If you’ve been following my 365 project, you’d have realised that I didn’t post anything on Saturday, Sunday or Monday (its early Tuesday morning as I type this).
Well, its Carnival time… and I went to my first Carnival fête: St Mary’s College All-Inclusive (read an interesting review of the 2008 edition of the fetehere). An “all-inclusive fête” is a Carnival fete where everything you need is included in the price. You get as much as you can eat and as much as you can drink, as long as stocks last. The fêtes usually go strong for as much as 10 hours… some start as early as 4pm… and they go ’til after midnight in some cases. St Mary’s is my alma mater, and I usually attend the fete.
In lieu of my lack of photos, here’s a video I recorded of a performance at the fete: Kes the Band featuring Nadia Batson who sings with them as their female lead, although she’s an artiste separate and apart from the band.
I love Christmas. Even though I don’t get to do all that I’d like to do, its always been a special time of the year for me. Its the music on the radio… The cleaning… The shopping… The preparation… The anticipation… The gift-giving… The gift-receiving!
Too bad it only lasts for 12 days…
As Christmas comes to a close, I just want to share some of our local (Trinbagonian) Christmas traditional music: Parang.
Parang performers... performing! (Image taken from the Trinidad Guardian)
Here are some performances from the 2009 National Parang Champs – Los Alumnos de San Juan – that I was able to capture while attending the 1st annual “Jazzang” (a mashup of the words “Jazz” & “Parang”). Hosted by the Jazz Alliance and Phase II Pan Groove (in their panyard) the event was well attended and very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to attend the next one!
Peace and Rice and ALL the very best for the new year!
Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole perform a classic calypso “Mama Look A Boo Boo”, which was written in 1956 by Lord Melody (Fitzroy Alexander).
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I was also able to find the same song done on the steelpan… It was performed by a University student from California named Ziba Zehdar, as part of her university coursework or something.
Taken from Ziba's Vimeo profile...
What made me smile was that she’s so good, that the MC introducing her actually has to announce to the audience that – contrary to the thoughts and questions of many – that he “didn’t hire her to play the steelpan”, and that she was a matriculated student at the school!
I was just in the mood for some old school kaiso. I hope you do enjoy! It always makes me happy and proud to see a facet of my culture being appreciated by other inhabitants of the big blue marble! 😀
Here I go out to sea again
the sunshine fills my hair
and dreams hang in the air
Gulls in the sky and in my blue eye
you know it feels unfair
there’s magic everywhere
Look at me standing
here on my own again
up straight in the sunshine
No need to run and hide
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to laugh and cry
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
Sun’s in your eyes
the heat is in your hair
they seem to hate you
because you’re there
and I need a friend
Oh, I need a friend
to make me happy
not stand here on my own
Look at me standing
here on my own again
up straight in the sunshine
No need to run and hide
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to laugh and cry
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
I need a friend
oh, I need friend
to make me happy
not so alone…….
Look at me here
here on my own again
up straight in the sunshine
No need to run and hide
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to laugh and cry
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to run and hide
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to run and hide
it’s a wonderful, wonderful life
wonderful life, wonderful life
A shot of a Prisoner Transport van stuck in traffic ahead of me on a rainy day.
It’s around 9.30am. I’m twiddling my thumbs, bopping my head to the music, while waiting my turn to cross the intersection.
Then it hits me.
Court cases start at 9am. There were prisoners in this van… I assumed they were being taken to the Magistrate’s Court right down the street… and it was 9.30am.
“Justice… On Time?”
The camera comes out…
*Click!*
*sigh* 😕
Peace and Rice.
(For those interested, this was taken at what’s known as “Green Corner” in Port of Spain… the corner of Park and St. Vincent Streets. All the buildings on the corners are no longer painted green anymore, but it still retains the name. The vegetarian place on the left painted itself green. Let’s hope the others follow suit sometime.)
Hey folks! I know I haven’t posted in a bit, but I was kept really busy at work. I guess I should be thankful – being busy at work means that at least I still have a job! Not many can say that, so I am grateful! 🙂
Like I mentioned in my last post, I was on the road for Carnival… Tuesday. My feet hurt, my abs hurt… everything but my head, which was real niiiice. So Monday after Jouvay, yours truly simply chilaxed by the girlfriend. So we hit the road on Tuesday.
