TT Arts and Culture in retrospect

Another of her achievements was the introduction of the May Pole Festival.

*Renowned playwright Freddie Kissoon, passed away at age 85.

He was the founder of the Strolling Players Theatre Group, which he started back in 1957.

He was also an actor, director and cultural ambassador who won many awards both locally and internationally, including the Humming Bird Medal of Merit National Award, for his contribution to the sphere of culture.

* On the nation’s 54th Anniversary of Independence, National Awards given to people in the field of culture including Leston Paul - arranger/producer/ composer/musician - The Chaconia Medal (Silver) for long and meritorious service to TT , and for loyal and devoted service to TT , the St Margaret’s Boys’ Anglican School/Youth Steel Orchestra, and calypsonian Irwin Reyes Johnson aka “Scrunter” and Timothy Watkins aka “Baron”, the Hummingbird Medal (Gold), and Austin Wilson (posthumous) - retired sound engineer - Hummingbird Medal (Silver).

SEPTEMBER *Austin Lewis, better known in the calypso world as King Austin, passed away. He was well-known for his classic calypso and, perhaps one of the best of all time, “Progress”, released in 1980.

* Invited to give the feature address at the ceremonial opening of the 2016/2017 Law Term, Dr Hollis Liverpool (Chalkdust) with guitar in hand and in song, advised the legal fraternity to familiarise themselves with local culture as they go about dispensing justice.

* Calypso Series promoted by Anslem Douglas held weekly at Atherly’s and Epicurean in the southland was a rare treat for calypso lovers outside of the Carnival season.

The series featured some older bards who brought back memories of the good old days of genuine kaisos.

* Play the Devil, a powerful, coming of age drama, set in the high altitude of rural Paramin, opened the 11th edition of the trinidad+ tobago film festival (ttff). Trafficked, the ttff “Best Feature Film” winner 2015 made its European premiere at the prestigious film festival in Cannes, France, following its inclusion at a festival in Los Angeles a month before.

Also, four fiction features from TT were among this year’s lineup of Caribbean films at the 2016 ttff.

* Beryl McBurnie’s portraits may continue to decorate the walls of The Little Carib Theatre but no longer at her 34 Panka Street, St James home, after it was demolished, ironically during National Patriotism Month.

* Trinidad-born poet Vahni Capildeo won the Forward Prize, one of the major literary prizes for poets published in Britain and Ireland.

One month later another Trinidadian Danielle Boodoo Fortune copped a foreign literary prize - 2016 Wasafiri New Writing Prize.

* In celebration of Leroy Calliste’s 75th birthday a star-studded cast was invited to perform at an event entitled: “Diamond at 75”. The cast included reigning Calypso Monarch Devon Seale, the bard’s grandsons Keegan and Keevan Calliste, David Rudder, Brian London, Karene Asche, Explainer, Helon Francis, Singing Sandra, Cro Cro, Ras Kommanda, Pink Panther, Mister Shak, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Sugar Aloes and Chuck Gordon, who all sang songs by Stalin, who suffered a stroke in 2014, while comedian Damian Melville’s monologue: “Play yourself!” was equally entertaining.

* At the start of Calypso History Month themed: “Kaiso... the Mother Music”, Tuco president Lutalo Masimba told eager-tolearn kids that from Mother Calypso came soca, parang soca, chutney soca, ragga soca, rapso, gospelypso, zouk, cadence and Caribbean pop.

He added that even reggae and dancehall music had their genesis in calypso, but yet still not enough credit has been given to calypso music.

* Bazodee, the local movie featuring debutant actor and soca star Machel Montano, British actress Natalie Pereira who made her debut as a singer, Bollywood actor Kabir Bedi, Teneille Newallo, Rahul Nath, Chris Smith, Valmike Rampersad and Staz Nair was released in New York, USA, Toronto and Ontario, Canada and here in TT .

It was a movie where music and passion collided.

Given the hype of the movie there were long lines for each airing.

* The Birdsong Steel Orchestra was evicted from its Tunapuna site that it occupied for the past 28 years. Young band members from the academy shed tears knowing that their future was uncertain.

The band eventually got a temporary home close by.

OCTOBER * Calypso Queen of the World, Calypso Rose (McCartha Linda Sandy-Lewis), started making waves in Europe from June promoting the Calypso Sound System compilation album, and her own new album Far From Home.

She received a “gold” record in France for the latter that eventually went platinum. She then copped the 2016 WOMEX Artist Award at the Santiago de Compostela in Spain and now has 40 international gigs already lined up for 2017.

* After a three-year absence Brian Mc Farlane announced his return for the 2017 Carnival season, making it known that the presentation was not only going to be Mc Farlane’s creations, but those of top fashion designers, among them Claudia Pegus, Heather Jones, Peter Elias, Diane Hunt, Adrian Foster and a designer from Tobago.

But after the launch of his presentation, Cazabon – The Art of Living, in tribute to one of TT ’s best known 19th century artist, Michel- Jean Cazabon, the section “La Belle Dame and Garcon de la Maison” (The Pretty Lady and the House Boy), raised brows which critics say embodied racial undertones and skews the work of Cazabon. Bowing to the controversy, Mac Farlane, pulled the section.

* Iconic mas man Stephen Derek died suddenly hours after working on costumes at his mas camp. Fellow mas man Peter Minshall described him as a mas man who belonged to a special era that began with famed and deceased mas maker George Bailey. Glowing tribute was also paid to Derek by several speakers at the Mentoring by the Masters 2016 awards ceremony, one of which he received posthumously.

* Having been shut down for the past couple of years The National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain, reopened earlier this year, then closed again in May and after $20 million was spent in repairs, it was deemed safe to occupy, but didn’t reopen until October.

NOVEMBER *Bryon Serrette resigned from his position as Pan Trinbago vice-president citing financial impropriety by the executive and in the main, the president.

Serrette said there was a trail of questionable transactions and instead of addressing his concerns he was ostracised.

Some of the questionable financing included the financing of a vehicle for one Kenwick Bethel, as well as the purchase of another vehicle for the use of the president.

* The Kixx and Kaiso series produced by Robin Foster continues to be a crowd puller at Kaiso Blues Caf? each Thursday. Each week it features a humorous calypsonian and a comedian.

*Queen of comedy, parang singer and retired teacher Shirley “Beulah” King, passed away at age 74.