1 00:00:04,905 --> 00:00:05,405 ♪ 2 00:00:15,116 --> 00:00:18,219 There's Trinidad 3 00:00:18,252 --> 00:00:20,988 and Tobago. 4 00:00:21,021 --> 00:00:22,323 One country, 5 00:00:22,356 --> 00:00:24,825 two very different islands, 6 00:00:24,858 --> 00:00:27,161 two very different places. 7 00:00:29,063 --> 00:00:29,563 ♪ 8 00:00:33,534 --> 00:00:36,270 One island is what you expected when you arrived 9 00:00:36,304 --> 00:00:38,406 wearing flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt, 10 00:00:38,439 --> 00:00:40,508 all greased up with cocoa butter. 11 00:00:40,541 --> 00:00:43,777 ♪ 12 00:00:43,811 --> 00:00:47,781 The other ain't about that at all. 13 00:00:47,815 --> 00:00:48,315 ♪ 14 00:00:57,725 --> 00:00:59,960 ♪ I took a walk through this ♪ 15 00:00:59,993 --> 00:01:02,796 ♪ Beautiful world 16 00:01:02,830 --> 00:01:08,302 ♪ Felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ 17 00:01:08,336 --> 00:01:11,272 ♪ Found something good in this ♪ 18 00:01:11,305 --> 00:01:14,308 ♪ Beautiful world 19 00:01:14,342 --> 00:01:19,880 ♪ I felt the rain getting colder ♪ 20 00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:20,914 ♪ La, la 21 00:01:20,948 --> 00:01:23,717 ♪ Sha la, la, la, la 22 00:01:23,751 --> 00:01:25,286 ♪ Sha la, la, la, la 23 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:26,954 ♪ Sha la, la, la 24 00:01:26,987 --> 00:01:29,423 ♪ Sha la, la, la, la 25 00:01:29,457 --> 00:01:33,461 ♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la 26 00:01:37,365 --> 00:01:39,933 ♪ If I had the choice, I would choose ♪ 27 00:01:39,967 --> 00:01:42,570 ♪ To live back when Calypso brought the news ♪ 28 00:01:42,603 --> 00:01:45,005 ♪ If I had the choice, I would choose ♪ 29 00:01:45,038 --> 00:01:47,641 ♪ To live right back when Calypso brought the news ♪ 30 00:01:47,675 --> 00:01:50,278 ♪ No more reporters, no anchormen ♪ 31 00:01:50,311 --> 00:01:52,813 ♪ No recorder, no pad and pen ♪ 32 00:01:52,846 --> 00:01:55,283 ♪ No nosy cameras to point and shoot ♪ 33 00:01:55,316 --> 00:01:57,985 ♪ No red ink to cross out the truth ♪ 34 00:01:58,018 --> 00:01:59,487 ♪ 35 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,022 Many visitors come to Trinidad for one thing 36 00:02:02,055 --> 00:02:04,625 and one thing only, Carnival, 37 00:02:04,658 --> 00:02:07,461 which locals say is the biggest party on Earth, 38 00:02:07,495 --> 00:02:09,763 a pre-Lenten festival of costumes, 39 00:02:09,797 --> 00:02:12,766 food, copious drinking, and the kind of dancing 40 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,204 you'd better be good at before trying in public. 41 00:02:16,237 --> 00:02:19,607 It's almost two months before the party officially starts, 42 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:21,975 but here in Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain, 43 00:02:22,009 --> 00:02:25,813 the Carnival season has already begun. 44 00:02:25,846 --> 00:02:28,649 I thought it was a pity that you weren't here 45 00:02:28,682 --> 00:02:30,551 during the peak of the Carnival season. 46 00:02:30,584 --> 00:02:33,554 I'll tell you something really terrible about myself. 47 00:02:33,587 --> 00:02:36,690 Like, I've never been to Mardi Gras, Carnival in Rio, 48 00:02:36,724 --> 00:02:38,226 any kind of Carnival. Okay. 49 00:02:38,259 --> 00:02:39,960 Like, large numbers of strangers... 50 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:41,562 That is very interesting. 51 00:02:41,595 --> 00:02:43,797 Swarming through the streets dancing in uniforms? 52 00:02:43,831 --> 00:02:46,367 - Doesn't do it for you? - No. Some of my deepest fears 53 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,803 are having to dance or sing in public. 54 00:02:49,837 --> 00:02:51,672 Either of these would be terrifying, 55 00:02:51,705 --> 00:02:53,574 so this seems like a situation 56 00:02:53,607 --> 00:02:56,076 where that might come up, you know? 57 00:02:59,112 --> 00:03:01,882 ♪ 58 00:03:01,915 --> 00:03:05,986 Queen's Park Savannah will be the epicenter of Carnival, 59 00:03:06,019 --> 00:03:09,923 but tonight it's still Trinidad's street food center. 60 00:03:09,957 --> 00:03:13,761 ♪ 61 00:03:13,794 --> 00:03:16,029 My dinner companion for some fried snapper 62 00:03:16,063 --> 00:03:17,731 is La Shaun Prescott, 63 00:03:17,765 --> 00:03:20,334 who's here to tell me about two essential skills 64 00:03:20,368 --> 00:03:23,604 necessary for the proper enjoyment of local nightlife. 65 00:03:23,637 --> 00:03:29,777 Turns out I am very good at one and suck epically at the other. 66 00:03:29,810 --> 00:03:31,078 What is liming? 67 00:03:31,111 --> 00:03:34,548 Liming is, like, our version of hanging out, you know? 68 00:03:34,582 --> 00:03:37,217 - Right. - You're with friends. 69 00:03:37,251 --> 00:03:38,886 You're chilling. That's liming. 70 00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:41,114 Is there alcohol involved? Chances are if you're liming... 71 00:03:41,121 --> 00:03:42,456 Of course, probably. 72 00:03:42,490 --> 00:03:44,124 Well, I mean, you can lime without beer. 73 00:03:44,157 --> 00:03:46,960 What about the rum? I haven't had any rum here. 74 00:03:46,994 --> 00:03:48,462 How does one drink rum here, 75 00:03:48,496 --> 00:03:49,804 and which rum should I be drinking? 76 00:03:49,830 --> 00:03:51,432 Does one drink it on the rocks or mixed? 77 00:03:51,465 --> 00:03:53,301 - So one drinks it with Coke. - With Coke? 78 00:03:53,334 --> 00:03:54,968 Yeah, rum and Coke. 79 00:03:55,002 --> 00:03:56,630 But the rum's supposed to be really, really good here. 80 00:03:56,637 --> 00:03:57,638 Yeah. 81 00:03:59,807 --> 00:04:01,809 Okay, so we've established what liming is. 82 00:04:01,842 --> 00:04:03,877 What is wining? 83 00:04:06,847 --> 00:04:10,318 The technical term is the circumduction of the hips, 84 00:04:10,351 --> 00:04:12,720 and it's a style of dance. 85 00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:13,987 ♪ 86 00:04:14,021 --> 00:04:16,624 And if you're not used to the culture, 87 00:04:16,657 --> 00:04:17,918 you don't understand what it means, 88 00:04:17,925 --> 00:04:19,593 you can interpret it the wrong way. 89 00:04:19,627 --> 00:04:21,295 When you see it for the first time, 90 00:04:21,329 --> 00:04:23,997 you can think it's seductive, you can think it's sexual. 91 00:04:24,031 --> 00:04:26,334 ♪ 92 00:04:26,367 --> 00:04:28,436 But people can wine on each other 93 00:04:28,469 --> 00:04:29,970 and not really mean anything. Right. 94 00:04:30,003 --> 00:04:31,532 I could wine on you, and it doesn't mean 95 00:04:31,539 --> 00:04:33,140 that I want to take you home, you know? 96 00:04:33,173 --> 00:04:35,343 It's something that's really about freedom 97 00:04:35,376 --> 00:04:37,144 of expression of self, 98 00:04:37,177 --> 00:04:41,982 and it's something that crosses ages, races, 99 00:04:42,015 --> 00:04:45,753 ethnicities, especially during Carnival time. 100 00:04:45,786 --> 00:04:48,989 You see people from high status and people who are, 101 00:04:49,022 --> 00:04:51,525 you know, lower class, they both wine together. 102 00:04:51,559 --> 00:04:53,927 You know, the barriers are no longer there. 103 00:04:53,961 --> 00:04:57,998 It's all just a mix of all different ethnicities and stuff. 104 00:04:58,031 --> 00:05:00,267 ♪ 105 00:05:03,236 --> 00:05:05,038 ♪ 106 00:05:05,072 --> 00:05:08,041 The faces you see in the streets are African, 107 00:05:08,075 --> 00:05:09,377 Indian, Chinese, 108 00:05:09,410 --> 00:05:11,311 Middle Eastern in features 109 00:05:11,345 --> 00:05:14,982 and every shade of mix in between. 