Photo Album

from my various travels...arranged in chronological order

	The 1996 National Panorama Semi-Finals Competition in Queens Park, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
	These are desert musicians that took part in a local city festival in Ben Guerdane, Tunisia.  One thing that impressed me about this group is the bowl-shaped drum (on the back of the center musician).  The drum had an uncanny similarity to the tassa drums played by the East Indian communities in Trinidad and Tobago.
	This is a "folkloric" presentation of a traditional Tunisian wedding procession, in the same festival.  Traditionally, the bride would be placed into the box on the camel's back, but nowadays, the box is used as a container for the wedding presents.
	This band travelled from Libya to partake in the Ben Guerdane festival (a relatively common occurrence since the town is close to the Libyan border).  Their music would be identical to that of comparable Tunisian groups; however, Ben Guerdane suffers from a lack of local community musicians.  Migration to the northern cities is the main cause--an unfortunate case of industrialization bleeding local culture.
	Coconut fields in Icacos, Trinidad, on the southernmost part of the island.  This region produces the majority of the coconuts exported from Trinidad.
	The 2003 Traditional Carnival Competition in downtown Port of Spain, Trinidad was a blast to watch.  It happened on Mardi Gras, the final evening of the Carnival festivities.  This is an event that truly represents community traditions at their finest.  (For more info on carnival traditions, please visit my carnival page).