Caribbean Carnival
odd: label: Introduction
content: Trinidad is the home of Carnival in the Caribbean. While Carnival is found elsewhere - St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, Nevis, the Virgin Islands, and Haiti - Trinidad's fete is considered the Caribbean's greatest, its most spectacular, its trendsetter. Migrating West Indians have brought their traditions and culture to North America. Theirs is a rich culture compounded of elements from Africa, the Middle East, China and the Far East, North and South America, and Europe.

Carnival is the principal social activity through which West Indian immigrants from the widest range of generations, classes, countries, and hues are able to identify, interact with, and enjoy one another. Indeed Carnival has provided a new cultural focus and has created an economy of its own in the communities of many North American cities where people of West Indian descent are concentrated. Carnival has become a commonly shared and much-anticipated activity among West Indians who live in North America, practiced from Brooklyn and other eastern seaboard cities to the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto, and across the continent to Los Angeles. The largest and oldest Carnival in North America began in Harlem in the mid-1940s. The Festival was later moved to Brooklyn in 1967 and is run by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, Inc. In North America, Caribbean communities organize their Carnivals to take advantage of summer weather and to avoid conflicting with any neighboring community's carnival.

At the Festival, Trinidadian American communities from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland were joined by other West Indian immigrant communities from those and other East Coast cities to demonstrate the diverse musical and dance traditions and to discuss the importance of Carnival as a source and emblem of community identity.

D. Elliott Parris and Katherine Williams were the Caribbean Program Coordinators; Roy Bryce-LaPorte served as Special Consultant.
label: Participants
content: Carol Aqui, costumed band leader, Adelphi, Maryland

Batucada Brasilera (William Brown, leader), Brazilian music band, Washington, D.C.

The Big Drum Nation Dance Company, Inc. (Winston T. Fleary, 1943-, director), New York, New York

William Brown, Brazilian costumed band, Washington, D.C.

Caribana Caribbean Cultural Committee (Raymond England, leader), carnival organizer, Ontario, Canada

Egbert Christian, B.W.I.A. ole mas band organizer, New York, New York

Hector Corporan, 1945-, master of ceremonies, Hyattsville, Maryland

Marvsyn David, Mod band, Washington, D.C.

Joan Dupigny, 1941-, costumed band, Washington, D.C.

Oscar Anstey Hunte, 1942-, fire eater, Quebec, Canada

Lucille Jacob, seamstress, band organizer, Hartford, Connecticut

Junior Errol Jones, 1940-, steel pan tuner, Brooklyn, New York

K. Alex King (Lord Baker), back-up calypso singer, Takoma Park, Maryland

Lilian Knight, Panamanian costumed band, Washington, D.C.

Michael Legerton (Protector): master of ceremonies, Seabrook, Maryland

Eli Mannette, 1929-, steel pan tuner, New York, New York

Dianne Marshall, comedian, Washington, D.C.

Von Martin, master of ceremonies, Seabrook, Maryland

The Maryland Pacesetters (Pasley Graham, 1943-, agent), steel band, Baltimore, Maryland

The Masterful Band (Serge Bellegarde, 1949-, leader), Haitian music band, Washington, D.C.

Stephenson Michael, 1952-, costumed band, Silver Spring, Maryland

Montreal Carnival Development Committee (Winston Roberts, leader), carnival organizer, Quebec, Canada

Wil Morris, 1948-, stick fighter, Washington, D.C.

Errol Payne, 1928-, wire bender, New York, New York

The Trinidad Steel Orchestra (Franklin Harding, 1941-, leader), music band and costumed band, Washington, D.C.

The Trinidad and Tobago Baltimore Steel Orchestra (Paul Gervais, 1941-, leader), music band, Baltimore, Maryland

Brian Walker, 1957-, costumed band, Washington, D.C.

The West Indian American Labor Day Association (Carlos Lezema, 1923-, leader), carnival organizer, New York, New York

Peter Whiteman, 1944-, wire bender, costumed band leader, Hyattsville, Maryland
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1979 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1979, Series 2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials