Dimance Gras disappointing

THE EDITOR: As a Trinbagonian living in Chicago, Illinois I received a number of publications from Trinidad covering the recent Carnival activities on the island, and I was appalled by the number of letters I read concerning the behaviour of Slinger Francisco “The Mighty Sparrow” at the Dimanche Gras show on Carnival Sunday at the Grand Savannah. Now before I wrote this letter I procured a video tape of that show to observe for myself what was so outrageous about the Sparrow’s behaviour. Well, I totally agreed with all of the letters that I read, that his behaviour was atrocious. However, before I sentenced the Mighty Sparrow, let me tell the readers how displeased I am with the National Carnival Committee (NCC).

They are the current promoters of the successful show Dimanche Gras. As far back as I can remember, it has been a regular since 1946 and it seems to me that it is still a notoriously amateurish presentation. One would think that over such a long period of promoting the organisers would have improved this organised chaos that’s presented. No one is sure of when it will get started and when it does there is a hive of extras on stage running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. The programme is hard to follow at times, it seems that acts are presented with little or sometimes no rehearsals at all, which brings me to this year’s Dimanche Gras and the Mighty Sparrow incident.

The promoters have one whole year to prepare for the show. Is it asking too much of them to alert or inform the recipients of an award and the presenters of that award to sacrifice an hour or two to get the act right so that you would not have these participants “ad libbing” their own scripts on the night of the show? Well what you got from the Mighty Sparrow on this last Dimanche Gras show was not beyond expectation, the NCC just did not keep things in perspective. They allowed the Mighty Sparrow to embarrass the NCC, the UWI, the spectators, his fans and himself. I personally think that the NCC owes the Mighty Sparrow a sincere apology and the assurance that the next time he makes an appearance on the Dimanche Gras show he will be scripted and rehearsed. Critiquing the Dimanche Gras is an adventure in frustration and agony especially when one has to pay to experience it.

IRVIN R ROBERTS
Chicago, Illinois, USA