A section of the Legacy Band, one of the traditional big bands on the road, moving through the city en route to judging yesterday as carnival came to an end in Trinidad. (Picture by Bernard Babb.)

by Ricky Jordan

THE ANNUAL Trini concoction of mas', pan, paint and mud exploded in a spectacular climax to "the greatest show on earth" yesterday.

As thousands of revellers chipped and wined their way through the streets of downtown Port-of-Spain, Trinidad Carnival 2008 ended on a note of breathless abandon, with either Blaxx or Faye-ann Lyons Alvarez favoured to take the Road March title.

At Queen's Park Savannah, revellers paraded colourful costumes before the judges to pulsating rhythms of Blaxx's Breathless and Faye-ann's Get On; while contending for a close third place was Machel Montano's remake of Sparrow's Congo Man.

With 115 bands on the road, large colourful ensembles like the Woodbrook-based Carnival Tribe – Myths And Magic which boasted nearly 4 000 people, and the 2 500-strong Legacy led by "Big Mike" Antoine and Juliet de la Bastide, were in the mood to "get on" bad.

Several bands featured sizeable Bajan contingents, including one section of Tribe, whose music truck was bolstered by Barbadian artistes Biggie Irie, Mr Dale and Peter Ram.