Santiwah

Wow Invaders

   

Photograph:
Members of the Invaders Steelband, early 1950s.

The BBC has put its stamp on Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival

Tony Fraser, a son of the soil, had produced a wonderful piece about the history of our Carnival that was featured on the BBC. The article is entitled "The True Cradle of Trinidad Carnival".

Here is an excerpt from the article to wet your inquisitive nature:

"Today, the empty soca jam is representative of where we are getting to, because we have unconsciously taken on the interpretation of others of what the carnival should be about: wine back and jam; meaningless beach wear and the limiting of the great steelband invention to the margins of the festival as we allow the electronic sounds, the technology created by others, to take over the mas."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2008/01/080131_fraser_carnival.shtml

Get a Summary of the Carnival Results Here

Go to this link for a list of the various categories and results posted: Parade of the bands, International Soca Monarch results for the Groovy and Power Soca Categories, Panorama and Dimanche Gras that include the King and Queen of Carnival and the Calypso Monarch.

http://www.ctntworld.com/carnival2008/carnival_results2008.shtml

Crème de la Crème at the Savannah this Saturday

It is not a case of champs in concert this year but simply put the best of the best. “Pantastic Saturday” sounds like a fantastic idea but one can tell that it may simply be a change in name. Hopefully the show itself will be different and the organizers will have something that could eventually be marketed on a digital versatile disc (DVD). 

The Northern Greens located at the Queens Park Savannah will come alive with the best of the Carnival season tomorrow at 8:00 pm but without the jump and wine atmosphere that is so typical of the Carnival season. This time one will have the opportunity to sit back and savor the beauty, the creativity of the Carnival past and see how beautiful the season was even thought it was a short one. Conversations about moving the carnival date and unhitching it from the Catholic Lenten calendar would be whispered along with the disservice the streaming media outlets did to the splendor of the Carnival bands portrayals.

The show itself will feature several steel bands and various artistes. Newsday reported that, “This show was planned by Pan Trinbago executives long in advance of Carnival and will feature performers that have been involved in pan and calypso for many years in the country,” he explained, adding that the show is geared for the foreigners who are still in TT.

Featured on the pregame will be steel orchestras WITCO Desperadoes, Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, Sagicor Exodus, TCL Group Skiffle Bunch, Bp Renegades, RBTT Redeption Sound Setters and St. James Tripolians. These bands will perform along with calypsonians Shadow, Chalkdust, Denyse Plummer, Rikki Jai, Stalin and Baron. There will be an extempo segment featuring Gypsy vs Black Sage. The show will also feature guest appearances by Les Juenes Agape, the CLICO Shiv Shakti Dance Company and some mas portrayals. Music will be supplied by Roy Cape All Stars featuring Blaxx, Trini Jacobs and Olatungi.

The calypsonians will perform accompanied by live pan music. San Fernando-based Skiffle Bunch will be accompanying Stalin and Exodus will accompany the Baron on stage. Tobago- based Redemption Sounds will accompany the Shadow.”

http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,72924.html

Now that I have once again criticized the media outlets that streamed the festival via the WWW I am keeping my fingers crossed that C TV (formerly TTT) will bring the concert live for us in North America to enjoy.  The show will cost TT$100.00 to attend but none of us overseas will have the opportunity to attend on Saturday unless we have a ticket booked for Piarco International Airport.  So let’s keep our fingers crossed that we will get the video stream and congratulations to the Crème de la Crème of C2K8.

Addendum:

This morning at work, I noticed that WACK radio 90.1FM will be streaming the show at a cost of US $10.00. Anyone wishing to receive this paid fee can log on to the website @ http://www.wackradio901fm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=183

Please be advised that you should pay early for this feed from WACK because many people seem to have problems with the method of payment to useto get the show.  WACK uses PayPal; it is easy to sign up for PayPay so act early to avoid unwarranted problems.

Is this really the Greatest Show on Earth?

I am not a betting man but if I had to invest a penny on selling Trinidad and Tobago Carnival using the television broadcasts that were streamed on the web as my greatest asset then I would keep my penny very deep in my pocket. 

