The intermingling of sacred and profane African, Native American, European, East Indian, and/or Asian traditions in Caribbean festivals reaffirms itself, grows, diminishes, or changes in every new performance. The process remains unequal and follows no set program of development. The US-European-dominated commercial cultures of tourism and cyber-media intervene as forceful agents of change in Caribbean societies and their festivals. Island economic policies dictated by local offices of tourism and international corporations feed on the hedonistic aspects of visitors and locals “jumping up” in Carnival. At the same time, contemporary citizenship seems unthinkable for most young Caribbeans without satellite television, mobile phones, and Internet access. The typical counter-argument indicates that what touches global interests and cyberspace, including the plastic and latex masks available via Amazon and other websites, attracts them, while traditional culture and festival arts –perhaps especially the creation and use of unique handmade artistic masks– lose their appeal. If, in fact, that were the case, the sense of global as opposed to local culture would seem to occasion an erosion of traditions. Yet carnival and carnival-like celebrations multiply in the Caribbean and globally.

The author