With Fat Tuesday being today, I thought about Carnival and about my mother’s relationship with Trinidad. My mom was very proud of her Caribbean heritage. Growing up, we even had the flag of Trinidad in front of our house, right next to the American flag. If my mom was talking about her home country, I can guarantee that she’d be doing it with a smile. Her heritage would sneak its way into conversations and if you talked to my mom for more than five minutes, she probably told you that she was from Trinidad. After that was established, it was most likely followed by something like, “Aren’t you cold in this weather?”
My Dad celebrated Carnival in Trinidad in 1965 and he told me, “Carnival was a crazy time with parties that started almost a week before Fat Tuesday.” What my mother loved the most was the music and the dancing. My Dad said, “It was totally different than anything you'd experience in the states. People were out in the streets, drinking and having a good time. I danced a little bit and I drank a little more than I should have, but I don't think I ever got drunk. Ruby had a tiny bit, just a bit of rum.” He went on to say that, “Because there were so many wild parties, and there was so much drinking, 9 months later there were a lot of babies born.” Unfortunately, this previous section in this post could not be fact-checked, so I cannot guarantee its accuracy.
After my mother moved to the states, she continued to celebrate Carnival. She even got the go-ahead to celebrate carnival at the schools that she worked at and helped the students make their own costumes. Calypso music was played over the sound system and the students had a blast dancing in their original outfits.
My Dad celebrated Carnival in Trinidad in 1965 and he told me, “Carnival was a crazy time with parties that started almost a week before Fat Tuesday.” What my mother loved the most was the music and the dancing. My Dad said, “It was totally different than anything you'd experience in the states. People were out in the streets, drinking and having a good time. I danced a little bit and I drank a little more than I should have, but I don't think I ever got drunk. Ruby had a tiny bit, just a bit of rum.” He went on to say that, “Because there were so many wild parties, and there was so much drinking, 9 months later there were a lot of babies born.” Unfortunately, this previous section in this post could not be fact-checked, so I cannot guarantee its accuracy.
After my mother moved to the states, she continued to celebrate Carnival. She even got the go-ahead to celebrate carnival at the schools that she worked at and helped the students make their own costumes. Calypso music was played over the sound system and the students had a blast dancing in their original outfits.
One year my grandfather, Clint (Dad’s dad), showed up to see what all the fuss was about.
As I got older, my mom even helped a friend put on a version of Carnival downtown. She recruited a couple of my close friends, Tim and Mike. Tim still recalls saying something to my mom about not being Trinidadian and he remembers her saying with a smile that it didn’t matter if you were Trinidadian or not, but it was simply about coming together to share the love for the culture.
It was the culture that my mom loved, which of course includes the food and the drink. I’d imagine that when you grow up a certain way, it's got to be hard to let go of that. Even though she left Trinidad in 1966 when she was 26 years old, it continued to be a huge part of her life. She loved to talk about Trinidad and by teaching about and sharing the traditions and cultures of her own culture, she was able to bring the world just a little bit closer together.
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