110 00:05:15,015 --> 00:05:17,685 This patchwork of ethnic identities and colors 111 00:05:17,718 --> 00:05:21,889 is a direct legacy of Trinidad's colonial past. 112 00:05:21,922 --> 00:05:24,625 Located at the southern end of the Caribbean Sea, 113 00:05:24,658 --> 00:05:27,327 seven miles offshore from Venezuela, 114 00:05:27,361 --> 00:05:29,363 Trinidad and Tobago have long been 115 00:05:29,397 --> 00:05:31,399 important ports of call. 116 00:05:35,936 --> 00:05:38,238 Like a lot of islands in the area, 117 00:05:38,271 --> 00:05:41,675 everybody's been through here at one point or another. 118 00:05:41,709 --> 00:05:44,412 The usual European hunters of fortune. 119 00:05:44,445 --> 00:05:46,246 The Spanish came looking for gold. 120 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,083 Then the Dutch, French, and British took their turns 121 00:05:50,117 --> 00:05:52,753 at the real money of the time, sugar, 122 00:05:52,786 --> 00:05:57,190 an economy built on plantation labor and slavery. 123 00:05:57,224 --> 00:06:01,328 Finally, the island hit the big money... 124 00:06:01,361 --> 00:06:03,731 oil. 125 00:06:14,307 --> 00:06:16,043 During World War II, 126 00:06:16,076 --> 00:06:18,011 a pair of seemingly unrelated events 127 00:06:18,045 --> 00:06:21,482 had a big impact on the island's musical culture. 128 00:06:26,654 --> 00:06:28,722 The U.S. Navy built an oil depot 129 00:06:28,756 --> 00:06:31,459 to supply overseas strategic needs. 130 00:06:35,128 --> 00:06:37,631 And the ruling British banned drums 131 00:06:37,665 --> 00:06:39,800 made from traditional-style animal skins 132 00:06:39,833 --> 00:06:41,702 after a series of riots 133 00:06:41,735 --> 00:06:45,205 they insisted were inspired by African drumming. 134 00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:48,308 ♪ 135 00:06:48,341 --> 00:06:51,479 One improvises in such circumstances, 136 00:06:51,512 --> 00:06:54,314 and all those oil drums were repurposed. 137 00:06:54,347 --> 00:06:57,751 ♪ 138 00:07:01,021 --> 00:07:01,521 ♪ 139 00:07:06,359 --> 00:07:10,263 This is Phase II, one of only 11 large steel bands 140 00:07:10,297 --> 00:07:13,300 taking part in the worldwide competition, Panorama, 141 00:07:13,333 --> 00:07:15,335 that happens in a few weeks. 142 00:07:15,368 --> 00:07:18,005 Winner gets 150 grand. 143 00:07:18,038 --> 00:07:20,808 ♪ 144 00:07:20,841 --> 00:07:23,010 They've taken home the prize seven times, 145 00:07:23,043 --> 00:07:25,445 in no small part due to this man, 146 00:07:25,479 --> 00:07:27,114 Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe. 147 00:07:27,147 --> 00:07:27,647 ♪ 148 00:07:35,723 --> 00:07:37,825 The rehearsal space is called a pan yard, 149 00:07:37,858 --> 00:07:41,128 and if you're lucky, somebody nearby is making this, 150 00:07:41,161 --> 00:07:43,531 corn soup, 151 00:07:43,564 --> 00:07:44,932 split pea broth, 152 00:07:44,965 --> 00:07:48,636 dumplings, and, of course, corn. 153 00:07:48,669 --> 00:07:50,971 Kim Johnson is a local journalist and historian 154 00:07:51,004 --> 00:07:52,640 who knows about this stuff. 155 00:07:52,673 --> 00:07:56,009 It's far more complex than you think. 156 00:07:56,043 --> 00:07:56,543 ♪ 157 00:08:00,981 --> 00:08:03,784 Wow. I got to tell you, that was incredible. 158 00:08:03,817 --> 00:08:06,053 I heard a lot of, you know, little steel drum bands 159 00:08:06,086 --> 00:08:09,857 around the Caribbean, but nothing like that. 160 00:08:09,890 --> 00:08:12,526 All percussion, right? 100%? Yes. 161 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,195 How did your interest in this develop? 162 00:08:15,228 --> 00:08:18,131 I grew up here. Later I became a writer. 163 00:08:18,165 --> 00:08:22,135 I discovered there just hundreds of stories. 164 00:08:24,605 --> 00:08:26,974 Because in the early days, 165 00:08:27,007 --> 00:08:29,376 up until the '60s the steel bands 166 00:08:29,409 --> 00:08:31,845 were partly like... Like street gangs. 167 00:08:31,879 --> 00:08:33,847 They would fight one another, 168 00:08:33,881 --> 00:08:35,749 the "West Side Story" kind of thing. 169 00:08:35,783 --> 00:08:38,485 The steel bands doubled as that. 170 00:08:38,518 --> 00:08:39,018 ♪ 171 00:08:42,623 --> 00:08:44,858 So I just got fascinated 172 00:08:44,892 --> 00:08:47,060 by tracking down all of these pioneers 173 00:08:47,094 --> 00:08:49,396 and getting their stories of how they got involved. 174 00:08:49,429 --> 00:08:51,498 I'll been 64 years this year. 175 00:08:51,531 --> 00:08:52,833 I play music since I was a kid. 176 00:08:52,866 --> 00:08:54,735 And his story is that he grew up with them 177 00:08:54,768 --> 00:08:56,103 in one of his back yards. 178 00:08:56,136 --> 00:08:57,771 When he was about three years old, 179 00:08:57,805 --> 00:08:59,773 he was going out playing with them. 180 00:09:03,043 --> 00:09:05,779 ♪ 181 00:09:05,813 --> 00:09:07,280 Boogsie composes his pieces 182 00:09:07,314 --> 00:09:09,349 by layering different types of drums 183 00:09:09,382 --> 00:09:10,951 on top of each other. 184 00:09:10,984 --> 00:09:13,553 Engine Room, made of unpitched percussion, 185 00:09:13,587 --> 00:09:15,088 lays down the groove. 186 00:09:15,122 --> 00:09:15,622 ♪ 187 00:09:20,427 --> 00:09:24,131 Next, a section of six bass pans drops a bass line. 188 00:09:24,164 --> 00:09:24,664 ♪ 189 00:09:31,739 --> 00:09:34,307 The guitar and cello pans add harmonies 190 00:09:34,341 --> 00:09:37,711 that sound like strumming. 191 00:09:37,745 --> 00:09:38,245 ♪ 192 00:09:46,119 --> 00:09:49,289 And the frontline pans play the melody. 193 00:09:49,322 --> 00:09:49,822 ♪ 194 00:09:57,765 --> 00:10:00,600 The result? A symphonic wall of sound. 195 00:10:00,634 --> 00:10:01,969 ♪ 196 00:10:02,002 --> 00:10:05,005 I'd like someday to marriage this 197 00:10:05,038 --> 00:10:07,107 with a big orchestra, symphony orchestra. 198 00:10:07,140 --> 00:10:11,178 Yeah, that's... that's my dream. 199 00:10:11,211 --> 00:10:15,983 It's because of the music Africans survived slavery, 200 00:10:16,016 --> 00:10:18,952 not just physically, survived psychically. 201 00:10:18,986 --> 00:10:22,756 It's a question of just improvising instruments. 202 00:10:22,790 --> 00:10:23,290 ♪ 203 00:10:52,753 --> 00:10:53,253 ♪ 204 00:11:01,261 --> 00:11:02,696 Thanks so much. 205 00:11:02,730 --> 00:11:04,564 Holy crap, okay. 206 00:11:04,597 --> 00:11:06,033 This is a challenge. 207 00:11:06,066 --> 00:11:07,835 People keep coming up to me in the street. 208 00:11:07,868 --> 00:11:09,402 The first thing they say is, 209 00:11:09,436 --> 00:11:12,239 "Have you had doubles yet? Did you get a doubles yet?" 210 00:11:12,272 --> 00:11:15,308 So I'm eating doubles, all right? 211 00:11:15,342 --> 00:11:18,912 ♪ 212 00:11:18,946 --> 00:11:21,048 Doubles are a Caribbean take 213 00:11:21,081 --> 00:11:22,750 on the Indian chana bhatura, 214 00:11:22,783 --> 00:11:24,752 two floppy, tender pieces of soft, 215 00:11:24,785 --> 00:11:26,253 Indian-style bread 216 00:11:26,286 --> 00:11:28,822 loaded with a wet heap of curried chickpeas, 217 00:11:28,856 --> 00:11:31,191 pepper sauce, and mango. 218 00:11:33,093 --> 00:11:36,396 Structurally, I have questions here. 219 00:11:38,365 --> 00:11:41,268 Yeah, I don't want seepage. Seepage is never... never good. 220 00:11:41,301 --> 00:11:43,403 If somebody uses "seepage" in a sentence, 221 00:11:43,436 --> 00:11:46,974 it... it... nothing good is gonna happen. 222 00:11:48,909 --> 00:11:50,944 I'm gonna suck the paper. 