25 January 2009 - 10:57Smithsonian Up Close at Trinidad’s Carnival

What’s really behind the raucous pre-lenten rite? An intrepid scholar hits the streets of Trinidad to find out

By Barbara Ehrenreich

Photographs by Alex Smailes

Smithsonian magazine, February 2009

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Up-Close-at-Carnival.html?c=y&page=1

When Northerners think of the caribbean, Trinidad isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind. Until recently, Trinidad had few tourist-oriented hotels or restaurants, and its crime rate is so high that visitors are advised not to venture outdoors wearing watches or jewelry, and definitely not at night. What Trinidad does have is carnival—a centuries-old blowout reputedly so wild and intense that it makes Mardi Gras look like a Veterans Day parade.

Barbara Ehrenreich has written more than 15 books.
Photographer Alex Smailes’ book Trinidad and Tobago appeared in 2006.