IT'S A SHAME

Carmona expressed his regret as he gave the feature address at the Top 20 Stars of Gold show held on Saturday at the Central Bank Auditorium, Port-of-Spain, by the National Action Cultural Committee (NACC), whose founder, the late Makandal Daaga, he saluted for his 1970s nationalism.

Recalling King Austin’s hits, “Progress” and “Who is Guarding the Guards?”, Carmona said the former warned of the dangers of an economic development that was out of step with human and environmental wellbeing.

“My deepest regret is that this great calypsonian, King Austin, like many before, died in a type of destitution that must make us all feel a sense of shame,” lamented the President.

“To be a Calypsonian artist is a worthy and honourable profession, just like any other honest profession. We must come to terms with the passage and frailty of time and the time has come to simply act on the crisis of destitution among our Calypsonians.” Carmona urged the calypso fraternity to create a pension and annuity scheme to provide for that time when the calypsonian can no longer sing.

“In the circumstances, it should therefore be a mandatory stipulation in the contracts of calypsonians appearing in all competitions and in all calypso tents to pay a portion of their salary to a fund in a similar way it is done under the National Insurance (NIS),” he urged. “I may be walking on a thin line here but I’m not dealing with governmental policy but human policy, a topic that every citizen has a right to speak on.” His Excellency suggested that a year-round calypso tent and steelband tent be set up to employ artistes every day on a rotational basis.

“It can assist many calypsonian and artistes during the down time between Carnivals and can sell the culture in real terms.” Carmona said calypso should also be more widely promoted on the world stage, as done in the past, by singing about world themes.

Saying it is an artform of international reach and stature, he recalled David Rudder singing of Lord Executor’s success in New York, Lord Invader in Berlin, and Lord Kitchener and Sparrow in London.

He suggested calypsonians could gain international acclaim by singing on international topics.

“A calypso grounded in a rhythm that is international, will become international but it will be a rare phenomenon for a calypso dealing with a peculiar national (TT) issue to be so endowed,” he advised “To give an example of using our cultural persona for mauvis langue and gossip with international outreach, skillfully done was that genius of a song ‘Phillip my dear’ by Dr Francisco Slinger, the Mighty Sparrow. In this Calypso, a man had broken into Buckingham Palace and it was alleged that he had entered the Queen’s bedroom.” “The whole of England and the world were aware of the break in. Even the Englishmen in rural London therefore, would be able to understand and appreciate the song and enjoy its fun and very respectfully done.” Carmona asked aloud what is stopping our artistes from such an international reach? “We have to consider whether by limiting our content and scope in calypso to local political issues and picong issues insular to us, the man in London, Berlin, Sydney or the United States will no longer understand and be able to enjoy these small issues which are normally not aired internationally.

Like jazz, classical music, pop and reggae, calypso should be appreciable to an international audience.

“I can recall calypsos like Model Nation and Education by the Mighty Sparrow; Black is Beautiful by the Mighty Duke; Caribbean Man by Black Stalin; the iconic Bun Them by Black Stalin; Gypsy’s Little Black Boy; Singing Sandra’s Voices from the Ghetto and Denyse Plummer’s, Nah Leavin’ and there are many more songs of that ilk that will have international appeal always.

“I can recall many international subject matters, events, occasions and figures that resulted in great international Calypsos which have stood the test of time.” He related that Emrol “Brother Valentino’s” Philip’s song, “Stay up Zimbabwe” had inspired guerilla fighters in Angola, South Africa and Namibia. In Barbados, the song of one artiste, “Gabby”, had led to the establishment of a Police Service Cold Case Unit, he related. Carmona said calypso saved a poor TT accountancy student in England. “He fell on hard times financially and one night he was depressed and went to an English Pub where there was karaoke.

He asked the DJ if he had ‘Sugar Bum Bum’.

He put down one wicked version of Sugar Bum Bum, dance and all and after that he was offered a job to sing ‘Sugar Bum Bum’ every Friday night and sometimes twice a week for well-appreciated pounds that helped him finance his successful study in London.

Carmona related his own life as a law student flying in weekly from Barbados to sing in a tent in TT.

He extolled the role of the calypsonian.

“The artist is the pulse beat of a nation. He is the calypso sage, who ventilates through his poetic lyrical content, the philosophies of life, its positives and negatives, its afflictions and moments of sheer joy. The calypsonian artiste creates a fusion of melody, rhythm, energy, content and message.

“Calypso music is ‘We thing’. It is a dynamic aspect of our cultural tapestry, one of our many distinctive offerings that sets us apart on the world stage.” Just as reggae music lets Jamaicans highlight their plights and celebrate their successes, so too is calypso music to the Trinbagonian people.

“Calypso is a real representation of how people feel, their ideologies and a forum for ventilating problems and proffering solutions.” Carmona was glad that this society recognised the worth of these bards, such as by the University of the West Indies (UWI) awarding honorary doctorates to Francisco “Mighty Sparrow” Slinger; Leroy “Black Stalin” Calliste; David Rudder; Roy Cape and Mc Cartha “Calypso Rose” Lewis, while national awards were given to Timothy “Baron” Watkins and Irwin “Scrunter” Reyes Johnson.

“Calypso must remain a potent, transformational and relevant force to ensure its perennial rightful place in Trinidad and Tobago’s culture and the world at large.”