223 00:11:50,978 --> 00:11:53,613 I don't think there's meat in here, 224 00:11:53,646 --> 00:11:55,115 but I still like it. 225 00:11:55,148 --> 00:11:57,350 It's really, really good. 226 00:11:57,384 --> 00:12:00,788 ♪ 227 00:12:03,824 --> 00:12:04,324 ♪ 228 00:12:12,232 --> 00:12:14,134 A half-century after Trinidad 229 00:12:14,167 --> 00:12:16,403 became independent of the British Empire, 230 00:12:16,436 --> 00:12:20,207 there are surprisingly few architectural remnants, 231 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:21,942 but the face of the country 232 00:12:21,975 --> 00:12:23,777 and its population were forever changed 233 00:12:23,811 --> 00:12:26,079 when slavery ended in 1834 234 00:12:26,113 --> 00:12:28,548 and Great Britain found itself in need of cheap, 235 00:12:28,581 --> 00:12:33,120 if not free, labor to work the plantations. 236 00:12:33,153 --> 00:12:36,323 They found it in East India. 237 00:12:36,356 --> 00:12:39,659 At the abolition of slavery, the plantation owners 238 00:12:39,692 --> 00:12:41,161 desperately needed to find labor 239 00:12:41,194 --> 00:12:43,230 to fill the void created by the slaves 240 00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:45,298 who turned their backs on the plantation 241 00:12:45,332 --> 00:12:48,068 for obvious reasons, and they looked around. 242 00:12:48,101 --> 00:12:49,837 They tried Portuguese. They tried Chinese. 243 00:12:49,870 --> 00:12:51,438 They tried many communities 244 00:12:51,471 --> 00:12:53,506 until they found out that Indians are the best suited 245 00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:55,001 because they were already planting sugarcane 246 00:12:55,008 --> 00:12:57,644 in India successfully. 247 00:12:57,677 --> 00:13:00,180 ♪ 248 00:13:00,213 --> 00:13:01,915 Between the end of outright slavery 249 00:13:01,949 --> 00:13:03,783 and the beginning of World War I, 250 00:13:03,817 --> 00:13:08,021 150,000 indenturedservants were brought here from India. 251 00:13:08,055 --> 00:13:12,192 Indentured servitude is slavery by another name. 252 00:13:12,225 --> 00:13:14,995 The people brought here from India were bought, sold, 253 00:13:15,028 --> 00:13:17,530 and treated like property but were told that 254 00:13:17,564 --> 00:13:20,767 if they completed five years of often back-breaking labor, 255 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,470 they would be set free. 256 00:13:26,506 --> 00:13:27,006 ♪ 257 00:13:31,144 --> 00:13:33,646 Noon on a Monday, ordinarily a workday, 258 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,616 but today the Singh family is having a boys' river wine. 259 00:13:40,587 --> 00:13:43,556 Chan, the patriarch, is a retired diplomat. 260 00:13:43,590 --> 00:13:46,559 His son, Keshav, is a music producer. 261 00:13:46,593 --> 00:13:49,796 Uncle Charlie is in charge of the cooking. 262 00:13:49,829 --> 00:13:52,065 ♪ 263 00:13:52,099 --> 00:13:54,667 How far back does the family go? 264 00:13:54,701 --> 00:13:57,404 This family goes back to 1845. 265 00:13:57,437 --> 00:13:59,506 1845? Those were hard times. 266 00:13:59,539 --> 00:14:02,409 Life was not good for y... For the family in India. 267 00:14:02,442 --> 00:14:03,750 There was poverty, there was wars 268 00:14:03,776 --> 00:14:05,005 and all sorts of things, and yes. 269 00:14:05,012 --> 00:14:06,313 - Famine. - They came into real 270 00:14:06,346 --> 00:14:08,015 hard times here because the Indian 271 00:14:08,048 --> 00:14:11,018 immigrants from India replaced the liberated slaves, 272 00:14:11,051 --> 00:14:12,819 and the conditions were not very different. 273 00:14:12,852 --> 00:14:15,555 Difficult times, but it was a means to social mobility 274 00:14:15,588 --> 00:14:19,092 and away from the situation in India. 275 00:14:19,126 --> 00:14:22,029 We part of the descendents of that generation. 276 00:14:22,062 --> 00:14:22,562 ♪ 277 00:14:29,802 --> 00:14:30,938 Hey! 278 00:14:33,740 --> 00:14:37,244 Start with one whole duck, hack into pieces, 279 00:14:37,277 --> 00:14:41,114 rub with lime juice, season with hot peppers, garlic, 280 00:14:41,148 --> 00:14:43,951 and the tropical herb shado beni. 281 00:14:43,984 --> 00:14:47,354 Add generous helpings of masala and curry powder. 282 00:14:47,387 --> 00:14:50,357 Marinate for a bit, then sear in oil, 283 00:14:50,390 --> 00:14:53,626 then simmer in coconut milk until tender. 284 00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:55,462 Mmm, man, that's good. 285 00:14:55,495 --> 00:14:57,464 The pepper's soft. Really hot peppers. 286 00:14:57,497 --> 00:14:59,466 - Yeah. - That's really good. 287 00:14:59,499 --> 00:15:01,401 We got to kill some more ducks 'cause that is... 288 00:15:01,434 --> 00:15:03,603 When we have it like this, 289 00:15:03,636 --> 00:15:05,805 when we're drinking before the actual meal, 290 00:15:05,838 --> 00:15:08,141 it's like an appetizer, but we call it cutters 291 00:15:08,175 --> 00:15:09,977 because it cuts the alcohol. 292 00:15:10,010 --> 00:15:11,611 Yeah. 293 00:15:11,644 --> 00:15:15,282 Right, I'm sobering up as we speak. 294 00:15:15,315 --> 00:15:16,984 So, look, you're all Trinidadian? 295 00:15:17,017 --> 00:15:18,418 - Mm-hmm. - Yes. 296 00:15:18,451 --> 00:15:19,953 It's Trinidad first, Indian second. 297 00:15:19,987 --> 00:15:20,988 - Yeah. - 'Cause, I mean, 298 00:15:21,021 --> 00:15:22,222 when the Indians came, 299 00:15:22,255 --> 00:15:23,623 you know, 160-something years ago, 300 00:15:23,656 --> 00:15:26,059 there was a disconnect with the motherland. 301 00:15:26,093 --> 00:15:27,560 Most of these Indian were promised 302 00:15:27,594 --> 00:15:29,496 that they were going for a short tenure 303 00:15:29,529 --> 00:15:33,433 to make a lot of money and then return home. 304 00:15:33,466 --> 00:15:36,269 They gave return passage or land... or land. 305 00:15:36,303 --> 00:15:39,172 So when the first Indians took the option to go back, 306 00:15:39,206 --> 00:15:41,241 couldn't find their families. Right. 307 00:15:41,274 --> 00:15:43,310 And those who found their family were rejected 308 00:15:43,343 --> 00:15:45,105 because they said, "You guys abandoned us for five years." 309 00:15:45,112 --> 00:15:46,413 - Wow. - "You may as well take 310 00:15:46,446 --> 00:15:48,148 that five acres of land and stay there." 311 00:15:48,181 --> 00:15:51,351 So there's no closure to descendants like us 312 00:15:51,384 --> 00:15:53,653 who have not found any connection 313 00:15:53,686 --> 00:15:56,223 between our families in India. 314 00:15:58,858 --> 00:16:02,295 Soft paratha dough is cooked on a massive tawa 315 00:16:02,329 --> 00:16:06,833 and slathered with ghee. 316 00:16:06,866 --> 00:16:10,137 But here, just as it's reaching peak flakiness, 317 00:16:10,170 --> 00:16:13,373 it gets a beating. 318 00:16:13,406 --> 00:16:14,774 Here they call it buss-up-shut, 319 00:16:14,807 --> 00:16:15,942 which means "burst up shirt." 320 00:16:15,975 --> 00:16:17,377 - Burst up shirt? - Yeah. 321 00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:18,638 Because they'd make a huge paratha, 322 00:16:18,645 --> 00:16:20,213 and then they whack it with two sticks. 323 00:16:20,247 --> 00:16:21,841 Oh, okay, I thought they were talking about 324 00:16:21,848 --> 00:16:24,317 what's gonna happen to my shirt after I eat it. 325 00:16:27,087 --> 00:16:28,388 What about skin color? 326 00:16:28,421 --> 00:16:29,722 Look, you look at Jamaica, 327 00:16:29,756 --> 00:16:30,823 you look at Haiti. 328 00:16:30,857 --> 00:16:32,459 I don't care what they say, 329 00:16:32,492 --> 00:16:37,230 but what they do is it's still a powerful determinant 330 00:16:37,264 --> 00:16:40,533 of where your status is in the... In a power structure. 331 00:16:40,567 --> 00:16:42,369 - Yeah. - Does that exist here? 332 00:16:42,402 --> 00:16:44,904 It's not something that has consumed our imagination. 333 00:16:44,937 --> 00:16:49,409 Being Trinidadian is not necessarily color-tone oriented, 334 00:16:49,442 --> 00:16:52,011 but it's more... and I think what people really revel in 335 00:16:52,045 --> 00:16:54,247 and enjoy is the common experiences. 