"What life have you if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community."– TS Eliot
Trinidad's civilisation is almost 7,000 years old–the oldest in the region. Also–by divine design or historical accident–the festival tribes from the world's races came here: Bengal and Bihar from India; West African nations from Africa; the French from Europe... Trinidad itself was a sacred site for Amerindians to crown caciques. All this is in our DNA. All of us met here, danced together, creating the complex tumble of this culture: a nation of festivals each embroidered with lessons from the other.
Trinidad's Carnival is the centre–a complex, magical, living thing with hundreds of rituals. It's spawned hundreds of festivals globally. It's a modern and ancient complex thing–and we're witnessing its unravelling out of pure carelessness. We are a Big People and this is a Big People Party that we think is a child's birthday where all we need to provide is cake and balloons.
So Panorama: the Grand Stand is for the 60-and-overs, and haemorrhaging audience for 20 years. We need to remake it into a living Golden Age museum with memorabilia and interactive exhibits. Patrons could dress in tailored Saga Boy suits and Tan Tan finery. A real Big People Party. The North Stand is the 40-60s, and vibes for vibes, wins for "spirit of Carnival."