Carnival in the Air!

Carnival is certainly in the air here in Jamaica! I went to the gym yesterday and to my surprise the gym was relatively empty, on a Monday, a day when it is packed with people trying to get their bodies in shape. Then I said to myself, "oh, Soca-robics". Yes it's carnival time here again in Jamaica, and the time for the pre-road-march warm-up, Soca-robics. Countless Kingstonians flock to the Mass Camp on on Oxford Road in New Kingston. They range in age from the very young children, to young adults, to the more mature in age. People of all sizes also go to this yearly fitness ritual, slim, full bodied and the fat go to get in shape and work up a sweat. There are also several other sessions in the Corporate area as well as all across the island for carnival and party lovers to get on bad. The Jamaican Carnival sessions are not just all about soca music. As you know Jamaica is the home of Dancehall music, so naturally there is the latest dancehall music mixed in with the selections of the latest soca songs, much to the delight of the sweat dripping fans.

UWI/UTech (The University of the West Indies, Mona and The University of Technology, Jamaica) Carnival was two weekend ago. The UWI /UTech students as well as other patrons reveled for the whole weekend, and bwoy did they get on bad! Friday they partied and gyrated in paint in their Juvert celebration. This was followed by the road march around Ring Road on the Mona Campus on Saturday, where they really kicked up a storm with their whining, gyrating and grinding! Yes grinding, real bumping and grinding as some of them were in various sexual positions...seemed as if they were having sex! It culminated on Sunday, with a day at the License Beach (if a suh it spell) in St. Thomas where the partying continued. With all this description you must be thinking that I went. Well if you are, yuh wrong! I didn't get to make it, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, I actually saw the pictures of the whole event, including the one above, at Restriction Entertainment. You all need to check out these pictures, trust mi dem gwaan bad!

Carnival 2006 Jamaican style will climax with the various road marches April 21. I said several road marches, as there is the Jamaica Carnival headed by Byron Lee) as well as Baccanal Carnival and I think there is another one. This time I will try to make it to the road march to take some pictures for myself. Most naturally I will be sharing them with you. Until then keep on whining!