336 00:16:54,281 --> 00:16:57,650 The food is the glue that binds the society together. 337 00:16:57,684 --> 00:17:00,220 In spite of the problem that we have here, 338 00:17:00,253 --> 00:17:02,021 we are still one of the most harmonious, 339 00:17:02,055 --> 00:17:03,656 multiethnic society in the world, 340 00:17:03,690 --> 00:17:06,393 and the multi-ethnicity of Trinidad, 341 00:17:06,426 --> 00:17:08,528 the bigger multi-religious tolerance 342 00:17:08,561 --> 00:17:10,697 are examples for the world to follow. 343 00:17:10,730 --> 00:17:12,599 We are a small island, and if you don't learn 344 00:17:12,632 --> 00:17:14,434 to live together, you have to live in the sea. 345 00:17:14,467 --> 00:17:17,704 We have to. Right? 346 00:17:20,073 --> 00:17:23,276 ♪ Oh why Trinidad is nice 347 00:17:23,310 --> 00:17:26,713 ♪ Trinidad is a paradise 348 00:17:26,746 --> 00:17:28,881 ♪ Trinidad is nice 349 00:17:28,915 --> 00:17:31,017 ♪ Trinidad is a paradise 350 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:34,553 ♪ 351 00:17:41,794 --> 00:17:43,796 Yeah, my theory was always the whole world 352 00:17:43,830 --> 00:17:46,799 is gonna look like Trinidad in another 100 years, anyway. 353 00:17:46,833 --> 00:17:49,068 - It'd be a great world. - Well, I think so. 354 00:17:49,102 --> 00:17:51,138 Cheers to that. Cheers, cheers. 355 00:17:51,171 --> 00:17:53,440 - Cheers. - Cheers to that. 356 00:17:53,473 --> 00:17:55,308 ♪ Trinidad is nice 357 00:17:55,342 --> 00:17:57,544 ♪ Trinidad is a paradise 358 00:17:57,577 --> 00:17:59,812 ♪ Why, Trinidad is nice 359 00:17:59,846 --> 00:18:04,251 ♪ Trinidad is a paradise 360 00:18:04,284 --> 00:18:06,119 Thank you. 361 00:18:18,030 --> 00:18:18,530 ♪ 362 00:18:24,137 --> 00:18:27,507 It started in 1898, more than 100 years ago. 363 00:18:27,540 --> 00:18:31,344 Most of the Christians were being persecuted by the Turks, 364 00:18:31,378 --> 00:18:36,449 so there was an exodus of Christians leaving Syria. 365 00:18:36,483 --> 00:18:38,951 They boarded the ships from Beirut, 366 00:18:38,985 --> 00:18:42,355 and as long as it was heading west, 367 00:18:42,389 --> 00:18:46,293 they thought they were going to America. 368 00:18:46,326 --> 00:18:48,528 Many of our parents landed in Trinidad, 369 00:18:48,561 --> 00:18:50,497 and that's when we started. 370 00:18:50,530 --> 00:18:53,633 That's the first generation. 371 00:18:53,666 --> 00:18:55,702 Just outside of Port of Spain, 372 00:18:55,735 --> 00:18:59,439 Bayshore is one of the priciest neighborhoods in the country. 373 00:18:59,472 --> 00:19:01,374 I'm here as a guest of the Sabgavuds, 374 00:19:01,408 --> 00:19:04,877 a successful family of Lebanese Syrians. 375 00:19:04,911 --> 00:19:07,714 - Look at... isn't this amazing? - Beirut. 376 00:19:07,747 --> 00:19:10,717 Oh, yes, like Beirut. You know arak? 377 00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:12,352 - I do indeed. - Would you like arak? 378 00:19:12,385 --> 00:19:13,686 A little ice and some water 379 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:15,322 would be perfect. It would be perfect. 380 00:19:15,355 --> 00:19:17,890 My drink of choice is Grey Goose and coconut water. 381 00:19:17,924 --> 00:19:21,060 The family's story is not an uncommon one. 382 00:19:21,093 --> 00:19:22,562 The first members came here 383 00:19:22,595 --> 00:19:24,964 during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, 384 00:19:24,997 --> 00:19:26,699 arriving penniless. 385 00:19:26,733 --> 00:19:29,402 They worked their way up as textile merchants 386 00:19:29,436 --> 00:19:31,571 and branched out to run businesses that sell 387 00:19:31,604 --> 00:19:34,474 everything from medical equipment to real estate. 388 00:19:34,507 --> 00:19:38,245 And how large is the community now in Trinidad? 389 00:19:38,278 --> 00:19:39,812 A little under 5,000. 390 00:19:39,846 --> 00:19:42,815 That's still a fairly small percentage of the... 391 00:19:42,849 --> 00:19:44,251 Extremely small. 392 00:19:44,284 --> 00:19:47,554 Actually, we are the smallest ethnic group in Trinidad. 393 00:19:47,587 --> 00:19:50,089 But the most powerful, almost the most powerful. 394 00:19:50,122 --> 00:19:51,691 Small but the most powerful, huh? 395 00:19:51,724 --> 00:19:53,326 That's not bragging. 396 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:58,598 Syrian-Lebanese merchant class are generally seen as the elite. 397 00:19:58,631 --> 00:20:00,433 Actually, I'm very big in the food business. 398 00:20:00,467 --> 00:20:02,369 I have a 120 restaurants. 399 00:20:02,402 --> 00:20:04,404 Call me the Starbucks of the Caribbean. 400 00:20:06,539 --> 00:20:09,276 I can't tell you how happy I am about this meal. 401 00:20:09,309 --> 00:20:11,411 I love, love the food. 402 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:15,615 This is raw kibbeh, 403 00:20:15,648 --> 00:20:17,717 the best raw kibbeh you'll ever eat in your life. 404 00:20:17,750 --> 00:20:19,719 - Yeah. - This is the fried version, 405 00:20:19,752 --> 00:20:21,621 which is stuffed with the nice stuffing, 406 00:20:21,654 --> 00:20:24,424 and then we have the typical hummus. 407 00:20:24,457 --> 00:20:26,926 This is muhammara, which is made from chili paste 408 00:20:26,959 --> 00:20:30,530 and ground nuts, the best muhammara in Trinidad. 409 00:20:30,563 --> 00:20:32,432 Then we have falafel patties. 410 00:20:32,465 --> 00:20:34,126 We have grilled wings with garlic, which is... 411 00:20:34,133 --> 00:20:35,468 Every Arab loves, 412 00:20:35,502 --> 00:20:37,470 Fish in tahini sauce. You ever had that? 413 00:20:37,504 --> 00:20:39,306 - Yeah, beautiful. - See, I'm gonna pour 414 00:20:39,339 --> 00:20:42,642 some olive oil over our lovely things 415 00:20:42,675 --> 00:20:44,143 'cause olive oil is a must. 416 00:20:44,176 --> 00:20:46,879 I mean, and how closely do people stay in contact 417 00:20:46,913 --> 00:20:47,837 with family or relatives 418 00:20:47,847 --> 00:20:50,817 back in Lebanon or Syria if at all? 419 00:20:50,850 --> 00:20:53,085 - Not very much. - We are Trinidadians too. 420 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:56,423 As much as we are Lebanese and Syrian, we are Trinidadians. 421 00:20:56,456 --> 00:20:59,626 Trinidad has been good to us, and we know it. 422 00:20:59,659 --> 00:21:01,428 But life is good here in Trinidad. 423 00:21:01,461 --> 00:21:02,829 Life is very good, 424 00:21:02,862 --> 00:21:04,964 but there is a measure of concern in the fact 425 00:21:04,997 --> 00:21:08,635 that at one time we used to have a huge middle class 426 00:21:08,668 --> 00:21:10,770 which was a sort of a security 427 00:21:10,803 --> 00:21:13,005 in terms of any possible conflict 428 00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:15,174 between the haves and the have-not. 429 00:21:15,207 --> 00:21:18,411 But now that's eroding, and they're getting poorer, 430 00:21:18,445 --> 00:21:20,780 so they're starting to get angry. 431 00:21:20,813 --> 00:21:23,850 What do you think the biggest danger is right now? 432 00:21:23,883 --> 00:21:25,518 Civil commotion. 433 00:21:25,552 --> 00:21:27,186 - Yes. - Civil commotion? 434 00:21:27,219 --> 00:21:30,657 Yeah. We have a crime problem related to gangs. 435 00:21:30,690 --> 00:21:32,992 Gang warfare. Related to gang warfare. 436 00:21:33,025 --> 00:21:36,896 It ain't all good for everybody here by a long shot. 437 00:21:42,402 --> 00:21:45,872 Trinidad, with a population of only 1.3 million people, 438 00:21:45,905 --> 00:21:49,842 had 460 murders last year, giving Port of Spain 439 00:21:49,876 --> 00:21:52,545 a per capita murder rate higher than Detroit, 440 00:21:52,579 --> 00:21:55,014 Oakland, or Chicago. 