Carlotta Luis is a Travel Industry Professional who promotes travel to the US Virgin Islands and the Caribbean region. Every year, Carlotta Luis help scurious travelers discover new and wonderful things about the US Virgin Islands and Caribbean region. One very exciting and jubilant celebration that is tradition in the Caribbean, explains Carlotta Luis, is the centuries old tradition of Carnival. Carnival is an exuberant cultural affair in the Caribbean that Carlotta Luis says is also one of the regions’ most popular attractions for tourists and locals alike.
The Carnival season in the US Virgin Islands begins with the Crucian Festival on the Island of St. Croix in January, and is followed by the Virgin Islands Carnival on the Island of St. Thomas in April-May and St. John Festival on the Island of St. John in July. The rich history, cultural diversity and vibrant energy of the US Virgin Islands make these events worthwhile to attend and participate in, according to Carlotta Luis. Modern Carnival celebrations stem from the early days of European colonization in the 15th and 16th centuries, explains Carlotta Luis. The colonists brought with them many seasonal and cultural festivals, and Carlotta Luis says that they were absorbed and reinterpreted by the African slave population over the course of many generations.
These days, Carnival is a purely Caribbean celebration. Carlotta Luis notes that modern Carnival in the US Virgin Islands includes the influence of places like Holland, France, England, Spain, Denmark and the Knights of Malta. So as you can see, Carlotta Luis notes with a smile, it is not just the continental United States that is a melting pot. However, Carlotta Luis points out that Carnival originated in Italy from the Catholic Tradition and permeated its neighbors Spain, France and Portugal. Europeans from these countries in particular who came to the Caribbean in the Age of Exploration, explains Carlotta Luis, brought Carnival along with a catalogue of other traditions.
Carnival is not just an imported European phenomenon, explains Carlotta Luis. Back in the colonial era, says Carlotta Luis, the African slaves of the Caribbean and US Virgin Islands were brought from West and Central Africa. These unsung Africans also brought with them all of their Ancient traditions and celebrations, says Carlotta Luis, and have preserved many of these traditions despite persecution. The consequent cultural confluence evident in the Caribbean and US Virgin Islands, says Carlotta Luis, is a synthesis of a colorful variety of cultural sources. Over the centuries, Carnival has evolved and grown to include the cultural expressions of all its participants, adds Carlotta Luis.
For more information about Carnival in the US Virgin Islands, Carlotta Luis can be contacted at (305) 741-2013.
About Carlotta Luis
When Carlotta Luis was completing her education she had not yet set her sights towards being a travel industry professional. For Carlotta Luis, graduating was the goal. Her life, it turns out, has become more than she could have imagined.
As Carlotta Luis began moving into the work place she began to slowly define a career direction. For Carlotta Luis, this would eventually carry her to an enviable position. People now refer to her as a travel industry professional, a savvy market research resource, a skilled employee trainer and voice for innovative change. These are not titles that Carlotta Luis had originally seen herself owning.
Initial humanitarian interests took Carlotta Luis first to St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Haiti. St. Damien’s Hospital had 120 beds, including an 18 bed emergency unit, 10 bed pediatric intensive care unit and a 9 bed cancer center. The hospital was staffed with 18 pediatricians, 50 nurses and 60 certified nursing assistants, as well as 8 lab technicians. This was Carlotta Luis’ introduction into the health care and medical communities.
According to Carlotta Luis, more than half of all the hospital’s patients were admitted for an infectious disease such as tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV while twenty-five percent were admitted for non-infectious diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and kidney infection. Most patients admitted were also malnourished. This experience and the exposure to a very different life fueled what would become a passion for Carlotta Luis – an interest in different cultures. This interest continued to develop and Carlotta Luis began to sense a focus on the Caribbean countries.
Fast forwarding to the present, Carlotta Luis’ career track now places her as a sales professional promoting the U.S. Virgin Islands throughout the southeastern regions of the United States. She is employed by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and resides in south Florida. Carlotta Luis serves as a board member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization through its South Florida Chapter. She pursues excellence in her vocation, passion for her profession and vision for tourism throughout the Caribbean basin. These days, Carlotta Luis embraces the age old wisdom given by many in her line of work: Don’t worry, be happy!