This content was published on February 19, 2023 – 4:41 PM February 19, 2023 – 4:41 PM
San Juan, 19 February (EFE).- Trinidad and Tobago celebrates in style its carnival, which is one of the most important in the Caribbean and culminates this Sunday after two years of forced hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic -19.
The organizers have advertised the celebrations as the “mother of all carnivals” and on this day the great parade of Dimanche Gras and the election of the king and queen of the carnival takes place.
With dancing, music and costumes, activities culminate in the traditional street parade on Monday and Tuesday.
Last night thousands of people turned out for the final of the National Panorama at Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain, which was won by band BP Renegades.
However, the international Soca Monarch competition, which had become a fixture in recent years and attracted regional and international singers, was ultimately canceled due to financial difficulties.
In front of the assembled crowd, police deployed around 800 officers and 300 members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Forces with mobile, air and sea patrols these days.
Morale was also a priority during the celebrations, with Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher calling for restraint from both her male officers and the women taking part in the parades.
“I would like to ask our masquerades, especially our scantily clad ladies, to stop dancing and twirling around my officers. It’s disrespectful,” said the commissioner, who reminded her agents that they belonged to a “very professional organization”.
On the other hand, some pre-Carnival performers have used traditional art forms to encourage their communities to continue to comply with Covid-19 health protocols, especially now that the country is lifting restrictions.
More than 4,300 have died in Trinidad and Tobago from the pandemic, and the economy, largely based on oil and gas production, has suffered from a drop in fuel demand during the global lockdown. EFE
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