441 00:21:55,047 --> 00:21:57,450 Mark Bassant covers the subjects of drug 442 00:21:57,484 --> 00:22:01,220 and gang-related violence as an investigative journalist. 443 00:22:01,253 --> 00:22:03,890 People want you dead? 444 00:22:03,923 --> 00:22:05,392 You could say that. 445 00:22:05,425 --> 00:22:07,394 Who wants you dead, do you think? 446 00:22:07,427 --> 00:22:08,895 Well, two years ago I did 447 00:22:08,928 --> 00:22:10,863 a piece about the state prosecutor, 448 00:22:10,897 --> 00:22:12,799 Dana Seetahal, who was shot dead. 449 00:22:12,832 --> 00:22:15,234 When state prosecutor Dana Seetahal left 450 00:22:15,267 --> 00:22:18,738 the Ma Pau car park just before midnight on May 3rd, 451 00:22:18,771 --> 00:22:22,008 she had no inclination it would be her last moments alive. 452 00:22:22,041 --> 00:22:25,211 When Mark began to look into the murder of the prosecutor, 453 00:22:25,244 --> 00:22:26,679 an informant told him 454 00:22:26,713 --> 00:22:29,582 there was a $20,000 contract on his life. 455 00:22:29,616 --> 00:22:32,485 They had people following me over a period of time, 456 00:22:32,519 --> 00:22:34,721 some law enforcement officers and so on, 457 00:22:34,754 --> 00:22:38,425 so my company put me on a plane. 458 00:22:38,458 --> 00:22:40,359 I went... I stayed under an assumed name 459 00:22:40,393 --> 00:22:44,363 for about three months in a location outside of Trinidad. 460 00:22:44,397 --> 00:22:48,935 Generally speaking, when people like that want you dead, 461 00:22:48,968 --> 00:22:50,937 they get you. 462 00:22:50,970 --> 00:22:52,605 Why are you back? 463 00:22:52,639 --> 00:22:55,341 I guess, to quote from a great 464 00:22:55,374 --> 00:22:56,843 U.S. journalist, Walter Cronkite, 465 00:22:56,876 --> 00:22:58,578 "It's not what you want people to know. 466 00:22:58,611 --> 00:23:00,246 It's what they need to know." 467 00:23:00,279 --> 00:23:02,949 We need to have people held accountable for certain things. 468 00:23:02,982 --> 00:23:08,020 With drug trafficking being one of the biggest businesses 469 00:23:08,054 --> 00:23:09,288 in the world, 470 00:23:09,321 --> 00:23:12,525 Trinidad continues to be a major transshipment point 471 00:23:12,559 --> 00:23:14,060 for drug dealers 472 00:23:14,093 --> 00:23:17,296 to get that product out to North America 473 00:23:17,329 --> 00:23:18,931 and to Europe, 474 00:23:18,965 --> 00:23:22,134 so you find now the explosion of violence 475 00:23:22,168 --> 00:23:24,136 that we have is for those 476 00:23:24,170 --> 00:23:27,774 that are involved locally with the drug trafficking, 477 00:23:27,807 --> 00:23:29,642 this fight for territory. 478 00:23:29,676 --> 00:23:33,546 An estimated $3.5 billion worth of narcotics 479 00:23:33,580 --> 00:23:35,882 moves through the Caribbean each year. 480 00:23:35,915 --> 00:23:37,817 Trinidad's porous borders, 481 00:23:37,850 --> 00:23:40,419 busy port, proximity to Venezuela, 482 00:23:40,453 --> 00:23:43,155 and the inevitable corruption that comes with numbers 483 00:23:43,189 --> 00:23:45,124 and threats like that make it, 484 00:23:45,157 --> 00:23:48,628 unfortunately, an ideal transshipment point. 485 00:23:50,497 --> 00:23:54,501 How bad is high-level corruption alleged to be? 486 00:23:54,534 --> 00:23:57,136 Fairly deep. I think that the complicity 487 00:23:57,169 --> 00:24:00,607 comes across the law enforcement agencies, 488 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:05,578 customs, police officers, even at higher levels. 489 00:24:05,612 --> 00:24:08,848 And with corruption, poverty, hopelessness, 490 00:24:08,881 --> 00:24:10,917 add some radical ideology to that, 491 00:24:10,950 --> 00:24:13,853 and Trinidad has proved relatively fertile ground 492 00:24:13,886 --> 00:24:17,189 for the recruitment of ISIS fighters... 493 00:24:17,223 --> 00:24:18,791 and terrorists. 494 00:24:18,825 --> 00:24:21,761 It's quite alarming, Trinidadian nationals 495 00:24:21,794 --> 00:24:25,131 being one of the highest in the region going to Syria, 496 00:24:25,164 --> 00:24:28,034 and it's over a hundred on a list, FBI list. 497 00:24:28,067 --> 00:24:31,203 They feel that it's their calling from ISIS 498 00:24:31,237 --> 00:24:32,505 that they need to go. 499 00:24:32,539 --> 00:24:34,040 So what's the future look like? 500 00:24:34,073 --> 00:24:35,942 What do you think? How's it gonna go? 501 00:24:35,975 --> 00:24:38,645 Wow, that's a loaded question. 502 00:24:38,678 --> 00:24:40,880 There are really good people here in Trinidad. 503 00:24:40,913 --> 00:24:42,381 They're really, really good people 504 00:24:42,414 --> 00:24:44,483 that can make a difference on all fronts. 505 00:24:44,517 --> 00:24:46,819 If we go down the path that we go now, 506 00:24:46,853 --> 00:24:49,989 there will be all bad. 507 00:25:03,202 --> 00:25:03,702 ♪ 508 00:25:13,780 --> 00:25:16,215 In 1990 the radical Islamic group 509 00:25:16,248 --> 00:25:20,419 Jamaat al Muslimeen laid siege to Trinidad's parliament, 510 00:25:20,452 --> 00:25:23,690 claiming they were responding to rising inequality, poverty, 511 00:25:23,723 --> 00:25:26,826 and religious discrimination. 512 00:25:26,859 --> 00:25:30,597 What ensued was a violent and terrifying disaster. 513 00:25:30,630 --> 00:25:33,265 26 people were killed in skirmishes, 514 00:25:33,299 --> 00:25:36,002 and the hostage-takers, would-be revolutionaries, 515 00:25:36,035 --> 00:25:40,272 gave up in exchange for clemency after six days. 516 00:25:40,306 --> 00:25:43,075 Little changed. 517 00:25:46,112 --> 00:25:49,616 ♪ 518 00:25:49,649 --> 00:25:53,252 Muhammad Muwakil's father took part in the attempted coup. 519 00:25:53,285 --> 00:25:54,721 He grew up, in fact, 520 00:25:54,754 --> 00:25:57,056 in the Jamaat al Muslimeen compound, 521 00:25:57,089 --> 00:26:00,627 but he's chosen to take a different path, music. 522 00:26:04,496 --> 00:26:07,266 He's the lead singer of Freetown Collective, 523 00:26:07,299 --> 00:26:09,802 a band named after a Port of Spain neighborhood 524 00:26:09,836 --> 00:26:12,238 that was once a settlement for freed slaves. 525 00:26:12,271 --> 00:26:15,742 ♪ They say we can't write no love songs ♪ 526 00:26:15,775 --> 00:26:18,878 ♪ Live fast and we die young ♪ 527 00:26:18,911 --> 00:26:21,981 ♪ They say we doomed to fail, yeah ♪ 528 00:26:22,014 --> 00:26:24,150 ♪ They say we doomed to fail 529 00:26:24,183 --> 00:26:26,318 ♪ They say we prone to violence ♪ 530 00:26:26,352 --> 00:26:30,389 - ♪ Violence - ♪ And a sinking silence 531 00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:34,260 ♪ They don't know what they say, no, no, no, no, no ♪ 532 00:26:34,293 --> 00:26:36,095 ♪ No, no, no, no 533 00:26:36,128 --> 00:26:37,830 Much like a lot of reggae, 534 00:26:37,864 --> 00:26:40,066 his music calls out the social ills 535 00:26:40,099 --> 00:26:41,901 that have been disproportionately visited 536 00:26:41,934 --> 00:26:45,337 on the Afro-Caribbean population. 537 00:26:45,371 --> 00:26:48,474 ♪ I see bodies lying in the streets ♪ 538 00:26:48,507 --> 00:26:52,679 ♪ Nations collapse in the midday heat ♪ 539 00:26:52,712 --> 00:26:55,848 ♪ Lord, I need to cool my head ♪ 540 00:26:55,882 --> 00:26:57,750 ♪ My head 541 00:26:57,784 --> 00:27:00,352 ♪ They calling it a brave new world ♪ 542 00:27:00,386 --> 00:27:03,322 ♪ Freedom for brave new boys and girls ♪ 543 00:27:03,355 --> 00:27:07,860 ♪ What good is freedom if you're dead? ♪ 544 00:27:07,894 --> 00:27:09,528 You look around my city right now, 545 00:27:09,561 --> 00:27:11,356 and a lot of young people are choosing death over life 546 00:27:11,363 --> 00:27:13,058 because the life that they look at doesn't feel like 547 00:27:13,065 --> 00:27:14,633 it's substantiated by anything. 