The islands of T&T are known collectively as the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. They are located off the coast of South America and, together with a bunch of smaller islands, they occupy an area of 1,980 square miles. The main enterprise in the country is petroleum and petrochemicals. Because of its amazing weather and laid-back lifestyle, the islands are a magnet for tourists. You could say that job seekers and tourists are constantly seeking 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.
Trinidad itself occupies 1,800 square miles. The pointy end of the tail comes within a few miles of the South American east coast. Christopher Columbus, the Catholic, Spanish explorer, named the island for the Holy Trinity. Prior to that, it is unclear whether it was named after the hummingbird, or if its name, derived from the Arawak language, just meant "island."
A popular tourist attraction is the annual national carnival, an extremely colorful and somewhat racy two-day event held every year just before Ash Wednesday. A celebration of dancing, music, parades and masquerade, carnival serves as a final fling before the long period of Vatican-inspired abstinence known as Lent. The predominant music of the festival is normally calypso, although soca has been making inroads and becoming very popular.
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.
Four hundred years ago, when French slaves were not permitted to attend Carnival, they invented their own party to coincide. It was called Canboulay, after the French words for burnt sugar cane. Like many big parties today, Canboulay somehow got hijacked by troublemakers who would start slinging insults at each other using songs as weapons. As the party wore on, it would degenerate into the equivalent of a barroom brawl.
The British authorities took umbradge at this and tried to ban the weapons that were used in these clashes, principally torches and sticks. It didn't help to put an end to the violence so they got tough and put a stop to Canboulay outright. The partymakers, who adored their yearly festival, rebelled.
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.
Trinidad itself occupies 1,800 square miles. The pointy end of the tail comes within a few miles of the South American east coast. Christopher Columbus, the Catholic, Spanish explorer, named the island for the Holy Trinity. Prior to that, it is unclear whether it was named after the hummingbird, or if its name, derived from the Arawak language, just meant "island."
A popular tourist attraction is the annual national carnival, an extremely colorful and somewhat racy two-day event held every year just before Ash Wednesday. A celebration of dancing, music, parades and masquerade, carnival serves as a final fling before the long period of Vatican-inspired abstinence known as Lent. The predominant music of the festival is normally calypso, although soca has been making inroads and becoming very popular.
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.
Four hundred years ago, when French slaves were not permitted to attend Carnival, they invented their own party to coincide. It was called Canboulay, after the French words for burnt sugar cane. Like many big parties today, Canboulay somehow got hijacked by troublemakers who would start slinging insults at each other using songs as weapons. As the party wore on, it would degenerate into the equivalent of a barroom brawl.
The British authorities took umbradge at this and tried to ban the weapons that were used in these clashes, principally torches and sticks. It didn't help to put an end to the violence so they got tough and put a stop to Canboulay outright. The partymakers, who adored their yearly festival, rebelled.
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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Job seekers looking for vacancies in Trinidad and Tobago can turn to the suggested website for info. Here is the latest listing at http://www.trinidadjob.com.
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