Trinidad and Tobago are one country with two distinct cultures. Trinidad, known for its elaborate Carnival celebration, which rivals that of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, is home to a population primarily made up of people of East Indian and African descent. While Trinidad harbours 1.3 million people, Tobago houses just 50,000. The people of Trinidad follow Catholic, Hindu and Muslim religions, while Tobago remains mostly Protestant.
Tobago lures vacationers from Trinidad to its majestic shoreline. It really is the last of the unspoilt Caribbean. Once you behold her beauty, you will understand why Tobago was Robinson Crusoe’s isle. Trinidad on the other hand attracts visitors with its vibrant nightlife and legendary calpyso performers.
It’s that shoreline, ringed with coral reef systems, that has made Tobago renowned for its diving and snorkeling opportunities, namely around Buccoo Reef and Store Bay in the southern region near Crown Point. Along the northeast, the reef system near Speyside and the tiny island of Little Tobago attracts underwater enthusiasts, as well.
Tobago flashes its cultural riches with the annual Heritage Festival. The festival is designed to demonstrate the island’s African roots and Caribbean culture, and also to help distinguish it from its larger sister island which lies just 21 miles away. The two-week event, held at the end of July into early August, includes music and dance and unique sports such as goat racing. |
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Though goat racing is traditionally featured around Easter, it is showcased during the festival. Goat racing is serious business in Tobago, in the town of Buccoo. The Buccoo Goat Race Festival, which takes place Easter Tuesday, has been around for more than 75 years.
Trainers raise and condition their goats like horse breeders do their thoroughbreds, and jockeys get to know certain goats much like they do in horse racing. But in goat racing, the jockeys run alongside their goats, holding them with a sturdy rope. Like horse racing, there is a board listing the numbers of each goat and their names, which tend to take on a Caribbean flavour, such as Rum Punch.
The Heritage Festival also offers a taste of Carnival, which is celebrated in Tobago, though not as elaborately as in Trinidad. During the festival, the entire town of Plymouth is overtaken at 5 a.m. by revellers turning out for J’ouvert, which is one of the most raucous events during Carnival. Everyone crowds onto the street, dancing to the sounds of steel pan bands or Carnival music pumped out of speakers. Men and women good-naturedly gyrate together to the beat, and those women unattached will find themselves the partners of whichever man stands behind them.
During the two-week festival, there are also storytelling presentations, folk singing, and re-enactment of old-time weddings. Weddings are based on the style of those in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, with a splash of African colour in the wedding party’s attire. Weddings culminate with thousands of guests dancing through the streets in a grand procession.
Calypso itself was developed on the island of Trinidad, and has since become one of the major musical ancestors of diverse styles, including reggae, soca and rapso. In many ways Calypso has been T and T’s most important ambassador to the world.
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