The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is made up of two islands off the coast of Venezuela, Grenada and the Lesser Antilles. The combined area of the two islands and numerous smaller landforms is 1,980 square miles. While T&T is a fabulous tourist destination, its primary industry is in petroleum and petrochemicals. Vacationers and job seekers alike are always on the lookout 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.
Occupying 1,841 square miles, Trinidad is the larger of the two main islands. In the early days of its settlement by humans, it derived its name from the Arawak language. There are disagreements over whether it was named for the hummingbird or simply, "island." When the Spanish Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus arrived, he called it Trinidad, in recognition of the Holy Trinity.
The main cultural event on the islands is the Carnival. This is a two-day festival held the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday each year. Brilliantly colorful and more than a little bit racey, it serves as a get-it-all-out-of-yer-system party before the 40-day period of abstinence of Lent. A major tourist attraction, Carnival is two full days of parades, costumes, music and dancing. The precursor to Carnival, Canboulay, was the birthplace of calypso music. Today, soca has become very popular at Carnival, too.
Calypso music got its origin in the 1600s. It was a mixture of West African kaiso music with a strong influence from the slaves of the French Antilles. On the other hand, soca, or "chutney music" as it is lovingly called, comes mainly from the Indian subcontinent.
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 authorities got involved and tried at first to ban the weapons the gangs used, mainly sticks and torches. When this did not quell the violence, they banned the festivities outright. This riled the ordinary citizens, who loved the Canboulay and were not that worried about the fighting.
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.
Occupying 1,841 square miles, Trinidad is the larger of the two main islands. In the early days of its settlement by humans, it derived its name from the Arawak language. There are disagreements over whether it was named for the hummingbird or simply, "island." When the Spanish Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus arrived, he called it Trinidad, in recognition of the Holy Trinity.
The main cultural event on the islands is the Carnival. This is a two-day festival held the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday each year. Brilliantly colorful and more than a little bit racey, it serves as a get-it-all-out-of-yer-system party before the 40-day period of abstinence of Lent. A major tourist attraction, Carnival is two full days of parades, costumes, music and dancing. The precursor to Carnival, Canboulay, was the birthplace of calypso music. Today, soca has become very popular at Carnival, too.
Calypso music got its origin in the 1600s. It was a mixture of West African kaiso music with a strong influence from the slaves of the French Antilles. On the other hand, soca, or "chutney music" as it is lovingly called, comes mainly from the Indian subcontinent.
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 authorities got involved and tried at first to ban the weapons the gangs used, mainly sticks and torches. When this did not quell the violence, they banned the festivities outright. This riled the ordinary citizens, who loved the Canboulay and were not that worried about the fighting.
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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