FREDERIKSTED, St Croix — There is almost always a Caribbean Carnival happening somewhere.
The year barely gets going before Carnival is in full swing, from Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Carriacou, Curaçao and Martinique in the first few months to Jamaica a few weeks later.
By summer, Crop Over, Vincy Mas and Spicemas take centre stage, and the celebrations continue well beyond the Caribbean, with Carnivals in Miami, London, Atlanta and even Japan.
For Carnival lovers, there is no shortage of content to feast their eyes on.
With so many masquerades taking place throughout the year, you would think it would be easy for Caribbean people at home and across the diaspora to find footage of a particular Carnival.
The answer is no.
Those moments of revellers chipping down the road to the beat of soca are spread across social media pages, YouTube channels and the accounts of individual photographers, videographers and carnival influencers.
US Virgin Islands born filmmaker Peter Noel knows this dilemma all too well from his years of travelling and documenting Caribbean festivals.
His answer is MasLife World TV, a digital platform he hopes will bring Carnival content from across the region and its diaspora together in one place.
“I’ve spent years travelling, filming, and photographing Caribbean events, and one thing I noticed is that so much of our content gets scattered across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and different websites,” Noel told Caribbean Pulse.
“Sometimes you can’t even find footage of a Carnival from a few years ago. I wanted to create one dedicated home where people could experience Carnival from different islands, discover events, watch videos, and eventually connect with the photographers, videographers, artists, and creators who make our culture visible.”
For Noel, the idea goes beyond making it easier to find a video.
He wants to preserve the culture being captured, while giving the people behind the cameras more opportunities to be seen.
“My vision is much bigger than just another video website. I want MasLife to become a place where Caribbean culture lives year-round, not only during Carnival season,” he said.
The platform is free to browse, with no account required.
However, users who sign up can access additional features, including commenting, interacting with creators and saving content.
Noel hopes partnerships and sponsorships will eventually help fund the project and allow it to feature more events and creators.
“The goal is to build a sustainable Caribbean media business without making it difficult for people to enjoy our culture,” he said.
A childhood gift with a big impact
Noel’s connection to capturing scenes around him began long before Carnival became a focus of his work.
Growing up on the west side of Frederiksted, St Croix, he received his first camera from his father when he was about eight.
“That camera changed everything for me. I loved capturing people, places, and everyday life,” he said.
He later studied photography and media production at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, before working in broadcast television, including assignments with Court TV. His work also extended to music video production and filmmaking. His debut feature film, AKENO, was shot in St Croix with a local cast and crew.
Those experiences influence how he approaches Carnival coverage today.
“I’m not just pointing a camera at somebody in a costume. I’m looking at lighting, composition, movement, emotion, and the story happening in front of me,” Noel said.
Yet Carnival presents a different challenge from a film set. There are no retakes when a masquerader passes by or a crowd erupts in song.
“You can’t direct thousands of people in the street. You have to know how to react quickly and capture what’s happening naturally,” he said.
“We can preserve the raw energy of Carnival while presenting it with professional visual storytelling. That’s the quality I want people to associate with MasLife World TV.”
Noel has built a following of more than 500,000 people across social media, with content that has generated millions of views.
But he sees the audience as more than a number.
“If I can introduce somebody to a Carnival they’ve never heard of, promote a young Caribbean artist, or give a small Carnival band exposure they couldn’t afford to buy, that means something to me,” he said.
Every Carnival has its own story
Noel wants to expand Carnival coverage beyond simply putting more videos online.
He wants the platform to reflect what makes each island’s celebration unique.
“The Caribbean isn’t one culture. We’re connected, but every island has its own history, music, traditions, and way of celebrating,” he said.
Growing up in the Virgin Islands taught him to respect those differences.
He wants audiences to see what distinguishes Carnival in St Croix from celebrations in Trinidad, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Jamaica and elsewhere.
That means making room for people who understand those traditions firsthand.
“Local photographers, filmmakers, and cultural organisations understand their Carnival in ways outsiders may not,” Noel said.
“My goal is to give those voices and perspectives room on the platform while making their stories accessible to a global audience.”
Asked which celebrations deserve more attention, Noel pointed to the smaller islands, where festivals can receive far less international coverage than their larger counterparts.
“Some of the most authentic cultural experiences happen at celebrations that don’t receive the same international publicity as the larger ones,” he said.
“That’s part of what I want to change with MasLife. I want people to discover Carnivals they may not even know exist.”
He hopes to expand MasLife’s coverage in 2027, with Atlanta Caribbean Carnival’s 40th anniversary among the celebrations he is interested in covering.
He said discussions are already under way about possible media coverage and collaboration.
Leave a Reply