I had done Trinidad Carnival twice already and I had vowed to myself that last year would be the last time. I had played mas with Tribe in a Frontline costume, so bucket list item complete, right? WRONG.

The Lost Tribe stunned me with their grandiose, artistic costumes this year and I found myself planning to go to carnival last August — a relatively late start when it comes to Trinidad Carnival. I shortened my standard week-long trip to keep costs within my budget and found myself at the “Greatest Show on Earth” once more!

Curious about how my experience with the Lost Tribe went? Carry on baby…

PRE-CARNIVAL

Band Launch: As we have come to expect from The Lost Tribe, nothing the team does is regular. It is over-the-top and oozes with creativity. The band launch was no different. The showcase of their theme, “Anansi” was spectacular, with gorgeous, intricate pieces. I was awed and spent hours afterwards studying pictures and videos to decide which section I was going to register in. I was torn between the Erin and Agemo sections, but something about the Elephant kept speaking to me.

Registration: Getting access and the attention of a Lost Tribe committee member was not difficult. I reached out to a committee member on Twitter, and she assured my friends and I that we will get an invitation for registration as soon as it opened up. That we did! The registration email was not specific to a section, so if you changed your mind between launch and registration, you were not stuck. I registered within a few minutes and was all set.

My costume was $5,995 TTD with the huge backpack as an add-on ($2,500 TTD). The initial deposit to confirm registration was $2,000 TTD. I am giving the pricing in TT Dollars because the final total amount differs depending on whether you pay in full online, or whether you pay in cash at the mas camp or at distribution (and hence, able to take advantage of a much better exchange rate). I did the latter and ended up paying a total of $1,185 USD versus the advertised price of $1,359.

Communication: Communication with The Lost Tribe was exceptional. Committee members were very easy to reach on social media, particularly within the dedicated Lost Tribe Anansi Facebook group. My emails were answered quickly and with great detail. Can you believe that I decided to add-on the backpack in October and the band allowed me to do so without a hitch? Amazing!

The band also provided a very helpful Member’s Guide online that detailed a map of the route, the meeting times and points, shuttle information, meal and drink options; position on the road (clusters), and the location of mobile restrooms, on-site paramedics.

DURING CARNIVAL

Costume Pickup: Costume pickup was relatively a breeze. It took about 45 minutes total - from arrival and receiving a ticket, to making cash payments of the balance, to receiving the costume and getting it checked.

The Lost Tribe prided itself in having your costume box ready with the option to check the contents if you wanted. Well, it is a good thing I checked. There was a huge gaffe — my monokini was not in my box! I was shocked; had I not had the instinct and experience to make sure everything was set, I may not have realized the missing bodywear until Carnival Tuesday! However, it was quickly rectified and the monokini was given to me within 5 minutes.

The backpack was huge with fragile, hard plastic elephant ears, so transporting that back home was…interesting. Ensure you have a car big enough to carry the load.

Funnily enough, my friends who had already paid their balance in full took a longer time to receive their costumes than me. Very odd.

Goodie Bag: I loved it so much. The actual bag itself is compact and so pretty. Women got reddish coral bags and men got blue. Inside was an assortments of energy drinks, some discount codes to local stores and activities, some spices, toothpaste, coffee, a large Lost Tribe fan, 4 (!) Lost Tribe shot glasses, a yard of white cloth, and of course, a Lost Tribe cup.

Costume: I ended up choosing Erin, designed by Shawn Dhanraj. It was FABULOUS — what more can I say? I knew it was going to be beautiful, and when I donned it in full, it fit like it was made for me alone. The quality was great and the pieces were well made. Wearing a costume without gems is a very freeing experience - you don’t have to be extra cautious in order to ensure the gems stay in place and don’t fall off.

This does not mean this was an easy costume to get into! It was actually the most difficult to date. The mesh tights and sleeves were delicate as I did not want to rip them, the tulle was also sort of wispy and spraying fairy dust all over, and the tusks were so huge, I lost peripheral vision. The final look was beautiful, and I felt like a walking work of art all day long.

THE ROAD EXPERIENCE

TO RATE MY ROAD EXPERIENCE: 7.5/10

On Monday, we arrived at around 1pm just as the band was about to cross the Savannah stage and the excitement was palpable! I love that The Lost Tribe has a theme on Monday - this year it was “Guardians of the White Cloth”. We were asked to don white Monday wear and it was amazing to see everyone’s creativity in making this white uniform unique to them. My bodysuit by Nisha Felice fit me to a tee and this royal crown by Sanianitos was the added touch to bring the look to life. This was one of the pieces from the special Sanianitos x Lost Tribe collection in celebration of The Lost Tribe turning 5.

Music. Although I felt like it took a little while for the pace to pick up on both days, the music was overall good and I danced to songs I had not heard throughout my short time in Trinidad & Tobago. Though there was a modest level of wotlessness, it was fun all the same. If you are looking for total bacchanal, this is not the band for you.

There were three music trucks and they all had their moments of vibes-osity. My group and I primarily stayed with Trucks 1 and 3 though, mostly due to the ease of a smaller crowd and not wanting to feel sandwiched in between trucks.

The pace and vibe on Monday was better than on Tuesday for me and I believe it was due to several factors:

I had more energy. I was feeling pretty fantastic and well-rested after skipping j’ouvert.

