15 August 2010 | Jaji, Venezuela
15 August 2010 | Venezuela
15 August 2010 | Merida, Venezuela
15 August 2010 | Merida, Venezuela
15 August 2010 | Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
12 July 2010 | Tortuga, Venezuela
07 July 2010 | Navimca, Venezuela
07 July 2010 | Cumana, Venezuela
07 July 2010 | Cumana, Venezuela
07 July 2010 | Makro Store, Cumana, Venezuela
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
If you ever wonder about experiencing Carnival in Trinidad, it is just spectacular.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
There were themes and all age groups represented, as well as groups (small, medium and large). It ran all afternoon and my friend, Shellee, stood next to the stage to capture these excellent photos.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
My friend, Shellee, had a photographer's pass and took over 700 photos of the Kiddies Carnival. She was frantically trying to edit her pictures at the Carnival because she had run out of space and there was more to come that she wanted to capture. The photos from Kiddies Carnival are compliments of Shellee.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
It was a tremendous thrill to experience Carnival.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Amazing.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Sweet!
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Gorgeous!
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Beautiful.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Every costume had a name and number for judging.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
It was such fun seeing the joy in these kids' faces as they showed off their costumes.
Kiddies Carnival Beauty
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
The costumes were so amazing and everyone had such fun.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
We had great seats in the Grand Stand for this event. The house was full as it is one of the most popular events.
Kiddies Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
This was one of my favorites. What a fun day this turned out to be, thanks to my friend, Shellee, inviting me along.
Kiddies Carnival Babes in Arms
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
One of my favorites was the Kiddie Carnival because the costumes were carried without support and weren't backed by corporate funds. The kids had a ball this day and strutted their costumes in the blazing heat to the fast beat of music.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Come one, come all, to Carnival in Trinidad. You won't be disappointed.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
First Place King, self propelled.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Carnival in Trinidad. Simply amazing.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
This was the 1st place Queen.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Amazing!
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
This was the crowd's favorite and everyone expected this one to win 1st place... but it came in 2nd.
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Wow!
King & Queen Finals
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
We bought tickets for Damache Gras which featured the top 10 King and Queen final contestants. The costumes were unbelievably spectacular and were anywhere from 25 - 40 feet wide. Most were supported by wheels but a couple were physically managed.
Parade Day
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Everyone in the parade has to pass by 2 of 3 judging stations so nobody gets to see everyone in the parade from one vantage point. It's just non-stop excitement all day long.
Parade Day
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
The final day of Carnival is a parade that starts about 8 a.m. and goes until about 8 p.m. The paraders were accompanied by a large truck pumping out blaring music (so loud we often plugged our ears), another truck with free food and drink for the paraders and another with porta poties. It was an amazingly spectacular event.
Carnival Delight
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Capturing some of the excitement.
All Ages Get Involved in Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
From babes in arms to senior seniors, everyone participates in carnival.
Delightful Colorful Costumes
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Carnival is full of color, music, creativity, talent and fun. It is truly spectacular.
Traditional Costumes
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
The various versions of the same theme keep it very interesting and colorful.
Blue Devils
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
This is another traditional costume. The blue devils do look fierce and gave me an uncomfortable feeling even though it was all in fun. They certainly acted the part well.
Kiddies Carnival Parade
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Children of all ages participated in this excellent parade. Every inch of sidewalk was occupied by observers. The music blared away and the beat was fast and exciting.
Moka Jumbies
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Impressive! These guys had to walk onto this stage set in front of a judging station and some of them came tumbling down. They must have a lot of practice falling, because they got helped back up and away they went.
Moka Jumbies
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
This takes skill and to walk for hours and hours in a parade must be exhausting.
Traditional Costumes
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
One of my favorites at Carnival were the traditional costumes.
Pre Carnival Parades
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
There are a number of parades before the main parade that are great fun to watch and give you a taste of what's to come.
Calypso
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Another aspect of Carnival is calypso performed by highly skilled artists. Calypso is sung in three verses, not duplicated, and deals with social and political issues of the day. It took some skill listening to the Trini dialect to capture all the words to the songs.
Another version of calypso is soca, which is sung as well similar to calypso, but the people performing are given a topic to sing impromptu. This requires serious thinking on your feet because they play off their opponents weaknesses to try to make themselves look better. It's all done in fun and requires great skill.
More Carnival Costumes
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Many costumes are part of a theme but within each camp there are several variations of the theme. In the parade they are grouped together and some camps can have several hundred people. It's a windfall for many Trinidadians involved in producing the costumes.
Costumes for Carnival
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
If you are going to play mas, that is participate in parades and masquerade around in your costume, you order it well in advance and pay anywhere from $100 to $800+ for the costume. We learned that every costume package came with 5 condoms. Go figure! It seems the birth rate 9 months after Carnival is significantly higher.
Carnival Preparations
10 March 2008 | Trinidad
Trinidad's Carnival is one of those things that I've heard are on a list of 100 things everyone should experience in their life. Preparations for Carnival are year round, with the big push starting about September for a February or March event.
There is so much more to it than bikini and beads with all ages involved that is really is spectacular. Numerous events get underway weeks before the actual Carnival so spending about 3 weeks in Trinidad before Carnival is a must. The photos will give you a small flavour.