What is Carnival Tabanca?
Just as the new year starts, the Carnival energy really gets pumping. For many countries, especially Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival is one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year. In 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared, Trinidad managed to keep up its fantastic tradition, and threw their great show with no restrictions. Revelers flew in from far ends of the globe to convene in the capital of Port of Spain for nights of wild parties and early morning fetes, the joyous steelband competition Panorama, the enchanting live storytelling in the ole mas night shows, an early morning mud and paint rub down in J’ouvert and the climax of it all: Carnival Monday and Tuesday where for two days straight they jumped, danced and waved to the pounding soca music, fueled by rum and adrenaline.
The next day, Ash Wednesday the city was cleaned as it always is, leaving no trace of the festivities. The usual tabanca seeped in, as everyone reminisced and longed for the next Carnival to come again. That deep sadness is part of the usual aftermath, when reality sets in and we all have to get back to our mundane existences, after weeks of anticipation and two days of unbridled ecstasy. But this tabanca would be the most intense one yet. As the pandemic ballooned weeks after Trinidad’s 2020 Carnival, all other international Carnivals for the year were cancelled. It would be a health risk to have thousands of people packed together like that. In 2021, the COVID-19 restrictions remained fastened in place, and there was no Trinidad Carnival at all. Talk about Tabanca!
The History Of Carnival
Carnival is a worldwide celebration event with different origin stories. Trinidad and Tobago and Rio de Janeiro have two of the most famous Carnivals, both occurring in the days before Ash Wednesday, when the Lent begins in a forty day fast for Easter in April. Rio de Janeiro’s carnival roots began in 1723 when Portuguese immigrants colonised Brazil. They called the carnival Entrudo– meaning entrance. The entrudo consisted of a water fight with lemon juice and sometimes mud was also used. Their Carnival has evolved into a mixture of African, Portuguese and indigenous culture, transforming into the flamboyant Samba celebration we see today. Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival was adapted from the country's French settlers from 1783, to 1833 when the Emancipation Bill was passed. The French celebrated with dinners, balls, concerts and hunting parties, but the Africans brought Canboulay to the festivities, incorporating singing, dancing and chanting. Different countries celebrate Carnival at different times throughout the year, such as Barbados’ Crop over in the first week of August and Canada’s Caribana in July. This way the vibes don’t stop. There is a Carnival every month somewhere in the world. But that was before the pandemic, before there were none to celebrate at all.
How We Feel About Missing Carnival This Year
You see, Carnival is not just fun. Carnival is spiritual, we often say. The New York Times published an article that listed all the life-altering experiences that we’ve missed out on without Carnival, in a year they declared as the one when we needed Carnival the most. Carnival gives us a long, deep exhalation for stress. It allows us a surge of confidence from being scantily clad in the middle of the streets, unjudged, adorned in gems and plumes. It is where we meet up with old friends and make new ones. Carnival is physical and mental exercise. It is jubilation and euphoria when life is otherwise just contentment. It is where all races, body types and genders find common ground. Where adults and children both want to be loud at the same time, and can. It is work and earned dollars for thousands of people, especially creatives, who for the rest of the year don’t get by on much. The Tabanca runs deep this year and we have been getting by as best as we can with little snippets of nostalgia, whether it’s listening to the soca in your car, or busting a wine in the kitchen while you bubble a pot of some homemade corn soup. For us at Island Pops, it is in the flavors of Carnival that we are finding refuge, reminiscing in the rum and snow cones and the Johnny Walker we all drink on the road!
We have put together a Carnival Tabanca box to get you through the emotions. It comes with Rum and Coke Ice Cream, Snow Cone in the Savannah Sorbet, Johnny and Coconut Ice Popsicles and Malibu Pineapple Ice popsicles. You will get two pints and ten popsicles. Take a jump over to our website to order the Carnival Tabanca Box. If you’re in New York, you can order the flavors separately for in store pick up and delivery. We’re located at 680 Nostrand Ave in Crown Heights Brooklyn. If you’re out of state, you get the whole box for yourself!
We hope you are all doing well, or at least the best you can without having had the Carnival celebrations to boost your morale during these isolating times. Remember, Carnival is not in the streets alone, it is in all of us. And there are ways, through music, food and love for yourself that you can still have your Carnival no matter what.