surged from behind and it was utter confusion. Granted I still had fun on the stage, and managed to work my way back into Libra and Pisces while they were on stage, which included a mini scuffle with the security
(tradition on my part) but as soon as I came off the track and started to head out of the savannah, someone cut my bag from my hand so off went my phone etc….so that basically ruined the rest of my afternoon….plus makeup or something got into my contacts and I couldn’t see a thing so I had to go home to switch them out…I never went back to eat dinner and just ended up staying home…I felt like I waited all year for this one day and it was just totally blah and depressing 
Absolutely not how I wanted my Tuesday to be at all!
So I have to say I do agree with you that while you can check many boxes on the YUMA experience, I still left feeling something was lacking. I do believe they listen to customer complaints and are willing to work on the problems they have, so hopefully next year things will be better. I think though I want to give BLISS a try next year once I like their costumes…my major reason for not playing with them were the lack of costumes that appealed to myself and my group…
I’m so sorry you had such a bad experience! It must be really difficult to go through this when you’ve had a bomb experience with another band other years and KNOW what organization and care for your masqueraders looks like. On top of getting your bag snatched, stuff in your contacts, security issues… I would have burst into tears, fake lashes and makeup and all.
It’s a tough one because so many people want to cross the stage, but at what point does that become the most important part of the Tuesday experience? I was left wanting so much more, and I bet it’s even worse for you if you were wearing wings and waiting for the photo ops and parading that you just can’t do while standing in one spot for hours.
I’m hoping they listen to the feedback people are giving (and I wish there was less “BESS TIME” on the FB page and more acceptance of criticism by the other masqueraders–most complaints get a “you play mas, you deal with this” response from other masqueraders). We’ll see how it goes…