548 00:27:14,667 --> 00:27:17,036 In the Freetown neighborhood now called Belmont, 549 00:27:17,069 --> 00:27:20,539 he lives with his 81-year-old granny, Neela Natu. 550 00:27:20,572 --> 00:27:23,509 The thing is that recently we've had a lot of people, 551 00:27:23,542 --> 00:27:25,377 people who I've known, who I grew up with 552 00:27:25,411 --> 00:27:28,114 who've gone to fight in Syria, who've left here. 553 00:27:28,147 --> 00:27:31,517 I mean, they will tell you that the official count is 140. 554 00:27:31,550 --> 00:27:33,219 I would say it's more. 555 00:27:33,252 --> 00:27:35,021 - You'd say it's more? - I'd say it's more. 556 00:27:35,054 --> 00:27:37,556 And why do you think people would go? 557 00:27:37,589 --> 00:27:38,791 I'd have to go back into 558 00:27:38,825 --> 00:27:40,392 my childhood to explain that to you. 559 00:27:40,426 --> 00:27:41,728 The coup that happened here 560 00:27:41,761 --> 00:27:43,395 happened when I was six years old. 561 00:27:43,429 --> 00:27:46,032 They had all these young people in there who had this idea, 562 00:27:46,065 --> 00:27:47,592 you know, we're going to build this thing. 563 00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:49,061 There's this community that's gonna stand up 564 00:27:49,068 --> 00:27:50,502 against what's going on in Trinidad, 565 00:27:50,536 --> 00:27:52,404 that's going to stand up against the drugs 566 00:27:52,438 --> 00:27:53,906 and stand up against poverty 567 00:27:53,940 --> 00:27:56,709 and stand up against crime, and nothing happened. 568 00:27:56,743 --> 00:27:59,011 In none of these causes, 569 00:27:59,045 --> 00:28:03,916 religious fundamentalism or fervor has not come up. 570 00:28:03,950 --> 00:28:06,218 You... every... every issue you've mentioned so far 571 00:28:06,252 --> 00:28:08,721 has been perceived inadequacy of social justice. 572 00:28:08,755 --> 00:28:09,922 Right, yeah. 573 00:28:09,956 --> 00:28:12,759 So these kids going off to Syria, 574 00:28:12,792 --> 00:28:14,360 do they have any idea what they're doing? 575 00:28:14,393 --> 00:28:16,188 - No, they do not. - Or are they just pissed off? 576 00:28:16,195 --> 00:28:18,931 No, they do not. People say that poverty breeds crime. 577 00:28:18,965 --> 00:28:20,625 I don't think poverty breeds crime in a sense. 578 00:28:20,632 --> 00:28:24,370 I think exclusion breeds crime because if I truly care for you, 579 00:28:24,403 --> 00:28:27,539 if I feel like you are a part of the thing that I exist in, 580 00:28:27,573 --> 00:28:29,341 then I won't... I won't hurt you. 581 00:28:29,375 --> 00:28:31,077 Might come in your house and steal some food, 582 00:28:31,110 --> 00:28:32,912 but when you see that kind of violence 583 00:28:32,945 --> 00:28:34,713 being enacted, you have to ask yourself. 584 00:28:34,747 --> 00:28:36,115 It's not just somebody saying, 585 00:28:36,148 --> 00:28:37,709 "I need this tablecloth. I'm gonna take this." 586 00:28:37,716 --> 00:28:40,286 No, "I want this tablecloth", 587 00:28:40,319 --> 00:28:42,621 "and you, you had this tablecloth for too long, 588 00:28:42,654 --> 00:28:44,483 "so you know what, I'm gonna take this out on you. 589 00:28:44,490 --> 00:28:46,558 This is gonna happen. That's gonna happen." 590 00:28:46,592 --> 00:28:48,360 And that's what we're seeing now. 591 00:28:48,394 --> 00:28:50,241 I mean, how long can people put up with something 592 00:28:50,262 --> 00:28:53,399 before they decide this is enough, you know what I mean? 593 00:28:53,432 --> 00:28:56,435 Would you say that Carnival and that Carnival attitude, 594 00:28:56,468 --> 00:29:00,206 the liming culture is a... 595 00:29:00,239 --> 00:29:04,410 Might as well be a brilliant strategy to narcotize 596 00:29:04,443 --> 00:29:07,446 the people into being satisfied with the status quo? 597 00:29:07,479 --> 00:29:13,219 Everything here is somehow designed to... 598 00:29:13,252 --> 00:29:16,122 pacify it without us really realizing, 599 00:29:16,155 --> 00:29:19,758 so our music, which is supposed to give us adrenaline 600 00:29:19,792 --> 00:29:21,293 as well as sleeping pills sometimes, 601 00:29:21,327 --> 00:29:22,995 it's just doling out sleeping pills. 602 00:29:23,029 --> 00:29:25,097 Like, go ahead, enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself. 603 00:29:25,131 --> 00:29:26,432 Enjoy yourself. You are Trini. 604 00:29:26,465 --> 00:29:28,901 Trini means fun-loving and happy 605 00:29:28,935 --> 00:29:31,070 and whatever despite whatever it is. 606 00:29:31,103 --> 00:29:31,938 Ah. 607 00:29:34,807 --> 00:29:39,478 It's a big and delicious home-cooked meal. 608 00:29:39,511 --> 00:29:40,339 I caught this myself. 609 00:29:40,346 --> 00:29:42,081 - Really? - Yes, sir. 610 00:29:42,114 --> 00:29:44,283 - Red snapper? - Yeah, yeah. 611 00:29:44,316 --> 00:29:46,185 The snapper is seasoned with lime juice, 612 00:29:46,218 --> 00:29:49,121 shado beni and onion. 613 00:29:49,155 --> 00:29:51,290 What's this dish called? Is there a name for it? 614 00:29:51,323 --> 00:29:53,192 - This is called oil down. - Oil down? 615 00:29:53,225 --> 00:29:54,526 - Yeah. - For oil down 616 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:55,962 they season breadfruit 617 00:29:55,995 --> 00:29:58,030 and meat with dasheen and green figs, 618 00:29:58,064 --> 00:30:00,366 then simmer in coconut milk. 619 00:30:00,399 --> 00:30:02,501 And, well, she uses pork, as you can see, 620 00:30:02,534 --> 00:30:05,204 which I... now I can't have any, so that's okay. 621 00:30:05,237 --> 00:30:07,139 Now your grandma, not a Muslim? 622 00:30:07,173 --> 00:30:11,377 No, the Roman Catholic-est of all Roman Catholics. 623 00:30:11,410 --> 00:30:14,146 - Old-school? - Sacred heart up on the wall. 624 00:30:14,180 --> 00:30:17,116 I got a kind of a perfect one for you, so you have this. 625 00:30:17,149 --> 00:30:19,118 - Oh, beautiful, thank you. - Pastel. 626 00:30:19,151 --> 00:30:22,488 This is mostly when the Spaniards where here, 627 00:30:22,521 --> 00:30:24,556 introduced this. This is a Spanish one. 628 00:30:24,590 --> 00:30:28,227 Pastels are the Caribbean cousin to the tamale. 629 00:30:28,260 --> 00:30:30,329 Minced beef is wrapped in cornmeal dough, 630 00:30:30,362 --> 00:30:33,799 then in banana leaf, then steamed. 631 00:30:33,832 --> 00:30:35,401 Table for sure. 632 00:30:35,434 --> 00:30:37,904 She will feed you till you burst like any grandmother. 633 00:30:37,937 --> 00:30:39,671 You know, right? Yeah. 634 00:30:39,705 --> 00:30:42,208 - I'll be well looked after. - And that is once a year. 635 00:30:42,241 --> 00:30:44,210 - So when do these ordinarily... - Christmastime. 636 00:30:44,243 --> 00:30:46,578 Christmas, oh. This is very, very delicious. 637 00:30:46,612 --> 00:30:48,714 Thank you very much, and one thing I've asked about. 638 00:30:48,747 --> 00:30:50,349 Why you didn't put ice in his glass? 639 00:30:50,382 --> 00:30:52,051 It's good. It's fine. 640 00:30:52,084 --> 00:30:54,053 So he must say thanks to whatever you made. 641 00:30:54,086 --> 00:30:55,754 Tell Muhammad it's not good. 642 00:30:55,787 --> 00:30:59,725 See how... see how that generation, very proper, 643 00:30:59,758 --> 00:31:01,427 like, very, very proper, 644 00:31:01,460 --> 00:31:03,896 and one of the things about Trinidad is that... 645 00:31:03,930 --> 00:31:05,497 Muhammad, don't bad-talk me. 646 00:31:05,531 --> 00:31:08,567 I'm not bad-talking you. I only speak the truth. 647 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,905 That generation very much believed in independence 648 00:31:12,939 --> 00:31:14,606 and that this nation would be something, 649 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,108 and then they told their children, 650 00:31:16,142 --> 00:31:18,244 "Study and come and help this nation. 651 00:31:18,277 --> 00:31:20,279 Build this nation, and it's gonna be something." 