Traditions of Port of Spain
The capital of Trinidad and Tobago, home of Carnival, calypso, steelpan, doubles and Diwali's Divali Nagar.
Port of Spain is a city of Africans, Indians, Chinese, Syrian-Lebanese, Europeans and mixed people. Its Carnival, before Lent, is one of the most spectacular in the world, and the steelpan, a percussion instrument made from oil drums, was invented here. Calypso is its voice of satire.
Carnival, pan and Diwali
Carnival begins before dawn with J'ouvert, a party of mud, paint and oil, and finishes with Monday and Tuesday parades in sequined costumes. Panorama is a contest of steel bands. Hindu and Muslim festivals are shared in a multicultural spirit: Diwali is a national holiday, with lights across the island, and Hosay is a Shia procession.
At the table
Doubles, curried chickpeas in fried bara, are the favourite street breakfast. Roti with curry, callaloo, pelau, rice with pigeon peas and meat, and bake and shark are well known. Sorrel is a Christmas drink. Black cake is a rum-soaked fruitcake.
Signature traditions of Port of Spain
Also part of it, and being written: Calypso music (The music.), Doubles (The street food.).
A trail idea for Port of Spain
- Queen's Park Savannah See Carnival grounds.
- Maracas Bay Eat bake and shark.
- Hindu temples See Diwali.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source