Carnival Monday 2016 kicked off yesterday with some of the bigger bands crossing the judging point at South Quay with no major hiccups.
Downtown Port-of-Spain was a sea of colour and excitement as revellers defied the blazing heat in their costumes.
Machel Montano’s Waiting on Stage featuring Badjohn Republic was one of the most played songs by the bands yesterday.
Just before noon, Harts crossed the stage with their presentation of Vogue.
Harts Carnival’s band launch last year was a fashionable extravaganza for the collection aptly titled Vogue.
The collection features lots of luxurious colours and, of course, lots of feathers.
Following Harts was the band Bliss and their presentation of the Secret Garden.
This was reflected in their costumes with names such as the Tangled Web and Honey.
Tribe then followed and they presented one of their concepts this year, Lost Tribe—A Revolution of Mas.
According to Tribe, the story is told by the Spirit of the Savannah, the oldest witness to T&T’s Carnival as people know it, the centre of activities and the heartbeat of T&T’s culture.
It all refers to T&T’s “lost artistry” of Carnival which is now just a street party and not real art.
Their costume concepts included Mist, Poui Blossom, Blaze and Ava.
Other bands that followed included Island People, Ronnie and Caro and Petlemas which all passed the judges well into mid-afternoon.
The stands in South Quay, Port-of-Spain, were half empty yesterday as activities have traditionally been slower on Mondays than on Carnival Tuesday when masqueraders are out in full glitz and glamour.