All I have to do is memorize a few moves. That evening, back in Port of Spain, we set out to find some undiluted calypso. It's early January, a time when the momentum leading up to Carnival is building to a fever pitch. Neighboring Tobago is by far the bigger tourist destination, but if you want calypso culture, you come here. The warm air is awash with the ambient sound of practicing steel bands.
Colorful posters crowd telephone poles and shopwindows.
Nearly every night in the month and a half before Ash Wednesday, there's an opportunity to hear live music. We attend Lord Kitchener's Calypso Revue. Kitchener, a calypsonian for 67 years, is the music's most revered figure, and his annual showcase of performers is the best of what is now referred to as vintage calypso. We're treated to no fewer than 20 singers with stage names like Sugar Aloes, Cro Cro, Bomber, and Baron. The audience hangs on every word, exploding in laughter at each political joke.