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Iron Love:
Steel Pan music explained

In Carnival by Sarah Brooks

Steel pan was a defiant instrument. At the time it was invented, the people of Trinidad were exposed to and under the rule of the powers of be at that time. And because when the slaves originally came to Trinidad against their will, they took away their native instruments including the drums. But they found another way to flourish.

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Carnival Playlist Essentials

In Carnival by Jada Cadasse

Within Carnival and in the hearts of Caribbean people soca is truly the spirit of the celebration. It goes beyond just music to tell stories of who we are. It is a representation of unity, togetherness, and celebration and, during Caribana, it is a taste of home.

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Our bodies remember

In Carnival by Angelo Grant

When asked, the Moko Jumbie will assert that he walked across the Atlantic from West Africa to the Caribbean, and that even though he has been brutalized for centuries, he stands “tall, tall, tall!”

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Play Yuself; Play ah Mas’

In Carnival by Sarah Brooks

As revelers are unmasked, they shed traditional characters to reveal embellished bodies. Individual bodies replace character costumes as the central feature of mas’ and revelers are free to “play themselves.”

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J’ouvert

In Carnival by N Rams

“How?” he asked. One word. A small question with a big answer that I didn’t know how to give right then, unprepared, still dehydrated and tired from standing and jumping all morning … It meant that he didn’t know what freedom was.

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Caribana Vs Everyone

In Carnival by Writers Room

As I took it upon myself to gain an education on the history of Carnival in different islands and the origins of Caribana vs Trini Carnival vs Crop Over vs SpiceMas, I was able to appreciate my culture and how it has evolved and how my people celebrate and remember our ancestry.