Jouvay

The stretch of weeks leading up to and including Carnival — typically January through Mardi Gras — when soca music floods every airwave, playlist, and fete in the Caribbean and diaspora. Soca szn is characterized by new releases dropping daily, costume fever, road test parties, and a collective understanding that productivity is optional. For Trinidadians especially it functions almost like a different calendar year entirely, one measured in jouvert mornings and road marches.

(Caribbean) The devil as represented in a costume.

(Caribbean) A person dressed up as a devil-like character, in Caribbean carnivals, who carries a whip used for hitting other devils.

Any of a number of festivals held just before the beginning of Lent.