The city of Port of Spain is set to be at the heart of the festivities as Trinidad and Tobago counts down to the Mother of All Carnivals.
So says Mayor Joel Martinez.
Speaking at the launch of Downtown Carnival 2023, he introduced the concept of the “Red City”.
“We encourage our citizens to paint the city red. Red as our national color represents the vitality of our people, their warmth and energy. On an even more symbolic level, red represents the public-private partnership and its role in moving our country. towards greater development. Red is also the primary color of our corporate partner for this event, Digicel, who has generously agreed to support our culture and our capital this year,” said Mayor Martinez.
Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, Dexter “Blaxx” Stewart” and Jemma Jordan were awarded Cultural Legacy Awards for their respective contributions.
“In Port of Spain, we value those we consider cultural ambassadors of our capital,” said Mayor Martinez. “Earlier this year we honored Machel Montano with the key to the city. Just before the pandemic, we honored David Rudder and in 2018 we honored Roy Cape. In addition, Downtown Carnival has awarded Kees Dieffenthaller, Neil Iwer George, Aaron “The Voice” St. Louis and Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez.
Martinez said they were delighted to honor these individuals who deserve recognition for their tireless work and their outstanding contribution to the cultural landscape of Port of Spain and by extension the country.
The launch of the downtown carnival in Port of Spain on Friday kicked off with a street procession followed by a ceremony in Woodford Square. Attendees were treated to performances by Ding Dong, Mical Teja, Nessa Preppy, Benjai and Teddyson John.
