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Race has always played a major role in the divisions in social, economic and political pyramids, even from the beginning of the plantation era where whites were considered superior and African slaves were viewed as property as I learned in this course via the book Beyond Massa by Dr. John F. Campbell.  Race isn’t just about the colour of someone’s skin but it is more of who has power and dominance over certain situations. In present day, racism is still an issue in many current affairs. For example in Trinidad, politics is heavily influenced by race. Differences between indo-trinidadians and afro-trinidadians is currently a problem in the main and local elections held in Trinidad. The divergence between west-indian and east-indians has always caused controversy during elections time in Trinidad, as stated in the Trinidad express by Mark Fraser in December 2014, ‘Two parties dominate the Trinidad political scene’.  Generally the UNC party is led by an East Indian person and the PNM party is led by an Afro-Trinidadian. In 2015, The PNM won the elections on September 7th and this caused an uproar by most UNC supporters and leaders as they challenged the EBC over elections results in 6 constituencies. However after several court victories and defeats by both parties, the case was dismissed on October 2016. But controversy between political parties hasn’t ended as EBC posted the names of local government representative of UNC representatives in a list that was full of discreptencies. Some UNC supporters invaded the party’s headquarters, articulating their concern and disgust about the errors. The country and its division of supporters mostly put the cause of this error due to differences in race between parties. As much as we try to become a color- blind society, race will always play a part in many political decisions.

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Fort George & its historical link as it relates to colonialism

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Fort George & its historical link as it relates to colonialism

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Colonialism refers to the political control of a country or island by the British and occupying that country or island with settlers and economically exploiting it. Many Caribbean islands has been colonialized since the late 16th and 17th century. When Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean in the late 15th century, European migrants fled to the islands in search of wealth or any form of economic gains. They invaded the home of the indigenous and took control of everything shaping some of the Caribbean’s historical and geographical landscapes. One place in particular that is an example of post-colonialism is the Fort George site in Trinidad. This site was built by the British in 1804 and was initially used as a defence system against ships attempting to enter Port-Of-Spain and also invasions in the island such as the invasion in 1531 by the Spanish conquistador Sedeno. The British built batteries for their cannons which was situated on the Fort George hill (this hill was approximately 1200 ft. in height), making it easy to launch at their targeted ship.

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I believe that music has a big influence on all audiences in society. It affects the way one perceives reality and carry out their daily lives. Caribbean music such as reggae, calypso and soca has started to become more and more popular throughout the world through festivals, in parties and clubs. Caribbean music artiste uses their music to bring about topics of love, tragedy, conflict, religion, politics, history and unity. By doing so, they bring about awareness of certain situations and their cultures, on a global scale. Caribbean music such as reggae can help a person to relax, soca music and calypso and zouk can make doing chores or exercising more enjoyable. This type of Caribbean music is also played in festivals and parties. One soca artiste whose music is played across the globe is Machel Montano. He has won soca monarch multiple times and is known for his entertaining performances. One song by Machel Montano that has impacted a lot on Caribbean music and its audiences is a song entitled ‘Happiest Man Alive’. For me, this song makes me feel stress free and makes me feel extremely proud to be a Caribbean citizen. It speaks about true unity and how importance happiness is to each and every individual as Machel clearly stated in the beginning of the song that ‘happiness is the measure of success’.

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Machel Montano - H.M.A. (Happiest Man Alive)  | Official Music Video | Soca 2014| Trinidad Carnival

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANEL NOW: http://bit.ly/1daMZwo Official Music Video for Machel Montano's 2014 Soca Music hit H.M.A. (Happiest Man Alive)! Directed and Produced by Damian Marcano for Blue Cinamon Group. Co Produced by Doug Miller and Zen Arts https://www.ZenArtsLA.com Dance choreography by Jason Young Song produced by Alex "Kubayashi" Barnwell.

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Due to the various groups of people that has inhabited the Caribbean diaspora throughout history, it has led to diverse cultural forms. In the Caribbean region, these groups of people have developed different ways of expressing their culture in a way which brings people together. Caribbean culture is demonstrated in various ways which includes art, music, food and festivals. One festival in particular that has portrayed unity within the region is Carnival. Trinidad has one of the biggest and most diversified Carnival celebration in the world. It is also known as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ and it was introduced by the French in the late 18th century. The French planters held extravagant balls where they would wear masks, elegant dresses and wigs and participate in dancing all night long. For the African slaves, the utilization of masks by the French had a meaning, as the slaves used masking in their rituals. The slaves were banned from the masked balls so they held their own carnival celebrations where they used their own folklore and rituals whilst imitating the French planters’ masked ball. Carnival began to transform into a way of expressing oneself for the African slaves. After abolishment in 1838 the freed African slaves started carnival celebrations in the streets that evolved and became more popular than the French masked balls. Today, Carnival brings people of all races, traditions and beliefs together, contributing to demographic diversity (which was covered in this course) and for just two days the country forgets about all their differences and celebrates life.

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Carnival is Here - Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2016

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So for this Carnival I returned to town. With my camera in my hand and drone in tow. This year, I quietly observed my surroundings and captured the happiness and excitement in and around our annual Carnival celebrations. http://kensambury.com/carnival-is-here/ Carnival for me is freedom.

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Thoughts on this course and challenges that I faced 

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Thoughts on this course and challenges that I faced 