This Week"s Caribbean Art Piece is: Monday Mas on New Street.

Carnival Tuesday is when you go out to the streets of Port-of-Spain with your band, all styled and dolled up in full costume, ready to jump up & wine down till las lap time. Carnival Monday, however, is when you simply break away and have fun! Everybody knows that. Rivaled only by the J'ouvert morning session, Carnival Monday is the time to meet up with friends, wine down to the ground, chip a lil', wine up on the big truck that's pumping the best soca for the season, and have a drink (or two, or three, or... you get the picture) You don't wear the entire costume, and there's an unparalleled musical & cultural frenzy that grips the entire country to the point where almost everyone gets involved. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed people trying to dance & wine up with on-duty police officers, parlimentary representatives, and even vagrants! I tell you, everybody gets in on the Carnival action, and the Monday Masquerade's when you really see this unifying element of Trinidad Mas. The 'Carnival Artist' Brian Wong Won captures these moments through gouache, and presents them in a manner that outshines anything that can be caught on film. The angular presentation of the backdrop, along with the almost exaggerated expressions and gestures of the masqueraders entices the viewer to take a little private jump & wave, right there on the spot... I love it!

Enjoy the pre- Carnival vibes.

L.M.N. Harris.