Almost all questions about whether T&T could pull off another successful Carnival amid an air of despair over the crime rate, were loudly answered by the thousands of masqueraders who paraded through the country's cities and towns over the last two days.
Crime had understandably dampened the faith of mas creators and other Carnival interest groups going into this year's short season, and rightly so, as the month leading up to Merry Monarch's reign was a reminder of the daunting times we live in.
But the talk of tourists staying away and weak costume sales being directly linked to criminal activity was challenged by Minister of Culture, Tourism and the Arts Randall Mitchell, who called on bandleaders to provide proof.
None did.
Instead, what we saw over the last two days in particular and in the weeks leading up to the Parade of the Bands, in general, were almost the opposite.
The country's most prominent bands posted on their websites that costumes were sold out and incoming flights and hotels were nearly fully booked despite increased fares.
Hundreds of thousands of partygoers attended fetes across the country, and Carnival Monday and Tuesday saw an explosion of colour, dance and music on the streets.
It is, after all, in our DNA to do so.
No toast to the season, therefore, would be complete without raising a glass to soca artiste Mical Teja, whose popular tune captured the essence of T&T's resilience and lifted the nation's spirit at a time when it so desperately needed it.
The 2024 Young King has had a bumper season with his song DNA, arguably the anthem of the Carnival 2024.
We await the results of the Road March contest today, but there is little debate about just how much Teja's lyrics did for T&T's Carnival this year, serving as a positive reminder that the strength of our culture is so deeply embedded in the soul of our nation that it cannot be easily suppressed by those who choose to act contrary to the law.
In his words, "Tell them freedom in we DNA, when every hand raised, we become one race, is only one stage, this the birthplace."
Indeed, the freedom in T&T's DNA triumphed over our difficulties in the last few days as Teja, who also placed fourth in the Calypso Monarch competition, so accurately told us, and for thousands, the words "no place like home" brought a special joy that we've not felt as regularly as we'd like to in recent times.
As we move past this period of festivity and celebration into the more prayerful Lenten season, we look again to those who lead our national security efforts with the hope that the freedoms we've enjoyed over the days of revelry will be sustained through vigorous crime-suppressing efforts.
The reality that Carnival is over must not also be a reality that we're back to the appalling crime prevalence that we so happily escaped from in the celebration of our culture.
The safety of all law-abiding citizens must also become an undeniable part of T&T's DNA.