The Carnival March

She dancing as if she is a Carnival Baby

By now, Trinidadians will be exercising around the Queen's Park Savannah in preparation for the Carnival festival 2008. Mas camps will be working overtime to get those skimpy costumes made and delivered. Less feathers and beads this year and more body paint.

On these two days before the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday, white women will seek out pan men, Indian girls will hunt down white men and Port of Spain will smell of urine. In its bacchanal and aftermath, people who took a wine together will pass each other on the street straight and there will be many surprises in October for the deeds done, namely, Carnival babies.

Yet, with this photograph, this masquerader with her basic costume of an pair of shorts and a top is in a spirit of Carnival. She is in an energy that has captivated her on the streets of Port of Spain. This is not about winning or drinking or having a man at your tail, but of a brisked march that keeps the dancer going for of two days straight. From left to right, the trot makes us free the spirit and puts us in a place that with all of the hardships and political unkindness, life is wonderful in its simplicity. In her world, she is truly free.