The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is made up of two islands off the coast of Venezuela, Grenada and the Lesser Antilles. The combined area of the two islands and numerous smaller landforms is 1,980 square miles. While T&T is a fabulous tourist destination, its primary industry is in petroleum and petrochemicals. Vacationers and job seekers alike are always on the lookout for vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago.
Part of the islands' attraction to tourists is its position outside the notorious "hurricane belt." A large portion of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are battered by hurricanes every year between the months of June and November. The country has a tropical climate, with six warm months of summer and six wet months of winter. Trinidad, the larger of the two main islands, has a rectangular shape with a thick, westward-pointing "tail" in the southwest corner.
Occupying 1,841 square miles, Trinidad is the larger of the two main islands. In the early days of its settlement by humans, it derived its name from the Arawak language. There are disagreements over whether it was named for the hummingbird or simply, "island." When the Spanish Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus arrived, he called it Trinidad, in recognition of the Holy Trinity.
One of the biggest cultural events in T&T is the annual carnival. This is a boldly colorful and boldly bawdy two-day party that is held immediately prior to Lent each year. It's a last chance for the locals to let their hair down before getting down to the serious abstinence of Lent. It was during Carnival four hundred years ago that an entire genre of music was born. Calypso. Soca has recently been introduced to the festivities.
It was during the 1600s that calypso was born. Then, it was a blend of kaiso from West Africa with a strong influence from the French. The instruments of soca come from the Indian subcontinent. Hence its nickname, "chutney music." Calypso uses a greater variety of musical instruments: clarinet, flute, trombone, saxophone, steelpan, congas, bongos, violin and more. Soca, on the other relies on the dhantal, tabla and dholak and a few others.
It was the French who brought Carnival to the islands, but they prohibited their slave population from partaking in the festivities. In the spirit of grace, the slaves started their own party and called it Canboulay.
The British authorities got involved and tried at first to ban the weapons the gangs used, mainly sticks and torches. When this did not quell the violence, they banned the festivities outright. This riled the ordinary citizens, who loved the Canboulay and were not that worried about the fighting.
Bereft of their big party, the natives launched a series of angry encounters, referred to in the history books as the Canboulay Riots. Eventually things simmered down and a new, less rambunctious version of the festival evolved. This is what we now refer to as Carnival. This two-day spectacle is what really makes it worthwhile to search for vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago.
Part of the islands' attraction to tourists is its position outside the notorious "hurricane belt." A large portion of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are battered by hurricanes every year between the months of June and November. The country has a tropical climate, with six warm months of summer and six wet months of winter. Trinidad, the larger of the two main islands, has a rectangular shape with a thick, westward-pointing "tail" in the southwest corner.
Occupying 1,841 square miles, Trinidad is the larger of the two main islands. In the early days of its settlement by humans, it derived its name from the Arawak language. There are disagreements over whether it was named for the hummingbird or simply, "island." When the Spanish Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus arrived, he called it Trinidad, in recognition of the Holy Trinity.
One of the biggest cultural events in T&T is the annual carnival. This is a boldly colorful and boldly bawdy two-day party that is held immediately prior to Lent each year. It's a last chance for the locals to let their hair down before getting down to the serious abstinence of Lent. It was during Carnival four hundred years ago that an entire genre of music was born. Calypso. Soca has recently been introduced to the festivities.
It was during the 1600s that calypso was born. Then, it was a blend of kaiso from West Africa with a strong influence from the French. The instruments of soca come from the Indian subcontinent. Hence its nickname, "chutney music." Calypso uses a greater variety of musical instruments: clarinet, flute, trombone, saxophone, steelpan, congas, bongos, violin and more. Soca, on the other relies on the dhantal, tabla and dholak and a few others.
It was the French who brought Carnival to the islands, but they prohibited their slave population from partaking in the festivities. In the spirit of grace, the slaves started their own party and called it Canboulay.
The British authorities got involved and tried at first to ban the weapons the gangs used, mainly sticks and torches. When this did not quell the violence, they banned the festivities outright. This riled the ordinary citizens, who loved the Canboulay and were not that worried about the fighting.
Bereft of their big party, the natives launched a series of angry encounters, referred to in the history books as the Canboulay Riots. Eventually things simmered down and a new, less rambunctious version of the festival evolved. This is what we now refer to as Carnival. This two-day spectacle is what really makes it worthwhile to search for vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago.
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