The televised Panorama competition was good and the Groovy and Power Soca Monarch were well put together. The Kings and Queens of the bands and the Calypso competition were not impressive but I will give them a pass for now. However, the gala, the splendor of the parade of the band were not captured by the streaming video that I viewed. Ctntworld.com was my choice and I believe that camera angles and the fact that it was a street scene compared to the glory days of the big stage at the Queens Park Savannah caused this glorious celebration to look like a block party in a small island somewhere in the Caribbean. That did not look magnificent as I recall the glory days of the big stage at the Savannah. One of the problems that I noticed was the lack of different locations in the City and roving reporters getting to where the action was really happening. There were too many lulls in the broadcast as the crews awaited the arrival of the bands.  It was like Columbus stuck in the Sargasso Sea with the announcer fighting to keep the discourse going until the next wave of masqueraders came by. The CDC or who ever is responsible for selling this glorious festival failed miserably. 

Let’s say you are located in North America or Europe and you spoke highly of your Carnival celebration as being the greatest show on Earth and logically you invited future visitors to come on over to see the internet feed on Carnival Tuesday.  Do you think that they would be impressed? I don’t think so because I was not impressed. Now take a look back at the magazines showing scenes from Carnival 2007 and you would see an ocean of masqueraders shoulder to shoulder chipping down the road, jumping and wining. Why wasn’t this shown/seen on the television broadcast? That is typical of every carnival in Trinidad and it is a spectacular event to witness much less be a part of.  So what went wrong, why did we see such a poor representation of our culture? A friend that watched the streaming video with me remarked that it was a pathetic depiction of the festival dedicated to Baccus.

Poor planning you may add but they had last year’s experience as a base to operate from. Is it that they don’t care? I think that they do care and I am very please with Ctnt.com having viewed the channel for a period now. Maybe we have to make the effort to centralize the judging at one central point as the official point for the band leaders to focus on and for the Television crews to broadcast from. Of course having street level cameras/vantage points will serve its purpose but nothing beats the over head camera for capturing the flood of masqueraders and the impact of the band that would surely make an impact on the viewers overseas.  Street level cameras just don’t capture the impact of the band leaders’ glorious creations.

The Government should really make the effort to centralize the celebration and bring back the stage at the Queen Park Savannah with the Grand stand on one side and the bacchanal North Stand on the other side. So what if it is 'dust in yuh face' – nothing beats crossing the “Big Stage”.  We need the glory and splendor to be viewed and enjoyed in the manner the masquerader’s parade on the street and the way we know it to be. So let’s hope changes are made next year to put the heat on the rest of the festivals around the world.

These broadcast entities don't do the carnival justice and serious planning needs to be done to correct this disservice to our wonderful festival. I must state here however, that the broadcast work done by WACK 90.1 FM out of San Fernando was very very entertaining with hosts Damion Melville and Lady JS (Jillian Smith) covering the parades from Coffee Street.

Also posted at http://www.santimanitay.blogspot.com/ 

Shurwayne and Bunji rise to the top C2K8

King Carnival is roaring into Sunday with champions left right and center and I am pleased to note that a song that I believe will become very popular over time has won the Groovy Soca Monarch title for one really smooth operator, Mr. Shurwayne Winchester. Shurwayne sang “Carnival, Please Stay”, a song that will be etched in the minds of Groovy Soca music lovers. Last year Biggie Irie, out of Barbados, deservedly won the title but placed fourth this year with his rendition of ‘Band on Fire’.  In second place was Patrice Roberts who sang ‘More Wuk’ followed by Farmer Nappy with ‘Chippin’.  I really liked Chippin but Shurwayne’s smooth silky voice and presentation on stage was too much for the Farmer to reap a bountiful harvest.  Everyone was pleased that the title was restored to the home where it rightly belongs; a Trini was crowned champion and deservedly so.

In the Power Soca category Arima’s favorite son, Bunji Garlin took the title away from the Boss, Iwer George. Iwer won the title last a year that Bunji chose not to compete. The massive crowd of over 10,000 were unhappy that Faye Anne, Bunji’s wife placed third at International Power Soca Monarch competition at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain. Faye Ann had this to say about the results: “No matter if my song is as high as the Berlin Wall I am not going to enter, as I felt I was cheated by the judges, who obviously view women as second best to men.

