There is an erroneous and misguided conversation which has been gaining momentum over the past few years regarding the Carnival of the people of Trinidad and Tobago This conversation perpetuates centuriesold colonial and elitist perspectives of our celebration it disconnects the people from this expression of themselves and trivialises the labours of thousands of citizens over many months to create the very festival that is imitated all over the world Further this conversation which labels our Carnival a distraction displays ignorance of the spiritual resistance and ritualistic underpinnings of the celebration It is therefore time to articulate a more grounded philosophical perspective and begin a new and accurate conversation To be clear Carnival is not just a party