Last week was an encouraging week in the evolution of the panyard model and pan music, unfortunately clouded by news of the death of Earl Rodney. My pan historian friends emphasise that Earl Rodney was “not from tong”. He was from “Point”, meaning Point Fortin, and not from Port-of-Spain (“tong”). …
Read More »Daly Bread: Spaces for culture and the arts
In the aftermath of the annual ritual of the presentation of the Budget, three of Trinidad and Tobago’s most credible and authentic practitioners in the arts and culture were reported in the Trinidad Express newspaper, last week, as expressing reservations about what is passed off as Government support for culture …
Read More »Gibbons’ new calypso drama: Voices from the ghetto to sing de chorus?
What, I asked myself, might a Part IV of “Sing de Chorus” look and sound like if the dramatist decided to write one? What quality material would he have to draw on? Would any such production be what a recent Express story about an upcoming concert called “an ode to …
Read More »Daly Bread: Sing de chorus; why Tourism Minister should get out more and T&T needs What’s On app
By the time of publication, Sing de Chorus would have completed eight performances—including a morning show for students at a discounted price. Sing de Chorus is a calypso musical written by Rawle Gibbons. It is the first part of his trilogy of calypso musicals tracing the history of calypso from …
Read More »The Hatuey experience: Did the Budget miss Culture?
There is a hole in the Budget presented to Parliament on Monday last. There is scant acknowledgement of culture, particularly of our performing arts despite their huge potential for assistance in diversifying the economy and its significant contribution to social stability. Presumably the new Minister of Culture, who is a …
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