“At the end of competition, I had no glitches, no malfunctions. My melody was good. So, too, were the lyrics, and I am trying to figure out on what basis I placed third.” Newsday headlined that “They Cheated Fay-Anne” as quoted from a loving husband, Bunji Garlin who believed that his wife should have won the title. She was disappointed to have placed third just as the crowd was especially the female patrons that attended the show. Bunji sang a cover version of the late Maestro's classic "Fiery" that really went down well with the crowd. Bunji was powerful and energetic on stage as he whipped the crowd into frenzy. The late great Kitchener must be smiling in his grave as another resident of Arima has risen to the top – just the way it should be.

Congratulations to the winners Shurwayane Winchester, the Groovy Soca Monarch and Bunji Garlin, the International Power Soca Monarch for Carnival 2008. The Merry Monarch is heading towards its grand climax on Sunday night for the King and Queen of Carnival and Calypso Monarch competitions followed by the parade of the bands on Monday and Tuesday for the selection of Band of the Year.

Here are the official results:

Groovy Soca

   
1st Shurwayne Winchester "Carnival please stay"
2nd Patrice Roberts "More Wuk"
3rd Shal Marshall & Kerwin Dubois "Gal Farm"
4th Farmer Nappy "Own Woman"

Power Soca

1st Bunji Garlin "Fiery"
2nd Neil 'The Boss' George "Over yuh head"
3rd Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez "Get On"
4th Nadia Batson "My Posse"

Lingo repeats as TUCO's 2008 Extempore Champion

Even a blind man could have seen it coming and the one with the most visionary outlook sang his way past Short Pants to the coveted title of Extempore champion 2008 with a $100,000.00 prize for first place.  Indeed Vautor La Placeiere, aka Lingo is blind but that did not stop him on his quest to repeat as champion of an art form that was once the king of the heap but now relegated to second class citizen to Soca and even Soca Chutney. The Trinidad Express Newspaper reported: “Lingo was a smooth operator and executed his extempore with precision, giving Short pants very little room to operate. He was well dressed in a blue suit that reminded fans of the calypsonians of yesteryear.” The article can be read in its entirety @ http://www.trinidadexpress.com.  There were seven competitors competing for the crown of champion but even though Short Pants was good it was Lingo who had the punch lines that set the crowd ablaze with appreciative clapping and roar of approval. Congratulations are in order for the repeat champion Lingo, may the art form live on forever.

It is Time to unhitch Carnival from its Religious Yoke

Controversy and Carnival always seem to go hand in hand especially when it comes to the outcome of judging the various competitions. However, a fixed date for the carnival celebration that extends the season would be welcomed by everyone without question. Have you ever wondered why the Carnival dates are fixed to the Lenten dates? There are many articles online regarding Carnival and most point to the Greeks who started it all. We now have to ask ourselves how did we end up with the dates set to the Monday and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday? The church and carnival have nothing in common so why fix the dates based on the Roman Catholic religious calendar? Crop Over in Barbados is set for late July into early August and it has no connection to any religious calendar. Now, taking into consideration how financially viable the Carnival season is for the Calypso, Soca and Chutney artistes along with the Band leaders and Steel Orchestras wouldn't it be better to have a fixed date for the festivities that the participants could properly carter to year after year? Carnival is an industry that generates income for everyone involved in the business of the festival. This year the Carnival season is very short and this is not financially viable for those who depend on the festival for the majority of their income. A short season means that the calypsonians who rely on attendance to the tents will miss out on generous sums of income due to the limited time for the season.  What is your opinion about a fixed date for the Carnival celebrations and what is the set date that you think is best suited for Trinidad and Tobago? Why can't we separate the Church from the festival? It would be a financial bounty for the country and everyone else who can earn income from the activities of the festival. However, doing so may anger the religious zealots. I am certain that this has been considered before but I believe it should be revisited for consideration – now is the right time to get it done. I personally believe that a date in April would be best suited for everyone. The Government and those involved in the planning of the carnival celebrations should be able to come up with fixed dates that would be agreeable to everyone – this would be a move in the right direction.