652 00:31:20,312 --> 00:31:22,781 And that generation, which was my parents, they did that. 653 00:31:22,814 --> 00:31:24,116 Right. 654 00:31:24,150 --> 00:31:27,286 And then they had kids, you know? 655 00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:29,755 And all of a sudden it was like, okay, all these things 656 00:31:29,788 --> 00:31:32,058 you have been saying about building a nation and whatever, 657 00:31:32,091 --> 00:31:34,153 how come I'm seeing these people benefitting, and I'm not? 658 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,155 How come I'm seeing this, I'm seeing that, I'm seeing that? 659 00:31:36,162 --> 00:31:37,990 And there were very few answers, you know what I mean? 660 00:31:37,997 --> 00:31:39,465 So who runs this country? 661 00:31:39,498 --> 00:31:42,101 Like everywhere else, that 1%. Like everywhere else. 662 00:31:42,134 --> 00:31:44,971 Everybody here is very eager to tell you 663 00:31:45,004 --> 00:31:47,139 what a wonderful mix it is, 664 00:31:47,173 --> 00:31:49,241 and the food, if you look at it, 665 00:31:49,275 --> 00:31:52,778 it does... is this incredibly harmonious stew pot. 666 00:31:52,811 --> 00:31:54,246 Right. 667 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,248 But I guess life doesn't work as well as food. 668 00:31:56,282 --> 00:31:58,250 No. The only thing we've agreed on in this place 669 00:31:58,284 --> 00:31:59,718 is how much salt to put in anything. 670 00:31:59,751 --> 00:32:02,321 So that's the only thing we've agreed on. 671 00:32:02,354 --> 00:32:04,090 ♪ 672 00:32:04,123 --> 00:32:07,259 ♪ Man we on a mission 673 00:32:07,293 --> 00:32:09,328 ♪ A whole world to change 674 00:32:09,361 --> 00:32:12,831 ♪ Yeah a whole world to change ♪ 675 00:32:12,864 --> 00:32:13,364 ♪ 676 00:32:29,115 --> 00:32:30,849 ♪ 677 00:32:30,882 --> 00:32:33,752 Trinidad, it should be pointed out right now, 678 00:32:33,785 --> 00:32:35,521 before you start packing your Speedo 679 00:32:35,554 --> 00:32:38,657 and your cocoa butter, is an industrial island. 680 00:32:42,461 --> 00:32:44,330 And like so many places, 681 00:32:44,363 --> 00:32:47,933 industrialization is changing the landscape here, 682 00:32:47,966 --> 00:32:50,202 but some things persist, 683 00:32:50,236 --> 00:32:53,539 remain, echo from all the way back then... 684 00:32:58,910 --> 00:33:03,549 When West African slaves would covertly do this, 685 00:33:03,582 --> 00:33:05,351 Calinda. 686 00:33:05,384 --> 00:33:08,020 This martial art, based on our research, 687 00:33:08,054 --> 00:33:10,989 is maybe 500, 600 years old. 688 00:33:11,023 --> 00:33:12,558 Stick fighting variations 689 00:33:12,591 --> 00:33:14,393 occur throughout the Caribbean, 690 00:33:14,426 --> 00:33:17,329 but in Trinidad and Tobago it's, like, deep in their blood. 691 00:33:22,201 --> 00:33:24,803 This martial art was illegal for many, many years. 692 00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:26,338 Yes? Yeah. 693 00:33:26,372 --> 00:33:28,433 I mean, certainly during slavery times it was illegal. 694 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,376 To this day, I believe there's still laws 695 00:33:30,409 --> 00:33:33,011 on our books that ban this stick, 696 00:33:33,045 --> 00:33:34,980 and if you're caught with it, you could go to jail. 697 00:33:35,013 --> 00:33:38,084 The laws of slavery times forced this sport underground. 698 00:33:38,117 --> 00:33:42,854 Like Capoeira, it often had to be disguised as a dance, 699 00:33:42,888 --> 00:33:44,590 but this ain't no dance. 700 00:33:44,623 --> 00:33:46,518 The guys with the whip and the guys with the stick 701 00:33:46,525 --> 00:33:49,495 were all the guys saying, "You have not broken us. 702 00:33:49,528 --> 00:33:54,100 We will continue to resist to the ends of time." 703 00:33:54,133 --> 00:33:54,633 ♪ 704 00:34:06,945 --> 00:34:10,582 Rondel Benjamin and Keegan Taylor studied fighting styles 705 00:34:10,616 --> 00:34:12,451 from around the world before coming around 706 00:34:12,484 --> 00:34:14,953 to their own homegrown martial art. 707 00:34:14,986 --> 00:34:16,688 Now, what's legal? 708 00:34:16,722 --> 00:34:19,625 - What's not legal is... - Oh, they say what's not legal? 709 00:34:19,658 --> 00:34:22,861 ♪ 710 00:34:22,894 --> 00:34:25,197 I can't hit to the legs, knees. 711 00:34:25,231 --> 00:34:26,965 - You can't? - Can't. 712 00:34:26,998 --> 00:34:28,927 Oh, damn, 'cause that would be the first thing I'd think of. 713 00:34:28,934 --> 00:34:31,263 I'm thinking, "I got to get that knee... that knee in particular." 714 00:34:31,270 --> 00:34:33,372 Now, to be honest, in stick fighting, 715 00:34:33,405 --> 00:34:36,542 legal and illegal is a concept, 716 00:34:36,575 --> 00:34:41,380 but it doesn't stop that kind of stuff from happening. 717 00:34:41,413 --> 00:34:43,449 Right, but I mean, let's face it. 718 00:34:43,482 --> 00:34:45,384 This is a pretty heavy object. Yeah. 719 00:34:45,417 --> 00:34:47,286 I get a good swing, a tee off, 720 00:34:47,319 --> 00:34:51,790 and I get a clean shot on the head... 721 00:34:51,823 --> 00:34:53,459 This is what the New York Police Department 722 00:34:53,492 --> 00:34:54,826 would call a deadly weapon. 723 00:34:54,860 --> 00:34:56,662 - Yes, sir. - If I'm fighting, 724 00:34:56,695 --> 00:35:00,166 if I'm really fighting, I'm a monster. 725 00:35:00,199 --> 00:35:01,633 I got to look you down. 726 00:35:01,667 --> 00:35:03,302 I got to kill you. I got to dig you up. 727 00:35:03,335 --> 00:35:05,171 I got to bury you. I got to murder you. 728 00:35:05,204 --> 00:35:06,772 I got to take you out. 729 00:35:06,805 --> 00:35:10,342 ♪ 730 00:35:10,376 --> 00:35:12,144 The demon in me is gonna come out, 731 00:35:12,178 --> 00:35:13,912 but I call that demon to work with me. 732 00:35:13,945 --> 00:35:16,014 King David is one of the old-school street fighters 733 00:35:16,047 --> 00:35:19,851 who has kept this form from fading over the years. 734 00:35:19,885 --> 00:35:20,385 ♪ 735 00:35:24,523 --> 00:35:26,024 As in Brazil and the Deep South, 736 00:35:26,057 --> 00:35:28,860 African slaves were given little to work with 737 00:35:28,894 --> 00:35:30,529 when it came time for the meal. 738 00:35:30,562 --> 00:35:32,698 More often than not, if they wanted meat, 739 00:35:32,731 --> 00:35:36,635 they had to make do with what the slave masters did not want, 740 00:35:36,668 --> 00:35:39,705 a tongue here, cow foot there. 741 00:35:39,738 --> 00:35:41,707 Here, as elsewhere, they figured out 742 00:35:41,740 --> 00:35:44,343 how to make something delicious and tender 743 00:35:44,376 --> 00:35:47,045 from whatever there was, like souse. 744 00:35:47,078 --> 00:35:49,815 Pig foot is pickled in shado beni, onions 745 00:35:49,848 --> 00:35:51,217 and hot peppers, 746 00:35:51,250 --> 00:35:53,719 and then topped off with cucumbers. 747 00:35:58,757 --> 00:36:01,627 This is a martial art. You either win or you lose. 748 00:36:01,660 --> 00:36:03,229 - Correct. - How do you win? 749 00:36:03,262 --> 00:36:04,530 What decides winner? 750 00:36:04,563 --> 00:36:06,798 Who draws blood first win. 751 00:36:06,832 --> 00:36:09,235 All it requires is the end result. 752 00:36:11,403 --> 00:36:13,305 All you have to do is cut the guy. 753 00:36:15,173 --> 00:36:18,210 Blood is blood. 754 00:36:18,244 --> 00:36:21,747 What's the worst injury you've ever had in a fight? 755 00:36:21,780 --> 00:36:24,850 This finger. 756 00:36:24,883 --> 00:36:28,254 What's the worst injury you've seen in a fight? 