Caribbean carnival unites against COVID misinformation

In Trinidad and Tobago, some artists have turned to traditional art forms ahead of carnival on February 20-21 to encourage their communities to follow COVID-19 health protocols as the country lifts restrictions on social gatherings. .

Dressed in black, with a billowing cape and oversized hat, artist Kurt Layne’s ghoulish ensemble blends influences from cinematic depictions of the American Wild West with West African culture. His figure is impressive when he walks down a road giving life to a traditional Carnival character, the Midnight Thief.

He recently performed at the Tobago Carnival, where took the opportunity to share her story about staying safe during the pandemic. His performance, intended to educate people, was personal.

“My mother passed away from COVID,” he said. “She would tell anyone, especially those close to me, to always be aware of the COVID protocols.”

“Pow pow, I’ve shot COVID to death,” he declared, garnering the attention of a group of children with his “Robber Talk.”

Kurt Layne’s sinister speech calls upon the best of the character’s oral skills and energetic delivery to convey a message of hope and optimism to his young listeners.

“Join us, each do your part and we’re sure to get off to a great start!”

covid impact

The twin Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 4,300 people have died from the disease and the economy, largely based on oil and gas production, suffered as demand for fuel plummeted during the global lockdown.

The Caribbean country reopened its doors to the public in April 2022, and six months later the Tobago Carnival opened on the smaller of the two islands, where Kurt Layne and other traditional festival favorites performed.

Dame Lorraine, a woman with exaggerated voluptuous curves, is another of the traditional “MAS” (short for masquerade in English) characters found at Caribbean carnival celebrations.

Played by Lesley-Ann Ellis, the character performs provocative dance moves in costumes inspired by 18th and early 19th century French colonial plantation owners.

Dame Lorraine is not associated with social commentary, but in this case Lesley-Ann Ellis incorporates a calypso song to traditional dance to encourage people to keep sanitizing hands and wearing protective masks.

“This has to stop, so cough up your sleeve, keep your distance, let this virus go.”

A cameraman films performers at the Verified Initiative Carnival in Tobago.

Both artists worked with the initiative verifieddeveloped by the United Nations with the support of the social impact agency purpose to fight misinformation about COVID-19 and provide credible, life-saving information and fact-based advice about the disease.

In Trinidad and Tobago, guided by the United Nations Information Center for the Caribbean area -based in Port of Spain-, purpose collaborated with local stakeholders such as the Tobago House of Assembly to convey messages relevant to the national cultural context.

oral traditions

Oral traditions are perfectly adequate for transmitting COVID-19 information.

Students from Signal Hill Secondary School in Tobago collaborated with the initiative verified to develop messages that encourage vaccination against COVID-19.

Student Clorysa Gill explained how the performance, known as speech band You can wow a crowd. “When you say, ‘stop yuh bow, Mr. Fiddler’the way you project your voice and the tone in which you say it, that could tell you OK, people are listening to my speech now.”

Those pro-vaccination, anti-misinformation messages will resonate at arguably the twin islands’ biggest cultural festival, the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The event that brings together the million and a half inhabitants of the islands and that attracts thousands of international visitors is held for the first time since 2020, on February 20 and 21.

“Carnivals like the one held in Tobago are the ideal setting to reach a large number of people with the messages of the campaign verified“, declared Liliana Garavito Cañón, director of the United Nations Information Center for the Caribbean.

“Among the many positive messages there is one that says that health and partying can coexist,” he added. “Everyone just has to act based on accurate information to protect themselves and stay free from COVID-19.”