I went to my big sister’s graduation ceremony at the University of the West Indies (St Augustine campus) on Friday Oct 31, 2008 (Halloween). She graduated (with distinction, mind you) with her post-graduate diploma in “Educational Technology”.
After the first honourary PhD recipient (MrKynaston McShine — a QRC old boy) gave his moving acceptance speech, it was Stalin’s turn…
“Ah… I had ah mind to give a lil speech this morning… but after Dr. McShine speech, I feel is better I sing (audience laughs/claps).
Flickr: Ricosmixxx
Ah came here dis morning to just do one calypso and leave… but ah tink this being ah graduation– one such as this with so much young people — we should add another one to it — jus’ fuh so…
(audience applauds)
Yuh know and… and this particular song… we going to do this one with no music (motions to band to be still)… so we could let de message hit home…which is so much easier when yuh do it acappella style…
We just want to say that… yuh know… God <???> … regardless of your position, regardless of your condition, one of the things we know is that… we doh run dis world… somebody else does run it for us… and while passing thru, we got to make de best of it… so …ahm… here is my story…”
(starts singing his song “In Times” acappella)
We seem to feel that life is over
just because we throw a few pennies down de gutter
We seem to feel everything is lost
so we fighting to get back something at any cost
but while we fighting and we fighting just to get back that little something…
we keep forgetting that we know nothing of this world in which we livin’
Someone greater put this world together
So we must remember…
In times of plenty we must be grateful
In times of sorrow we must be strong
In times of joy we must be thankful
Because life really have its ups and its downs
In times of disaster we must be ready
To get together and move obstacles out de way
And if you listen to this watchword from yuh lover, Black Stalin
Tomorrow would be ah better day
We meet ah world today wit four seasons
Who is we to try and find out “what’s the reason?”
And what goes roun’ so…
Must come back roun’ so
Why dat is so, nobody doh know
And there are so much other mysteries
That nobody still can answer
So we just got to say ‘thanks’ and keep looking to de future
because dis world is not yours to control
it is just to behold, so…
In times of plenty we must be grateful
In times of sorrow we must be strong
In times of joy we must be thankful
Because life really have its ups and its downs
In times of disaster we must be ready
To get together and move racism out de way
And if you listen to this watchword from yuh lover, Black Stalin
Tomorrow would be ah better day
As we go thru this life we livin’
we must know by now that this world owe us nuttin’
so live yuh life, just enjoy it,
and just try to leave dis world better dan yuh meet it
because de maker of dis world which nobody has no contract
no paper is going to tell you yesterday is going to come back
so… look ahead but without looking dead
after all is said…
In times of plenty we must be grateful
In times of sorrow we must be strong
In times of joy we must be thankful
Because life really have its ups and its downs
In times of disaster we must be ready
To get together and move racism out de way
And if you listen to this watchword from yuh lover, Black Stalin
Tomorrow would be ah better day
…for you and you and you…
(fades)
(audience applauds)
Stalin then went on to perform one of his beloved songs “Caribbean Unity” aka “Caribbean Man”, with just guitar and drum accompaniment. The audience sang along without prompting, too.
You can find the lyrics to that song at the Toronto Lime website.
Apologies for the poor audio/video quality, but I was fairly high up in the bleachers, and that was the best I could do with my camera maxed out at 3x zoom. I need a new camera, and I’ve been a good boy all year, right, Santa?
CalypsoWorld
It was really nice to hear Stalin and to see him moved enough by the occasion to give the graduands this piece of advice in song, which I’m sure they appreciated (especially the undergrads). It was really appropriate too. Maybe the upcoming US election had something to do with it. Being poised on the threshold of history will do that to you I suppose.
He (Stalin) really is a man of the people, and while he seemed a bit in awe at all the pomp and ceremony of the occasion, he was…well, how do I put it…*Stalin* ! He will never lose his common touch, which is why so many Trinbagonians love and admire him so much. Even while he walked through the venue, he took the time to acknowledge the starstruck in the crowd with his winning smile.
With the mess the world is in today, with all manner of danger, threat and peril looming around every corner and facet of our lives, lets sincerely hope and pray that the UWI Graduating Class of 2008 will follow the goodly Doctor’s orders and make a difference in the lives, hearts and minds of the whole world.
![[Rolling Stone]](https://boboleechronicles.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/jj-mj.jpg?w=655 "jj-mj")
The Bobolee Chronicles 