I ate a lot. I was able to get 2 meals because the first tent did not take my lunch chit. Yay for me!
That mini rain shower was the cool down I needed. It was also overcast, so the sun was not beating down in an uncomfortable way like it was on Tuesday.
Fewer people in the band and fewer spectators on the road.
No backpacks, raffia wings and strings! This made for much easier maneuvering and thus less stress.

Crowd. Tuesday was love and art personified. The band as a whole was a sight to behold, with bold colours everywhere. Masqueraders really identified with the animal or story they emulated and embodied and I would say, even took on the role of that character quite seriously. As swift as a spider, as regal as an elephant, as fierce as a lion, as coy as a chameleon. I enjoyed seeing the personalities come out.

People were telling each other they looked beautiful all day long and helping each other with their costumes, because Mama, some were très compliqué! There was a lot of love and camaraderie.

This was probably the most diverse band I have played in. There were masqueraders of all ages, ranging from mid-twenties to early sixties (at least those I saw); from gay to straight; black, white and all races in the gamut; men and women of all sizes; non-disabled to disabled. There were moko jumbies on the road, as well as a live pan band. It was a true representation of community, beauty and mas.

Drinks. There were moments where it was a bit of a beast, but overall, I had few issues getting drinks. There were 3 drink trucks and Truck 1 was very popular. It was worth our while standing off to the side and waiting for Trucks 2 & 3 to roll around in order to avoid the struggle. The bartenders were quick and efficient for the most part. I was able to get whatever I wanted until the end on Tuesday - Hennessy ran out. I loved the puncheon and vodka snow cone carts and had one of those. I also LOVED the Champagne cart - they served unlimited flutes of champagne throughout the day.

Backpack Truck. This was one of the best things about my experience!!! My backpack was WIDE and wearing it all day proved to be a huge hassle. I couldn’t dance at all without hitting someone in the face or without someone stepping on the raffia and pom poms. The check-in backpack truck proved to be a lifesaver. As soon as we took pictures and chipped for a bit, I deposited the backpack, along with my trunk headpiece. I felt so free after that. I did not collect them again until hours later when it was time to cross the Socadrome stage. Lo and behold, they were still there! In tact and undamaged. I dropped it off after crossing the stage again and was able to retrieve it at the end of the day.

The “tanty truck”, as I called it, for those with tired feet was also another perfect addition. Though it was small and could only hold about 15 people at a time, it was a lifesaver for some of my friends who needed to rest for a few minutes.

Lunch spot. The lunch spot was at Siegert Square. I liked the setup - I counted 7 food tents, there was one main bar in the middle and there were 2-3 additional tents with blankets for masqueraders to relax underneath. There were plenty of food options, with some popular ones running out early on. On Monday, I had a rice and fish dish and a veggie lasagna dish and on Tuesday, I had Royal Castle chicken meal (2 piece). The food I ate was delicious.

I was a little peeved that the drinks tent was not serving hard liquor - only water, soda and beers. By I was still trying to get “nice” on Monday by the time we reached the lunch stop, so I was hoping it would be an opportunity to catch up LOL.

On Tuesday, there were Lost Tribe attendants handing out spiked lollies, spiked Coca Cola popsicles, Prosecco poptails, water, cooling towels and more. Really loveeeed this.

Crossing the Stage. WHAT EUPHORIA! Crossing the stage is usually the highlight of my Trinidad Carnival road experience because the excitement and the emotional rush when you’re on the stage is beyond words. I do not know if it is because The Lost Tribe is a competing band, or maybe it is because I truly love the official Road March winner, “Stage Gone Bad” but that electric feeling was even more amped this year.

I crossed the stage three times - twice with The Lost Tribe and once with Rogue (yes, I lit up the rogue!). My favorite and most cherished experience was at the Socadrome with The Lost Tribe on Carnival Tuesday. I NEARLY CRIED. We were on the stage for a good amount of time - probably 10-12 minutes. My section crossed and I just did not get off; I lingered towards the end of the stage as 1…2…3 more sections after me had their moment. It was AMAZING. I hope you all experience that feeling one day.

Security. I did not experience many stormers with the Lost Tribe. I saw more on Monday, especially because it was much harder to disguise yourself in the sea of white. There were a few on Tuesday especially towards the end after we crossed the stage but it was not significant. The security was great at keeping non-masqueraders at bay and monitoring crowd control.

Las Lap. The road ended at around 7pm, and it was time to head over to Las Lap to meet up with the rest of the Tribe group of bands – Tribe, Rogue, Bliss, Harts & Pure. I actually headed home to drop off my backpack and change my shoes and headed back out to meet up with my friends, some of whom played with Rogue. Most of the good food options were gone by the time I arrived, but I was able to grab a Cinnabon.

We headed back home around 10pm. It was a very long day but it was completely worth it. Money well spent.

POST-CARNIVAL

The Lost Tribe is a competing band, and this year, they came in 3rd place for Large Band of the Year. Woohoo!

I was featured on Essence.Com! This beautiful costume and playing with Lost Tribe made me feel the essence of mas and culture, and I am grateful to have had the experience.

Planning Trinidad Carnival is long and can be tedious, but it is all so worth it in the end. Will I be back in 2021? Still to be determined, but I am keeping my eyes peeled this summer for the costumes!

Listen to a Playlist of Trinidad Carnival 2020 Soca Hits on my Spotify channel!

As always, I would like to hear your views! I have played in 3 different bands in Trinidad so far and your reviews have been helpful in making those decisions! Let me know your experiences below!