(
课件网) I've Been to Almost Every Caribbean Carnival① Adapted from Travel＋Leisure 202401 Every year around this time, I get a steady anticipation—an excitement so tangible that I can close my eyes and instantly be transported② to electric moments in Trinidad (特立尼达拉岛), Barbados (巴巴多斯), Grenada (格林纳达), Anguilla (安圭拉岛), and all the way over the pond to Notting Hill. Covered in paint, powder③， sweat, and splashes④ of rum wine, I've gotten the closest I'll ever get to completely letting go at Carnival celebrations in the Caribbean. I looked into crowds and found that I'm not the only one experiencing this infinitude⑤ of joy, buoyed⑥ by music, dancing, and chants—and I've learned this sense of freedom is deliberate⑦， having been passed on and preserved for nearly 200 years. Carnival in the Caribbean is a long-standing tradition rooted in Black rebellion⑧. In 18th-century Trinidad, enslaved Africans who were not allowed to participate in the masquerade balls⑨ by European colonizers⑩ created their own celebrations. Centuries later, my hope is that the importance of these traditions is not lost in the rising commercialization of Carnival. Caribbean people have always proudly crafted costumes, attended lively music and colour-filled costume competitions, and produced the sounds of soca (索卡乐)—the soundtrack of Carnival derived from calypso (卡利普索民歌) that combines East Indian and African instrumentation. I've been lucky enough to be immersed in these traditions for more than a decade now. The spellbinding glow of the Jab Jab's painted Black skin in Grenada; the symphony of feathers crisscrossing down Port of Spain in Trinidad on Carnival Tuesday; the crowning of the Pic-O-De-Crop Monarch in Barbados, a competition showcasing the island's best calypso musicians. These connective fibers have brought me back to the Caribbean to be free and honor the legacy of a people whose ingenuity has sparked Carnival celebrations in countries as far as Japan and Sweden. This year, I'll be heading to one of my favourite Caribbean islands, Dominica (多米尼加), to experience Mas Domnik for the first time. One of the great things about Carnival is that you not only get to attend so many events, but you also get to admire the beauty of the location. Weaving through Dominica—aptly called Nature Island thanks to its teeming marine life, cloaked rain forests, bubbling hot springs, and black-sand beaches—will be no exception. I'll play with the popular band Amnesia, set my alarm clock early for J'ouvert celebrations. I'll have dinner in the quaint courtyard of Lacou, where the fruit marlin fish and rum punch (朗姆潘趣酒) offer the perfect pairing. And I'll check into the newly renovated Fort Young Hotel and celebrated cliffside retreat ， Secret Bay, voted by Travel＋Leisure readers as their favourite Caribbean hotel. There are a handful of other Carnivals I still want to experience, ... ...
