The Most South Asian City in the Caribbean Gets a Dating Show

Chaguanas is the most Indian city in the Caribbean. It's the largest borough in Trinidad by population, and Indo-Trinidadians are the overwhelming majority. The Chaguanas Main Road is the commercial artery: sari shops, gold jewellers, Hindu prayer supplies, and roti shops packed shoulder to shoulder. On any given weekend, the Divali Nagar site in nearby Chaguanas hosts cultural events that draw tens of thousands. V.S. Naipaul grew up here. The literary and cultural heritage runs deep.

The format from New York: real dates happen on stage, the audience votes, and a mixer follows. In Chaguanas, where the Main Road is packed with sari shops and gold jewellers, and V.S. Naipaul's literary heritage runs through every street, this show adds a singles night that feels like it was always supposed to be here.

The irony of a place this densely Indian is that the dating scene is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. Everyone's auntie has a suggestion. Everyone's parents have an opinion. The social infrastructure for matchmaking is ancient and relentless. What doesn't exist is a space where young Indo-Trinidadians can meet on their own terms, in their own way, without the whole extended family providing running commentary.

Chaguanas sits between Port of Spain and San Fernando, making it the geographic centre of Trinidad's Indian corridor. People from Couva, Princes Town, and Penal all gravitate here for shopping and socializing. A show in Chaguanas would pull from all of central and southern Trinidad, which is where the bulk of the Indo community lives.

Waitlist is open. Chaguanas is part of our Trinidad and Caribbean plans. Get on the list or apply to be a contestant.