Occupying roughly 2,000 square miles of tropical paradise off the coast of Venezuela lies the two islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Known by most people as an awesome place to go on vacation, the country's main industry is petroleum and petrochemicals. For this reason, loafers and job hunters are always on the prowl for vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago.
Luckily, the country lies outside the hurricane belt, an area in the Atlantic Ocean that is prone to hurricanes between June and November each year. This contributes to the islands' appeal as both a tourist destination and the petroleum industry. The islands enjoy a tropical climate, with six months of blazing sunshine and six months or torrential rain each year. The larger of the two islands is shaped predominantly like a rectangle with a thick "tail" in the southwest corner pointing towards Venezuela.
Trinidad itself occupies 1,800 square miles. The pointy end of the tail comes within a few miles of the South American east coast. Christopher Columbus, the Catholic, Spanish explorer, named the island for the Holy Trinity. Prior to that, it is unclear whether it was named after the hummingbird, or if its name, derived from the Arawak language, just meant "island."
A popular tourist attraction is the annual national carnival, an extremely colorful and somewhat racy two-day event held every year just before Ash Wednesday. A celebration of dancing, music, parades and masquerade, carnival serves as a final fling before the long period of Vatican-inspired abstinence known as Lent. The predominant music of the festival is normally calypso, although soca has been making inroads and becoming very popular.
It was during the 1600s that calypso was born. Then, it was a blend of kaiso from West Africa with a strong influence from the French. The instruments of soca come from the Indian subcontinent. Hence its nickname, "chutney music." Calypso uses a greater variety of musical instruments: clarinet, flute, trombone, saxophone, steelpan, congas, bongos, violin and more. Soca, on the other relies on the dhantal, tabla and dholak and a few others.
Four hundred years ago, when French slaves were not permitted to attend Carnival, they invented their own party to coincide. It was called Canboulay, after the French words for burnt sugar cane. Like many big parties today, Canboulay somehow got hijacked by troublemakers who would start slinging insults at each other using songs as weapons. As the party wore on, it would degenerate into the equivalent of a barroom brawl.
The British were in charge at the time and tried to bring the situation under control by prohibiting the sticks and torches used in the disruption of the festivities. When this didn't work, they took it a step further and put a stop to the carnival itself. This did not go down well with the locals and the Canboulay Riots earned their place in history with a massive and violent public outcry.
After some bloody skirmishes, called the Canboulay Riots, the British police brought the scene under control. What emerged was a more subdued carnival, which led to what is now celebrated today as Carnival. It is worth seeking out those vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago to sample the present-day festival.
Luckily, the country lies outside the hurricane belt, an area in the Atlantic Ocean that is prone to hurricanes between June and November each year. This contributes to the islands' appeal as both a tourist destination and the petroleum industry. The islands enjoy a tropical climate, with six months of blazing sunshine and six months or torrential rain each year. The larger of the two islands is shaped predominantly like a rectangle with a thick "tail" in the southwest corner pointing towards Venezuela.
Trinidad itself occupies 1,800 square miles. The pointy end of the tail comes within a few miles of the South American east coast. Christopher Columbus, the Catholic, Spanish explorer, named the island for the Holy Trinity. Prior to that, it is unclear whether it was named after the hummingbird, or if its name, derived from the Arawak language, just meant "island."
A popular tourist attraction is the annual national carnival, an extremely colorful and somewhat racy two-day event held every year just before Ash Wednesday. A celebration of dancing, music, parades and masquerade, carnival serves as a final fling before the long period of Vatican-inspired abstinence known as Lent. The predominant music of the festival is normally calypso, although soca has been making inroads and becoming very popular.
It was during the 1600s that calypso was born. Then, it was a blend of kaiso from West Africa with a strong influence from the French. The instruments of soca come from the Indian subcontinent. Hence its nickname, "chutney music." Calypso uses a greater variety of musical instruments: clarinet, flute, trombone, saxophone, steelpan, congas, bongos, violin and more. Soca, on the other relies on the dhantal, tabla and dholak and a few others.
Four hundred years ago, when French slaves were not permitted to attend Carnival, they invented their own party to coincide. It was called Canboulay, after the French words for burnt sugar cane. Like many big parties today, Canboulay somehow got hijacked by troublemakers who would start slinging insults at each other using songs as weapons. As the party wore on, it would degenerate into the equivalent of a barroom brawl.
The British were in charge at the time and tried to bring the situation under control by prohibiting the sticks and torches used in the disruption of the festivities. When this didn't work, they took it a step further and put a stop to the carnival itself. This did not go down well with the locals and the Canboulay Riots earned their place in history with a massive and violent public outcry.
After some bloody skirmishes, called the Canboulay Riots, the British police brought the scene under control. What emerged was a more subdued carnival, which led to what is now celebrated today as Carnival. It is worth seeking out those vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago to sample the present-day festival.
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