ABSTRACT
While focusing on the first theme of carnival and identity, this chapter recognizes the ways in which vibrant minority group street processions can easily become commodified as part of the annual round of city festivals. It considers the way that Latin American and particularly Trinidadian carnival practices have been re-exported to supply statements of identity for black communities living in the USA and Europe. The chapter focuses on issues of national identity in relation to the St Patrick’s Day Parades staged in the divided island of Ireland and by emigrant communities, especially in North America. It also focuses on a more recent manifestation of the carnivalesque as it is employed in assertion of identity by the Pride Parades. The commemorative day for St Patrick is celebrated in more countries than that of any other saint, primarily due to his connections with Ireland and with the far-flung extent of the Irish diaspora.
