Caribbean American Culture Research Paper

“The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people.” (unknown) The United States of America is a country that has been described as a “melting pot.” Miami has many international communities that lives within a few miles of each other. The culture that I chose to experience was the Caribbean culture. I chose the Caribbean culture to experience because there is an enormous population of Caribbean people in Miami. and since I moved to Miami, I want to be familiar with this culture. On October 9, 2016, I went to the Miami Broward Carnival at the Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida. The focus of the carnival is on the Trinidad and Tobago culture and showcases different Caribbean talent like dancing and singing. My goal was to experience in-depth about a culture that I am around everyday and interact with at times that I know little about. Carnival, which everyone pronounced it as, cahneeval, which means no flesh, or no meat. It marks the last chance to celebrate before a period of restraint from meat for forty days of lent. There are many Caribbean American masquerades that participated in the parade called, “playing mas.” Playing mas means that you chosen a

The carnival had many food trucks and vendors from Caribbean restaurants around the area. After seeing all the different food stations, I decided to try the Caribbean Chicken Roti. This dish was tasted excellent but it had a kick to it due to the curry. It came with Roti, which is a major part of the Trinidadian diet. I asked a Caribbean American, Mikaeel Bornelus, “What is his favorite Caribbean dish is?” “My favorite Caribbean dish is something that my grandma would always make for me is Callaloo. Which is a creamy and spicy side dish, like soup. My grandma would always make a pot of Callaloo for me on my birthday.”(Brandon) These meals were different from what I am used to growing up in an Italian house