757 00:36:28,287 --> 00:36:32,491 I lost... I see a man lost the eye. 758 00:36:32,524 --> 00:36:35,093 And also I saw a man die. 759 00:36:35,126 --> 00:36:36,895 You have to be a real warrior, 760 00:36:36,928 --> 00:36:38,397 a born, born, born fighter 761 00:36:38,430 --> 00:36:39,931 to stand up there and face 762 00:36:39,965 --> 00:36:43,302 that demon which walk in like a man. 763 00:37:02,788 --> 00:37:05,123 30 miles east of Trinidad, 764 00:37:05,156 --> 00:37:08,627 its sister island, Tobago. 765 00:37:08,660 --> 00:37:10,729 A whole different vibe around here, 766 00:37:10,762 --> 00:37:12,398 more like what you'd hope for 767 00:37:12,431 --> 00:37:13,792 when you'd waddle away from the buffet 768 00:37:13,799 --> 00:37:17,703 on the S.S. Norwalk cruise ship. 769 00:37:17,736 --> 00:37:21,373 Lazy beach days, boat drinks, villas, 770 00:37:21,407 --> 00:37:23,309 all set to a calypso beat. 771 00:37:26,345 --> 00:37:29,214 ♪ 772 00:37:32,351 --> 00:37:34,986 ♪ 773 00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:36,822 Oh, solo. 774 00:37:36,855 --> 00:37:39,090 In the 1800s slaves would sing the news 775 00:37:39,124 --> 00:37:41,460 and gossip of the day in a Creole patois 776 00:37:41,493 --> 00:37:42,961 to an African beat. 777 00:37:42,994 --> 00:37:46,064 Later musicians added European-style melodies, 778 00:37:46,097 --> 00:37:49,100 and calypso was born. 779 00:37:49,134 --> 00:37:51,770 The longtime reigning queen of this music 780 00:37:51,803 --> 00:37:56,141 and absolute pioneer of the form is Calypso Rose. 781 00:37:58,777 --> 00:38:00,679 ♪ They say that I reign too long ♪ 782 00:38:00,712 --> 00:38:03,515 ♪ Forgetting that my constitution is strong ♪ 783 00:38:03,549 --> 00:38:06,585 ♪ Instead of respecting my long, long reign ♪ 784 00:38:06,618 --> 00:38:09,855 ♪ They making threat to take down my name ♪ 785 00:38:09,888 --> 00:38:15,461 ♪ I've been breaking down walls ever since I was tall ♪ 786 00:38:15,494 --> 00:38:17,829 ♪ They would stand up tall and strong ♪ 787 00:38:17,863 --> 00:38:21,533 ♪ Like a wrecking ball, I go knock them down ♪ 788 00:38:21,567 --> 00:38:23,869 ♪ They say that I reign too long ♪ 789 00:38:23,902 --> 00:38:25,371 Come on, baby! 790 00:38:25,404 --> 00:38:27,873 She was the first woman to win the Calypso King title, 791 00:38:27,906 --> 00:38:29,941 which tells you what the environment was like 792 00:38:29,975 --> 00:38:33,211 at the time for a female artist. 793 00:38:33,244 --> 00:38:35,814 ♪ Everywhere I reign supreme 794 00:38:35,847 --> 00:38:38,684 ♪ The one and only calypso queen ♪ 795 00:38:38,717 --> 00:38:41,019 ♪ No man alive or dead 796 00:38:41,052 --> 00:38:45,190 ♪ Could come and take the crown off me head ♪ 797 00:38:45,223 --> 00:38:47,559 ♪ 798 00:38:47,593 --> 00:38:49,127 Rose grew up in a large 799 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:51,530 and strict Baptist family in Tobago 800 00:38:51,563 --> 00:38:53,064 until she was nine years old 801 00:38:53,098 --> 00:38:55,901 and was sent to live with her aunt in Trinidad, 802 00:38:55,934 --> 00:38:58,904 so she grew up with a foot in each island. 803 00:38:58,937 --> 00:39:01,673 What's the difference between growing up in Trinidad 804 00:39:01,707 --> 00:39:03,842 and growing up in Tobago? It's much different. 805 00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:07,379 Tobagonians are 99 1/2% African. 806 00:39:07,413 --> 00:39:11,016 They're African slave descendants. 807 00:39:11,049 --> 00:39:13,419 The culture is more African, 808 00:39:13,452 --> 00:39:18,256 and this, this here is the cornmeal cou co... 809 00:39:18,289 --> 00:39:20,526 They call it fufu in Africa, 810 00:39:20,559 --> 00:39:22,694 but in Tobago they say cou co... 811 00:39:22,728 --> 00:39:24,062 And this is callaloo? 812 00:39:24,095 --> 00:39:26,031 And this is the callaloo made from the leaves- 813 00:39:26,064 --> 00:39:28,667 - Dasheens. - Of dasheen, you know? 814 00:39:28,700 --> 00:39:30,936 But the great thing is the crab. 815 00:39:33,972 --> 00:39:35,941 ♪ 816 00:39:35,974 --> 00:39:40,011 Everybody come to Tobago must eat crab and dumpling. 817 00:39:40,045 --> 00:39:42,280 They dry coconut. 818 00:39:42,313 --> 00:39:46,518 They grated the coconut, and the juice of that coconut, 819 00:39:46,552 --> 00:39:47,953 they put it in the pot 820 00:39:47,986 --> 00:39:50,422 with your little ingredients like tomato, onion, 821 00:39:50,456 --> 00:39:54,192 thyme and your curry. 822 00:39:54,225 --> 00:39:55,794 Crunch it up. 823 00:39:55,827 --> 00:39:58,296 Good teeth. 824 00:39:58,329 --> 00:40:00,466 If you have false teeth, be careful. 825 00:40:00,499 --> 00:40:03,134 All right. Yeah, so far, so good. 826 00:40:03,168 --> 00:40:05,804 Here's what I... What really fascinates me, 827 00:40:05,837 --> 00:40:09,541 is you started singing calypso music and writing songs... 828 00:40:09,575 --> 00:40:10,809 Of course. 829 00:40:10,842 --> 00:40:12,611 At a time when it was only men. 830 00:40:12,644 --> 00:40:13,979 Your father was not... 831 00:40:14,012 --> 00:40:15,881 - My father was against it. - Against it? 832 00:40:15,914 --> 00:40:18,884 My father was traditional Baptist minister. 833 00:40:18,917 --> 00:40:22,754 My father say calypso belong to the devil. 834 00:40:22,788 --> 00:40:26,892 Calypso belongs to the devil, but it also belonged to men, 835 00:40:26,925 --> 00:40:29,495 and here you are at age 15 doing... 836 00:40:29,528 --> 00:40:31,329 - Age 13, I start writing. - 13? 837 00:40:31,362 --> 00:40:36,301 Doing what was considered a completely revolutionary thing. 838 00:40:36,334 --> 00:40:40,606 What was it about you that made you strong enough 839 00:40:40,639 --> 00:40:43,509 and different enough and determined enough 840 00:40:43,542 --> 00:40:46,411 to choose to do such a difficult 841 00:40:46,444 --> 00:40:49,347 and unusual thing when everybody was against it? 842 00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:52,684 My fans, because some people at home, they're sad. 843 00:40:52,718 --> 00:40:57,155 They're going through so much financially, economically, 844 00:40:57,188 --> 00:41:00,025 they're being abused by their spouse, 845 00:41:00,058 --> 00:41:02,093 and they come out to have a good time, 846 00:41:02,127 --> 00:41:06,031 and when they come out, I bring joy to their heart. 847 00:41:06,064 --> 00:41:10,135 So is making beautiful things enough? 848 00:41:10,168 --> 00:41:12,871 Yes, making beautiful things enough. 849 00:41:12,904 --> 00:41:16,775 Well, when you start thinking consciously on beautiful things, 850 00:41:16,808 --> 00:41:19,711 like how the sea is rolling there... 851 00:41:22,881 --> 00:41:26,384 How the sea is moving, moving, moving, 852 00:41:26,417 --> 00:41:28,053 making beautiful things is enough. 853 00:41:28,086 --> 00:41:29,487 It is enough? 854 00:41:29,521 --> 00:41:32,791 ♪ 855 00:41:32,824 --> 00:41:35,727 No island in the sun is paradise on Earth, 856 00:41:35,761 --> 00:41:38,296 however it might look from the concrete blocks, 857 00:41:38,329 --> 00:41:41,366 glass cubicles, or wood boxes we may live in. 858 00:41:41,399 --> 00:41:43,669 ♪ 859 00:41:43,702 --> 00:41:45,904 And all the dancing and music 860 00:41:45,937 --> 00:41:47,573 and great food in the world 861 00:41:47,606 --> 00:41:50,408 can never hold together, by itself, 862 00:41:50,441 --> 00:41:52,644 what would keep us apart. 863 00:41:52,678 --> 00:41:55,013 ♪ 864 00:41:55,046 --> 00:41:57,248 What might look like a utopian stew 865 00:41:57,282 --> 00:41:58,750 of ethnicities and cultures 866 00:41:58,784 --> 00:42:01,252 living together under gently swaying palms 867 00:42:01,286 --> 00:42:05,557 is of course a far more complicated matter. 868 00:42:05,591 --> 00:42:07,593 ♪ 869 00:42:07,626 --> 00:42:09,595 But Trinidad has done better than most 870 00:42:09,628 --> 00:42:12,998 and in proud and unique style. 871 00:42:13,031 --> 00:42:15,533 Solo, solo. 872 00:42:15,567 --> 00:42:16,067 ♪