The Carnival vibes are picking up here in Kingston from today so I hope you're ready. It all begins with Bajan Soca Queen Alison Hind's performance at mas camp tonight. If it's one person that JA Carnival peeps love is Ms. Hinds so expect an excited and energetic crowd. You also know that she's going to perform one of the unofficial road march songs here, Roll it Gyal. Now the first time I heard this song, many years ago, I loved it because it adequately represented Caribbean women"s response to the liberation that soca music provides. Just look at the faces of women when this song is played. They are empowered, they want to wine and they want to dictate who they want to wine with: by themselves, with a man, with men or with women. Despite all these powers of the song, I've heard it too many times in this country. To me it's another song to lock away in the soca vault....but I still love you Alison!
Later on that night, students at the Mona campus will be chipping in Jóuvert at the Student"s union. There will be paint, drinks and soca music. The Head Bad Crew led by trinis have organized their Jóuvert band with Tshirt and drinks. This will lead into the annual Campus Carnival that goes around the ring road. The tradition of the Ring Road Carnival was pioneered by the Eastern Caribbean and Trinbagonian students in the 1980s. It emerged from a need to expose the campus to their Carnival culture as well as to satisfy the Carnival tabanca that many of them felt since they were not in their homeland for Carnival. The Trinidad and Tobago Students Assocation at the Mona campus is attempting to bring back this feel to the campus carnival with their Palancing on de Road tshirt band. Along with the Trinbagonian and Bajans from the Utech campus, TTSA is seeking to bring all islands together to jump, wave, wine, grind, get on bad, wuk up, push back, roll it and of course Palance. So look for us on the ring road tomorrow enjoying ourselves and leaving all thoughts about school, deadlines, assignments, exams etc. behind....
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