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Carnival in Crisis of Identity by The Editor It is the promise of a spectacle to shock and seduce the senses that attracts millions to Notting Hill each year. But there are five disciplines that undergird the success of Carnival. Trinidad is deemed the home of today's Carnival in Britain. "When immigrants from that "Orchid Isle" came to Britain in the late 1940s life was tough for my parents", says Margo. "Then, Afro-Caribbeans, had to face the colour-bar", you know --'white OK, black get back'". Fuelled by these encounters West Indians unleashed a joyous carnival on to the streets of Notting Hill in the 1960s. Trinidadians were joined by Jamaicans, the Dominicans, Kittitians and Grenadians and others in a West Indian festival. This marked a self-defining cultural principle: "All o' we is one", and "We here to stay". Thirty-three years later their successors -- ambitious and determined -- have reshaped the celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture. "Traditional steelbands like mine are neglected. There's only a commercial frenzy to get the tourists' money", says Margo. "Worse yet, things aren't getting any better in The Grove", she says, referring to the black residential area where the Notting Hill Carnival takes place.
Exotic displays Music is at the heart of things. The traditional mellow tones of calypso and steelbands contest the big, brash sounds of reggae and South African township jazz. Mobile road bands clash with electronic sound systems. Live stage shows feature hip hop, soul, ragga, and r'n'b. New elements of style come from young Jamaicans, who outnumber other West Indian groups, and British-born blacks. White youths and revellers bring their own brands of "house" and "garage" from London's club cultures.
"Carnival is our history" 
Preparations are started early in the year. Small masquerade groups produce the costumes and designs for their moving floats and troupes of followers. Sequins, glitter, and silver and gold twine have to be sewn on to vivid fabrics. Frames must be welded to support the heavy costumes worn by players. Carnival preparation can cost many thousands of pounds in materials and equipment and consume 40,000 volunteer hours. "Carnival is about a historical community, that stood up for its rights", says Margo,. "It's like Amistad," she says, referring to Cinque's revolt aboard the slave ship in 1839. If you listen carefully, she says, there are echoes of Bob Marley's "Stand Up for your Rights", Shadows' calypso song "Poverty is Hell", and The Mighty Sparrow's ode to the resistant "Slave". Carnival is a tribute to the West Indians' willingness to trust their own experience and definitions of reality, rather than allow others to determine these crucial matters for them. 
No, don't stop our carnivalFar from its roots in 1960s West Indian street parties, Carnival has grown into a money-spinning event run by the Notting Hill Carnival Enterprise Ltd. Claire Holder, of Trinidadian parentage, who has led the company since 1989, readily admits the aim is to embrace the wider urban community. Carnival may have its origins in the Caribbean, but in her opinion, it is now very much seen as a multi-cultural, uniquely British experience. Now, a carnival enterprise company runs things. There is a headquarters building, replete with director's suites, secretaries and press assistants who liaise with politicians, police, and media consultants. In these changed surroundings, powerful city-wide interests are reflected in the Carnival agenda. The organisers must cater to commercial sponsors, funders, and public authorities. The interests of local merchants, shopkeepers and stallholders are protected. But the less powerful voices of local black residents are unheard. Hailed as Europe's biggest street party, Carnival has a budget of £1 milllion and is an income-earner of considerable proportions. However, critics say the re-branded Carnival no longer affirms black identity; it is merely a show for white urbanites and tourists. On display is a contained explosion of black cultural creativity that is commodified and stereotyped. DJs and black street-dancers signal to youth what's hip and cool. Black mannequins display the sassiness that sells the latest fashions. "Playing mas' " is said to be carefully packaged to satisfy mainstream tastes, according to groups like the Association for a People's Carnival led by Michael La Rose. 
Few local benefits It is not that the Carnival company is, or should be, a lone beacon for local advancement. Socially responsible business initiatives exist in Notting Hill. Government-funded area regeneration planners promise sweeping changes. British Gas, British Rail, and commercial developers have undertaken projects. Partnerships of housing associations, voluntary, religious and charitable groups help black families and succour the imprisoned, ill and afflicted. However, there is a special role for Carnival. It must get creative with "people power". People are the most important assets in any business. This is especially the case for the Carnival leadership at the centre of what is in effect a growing human resources industry. Now is the time to seriously plan to better the conditions of the African Caribbean people and the local community.
Must generate local income Does this place a special task on the shoulders of Carnival organisers? Yes, but not impossible to pursue. "Liberation is the function of culture and art", as Wole Soyinka has said. "What comes from deep within the Afro-Caribbean communities is a precious, most important thing", says Margo. Carnival's goodwill and profitability must be used to validate and fulfil the dream of the early West Indian pioneers. Otherwise, this coming August Bank Holiday Monday night, when the roads are cleared of the last revellers, and profits are locked away in the counting houses, the shroud of impoverishment will descend once again over Notting Hill, Black London.
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Delicious-looking food greets hungry and adventurous gastronomes. No lumpy-gravy English fare at Carnival. The big sellers are Caribbean curried goat, roti, saltfish and ackee, and rice and peas. Those in the know don't miss the patties, jerk chicken, dumplings, fried plantain, sugar cane, and candied yams. And, for the thirsty there are popular Caribbean fruit juices, herbal mixtures, beers, and rum, straight, and in all its possible combinations.