Kamla not playing MasBy Andre Bagoo Thursday, February 10 2011
click on pic to zoom in
Perfect fit: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar tries on a head-piece at the Legacy mas camp in Woodbrook on Tuesday. ...
IN A TIME of economic austerity, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar will not be playing mas. She will instead be a spectator, like the 21,000 who will be able to attend shows at the Queen’s Park Savannah after the Government opens new facilities there on February 16.
At a tour of mas camps around Woodbrook on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister said she will opt out of mas.
“But I understand that many members of my Cabinet will be playing,” she said in response to questions from Newsday. She revealed the facilities currently under construction at the Queen’s Park Savannah will have a seating capacity of over 21,000, almost double the previous estimate of 14,000 given by technocrats last month.
“Many persons can now be accommodated at the venue,” Persad-Bissessar said at the ‘D’ Midas mas camp at Kitchener Street. “This means that the shows that have to be put on can make more money and be profitable for the various organisations, whether it be NCBA, whether it be Pan Trinbago, TUCO and so on. When they put their shows on they too can make more money through the gate receipts. It’s a great business all around.”
With Minister of Culture Winston Gypsy Peters looking on, Persad-Bissessar also signalled Government’s commitment to the Carnival arts and to protecting intellectual property rights in relation to the steelpan.
“Works of mas are copyrighted in the laws of Trinidad and Tobago,” Persad-Bissessar noted. “If we had done that for the steel pan, if we had given protection to our pan (it would not now be) too late.” She noted the time-frame in which the pan could have been protected has passed but said Government would examine options with regard to trademarking it.
“There is a certain time-frame in which you can have it protected,” she said. “I had asked for it when I was Minister of Legal Affairs. Whilst we could not have it as our own we could have used it as a trademark as brand Trinidad and Tobago. It is something we could continue to explore.”
Persad-Bissessar revealed the State is currently looking to work with the steelpan group Pan Trinbago in order to set up a pan factory.
“We need a pan factory, we should be selling pans to the world. We should not have China and Switzerland selling pan. That is ours,” she said. She also noted there is a need for the expansion of the Mas Academy, which she also visited on Tuesday at Cornelio Street as part of her tour.
“It is something that Government must pay more attention to in terms of transferring the skills to the younger generation so that we become known as an exporter of Carnival costumes and Carnival materials,” she said. “We will do everything we can to make Carnival a success.”
The Prime Minister noted that Carnival 2011 may be affected by crime and expressed concern over the fact that pan-men (Wendell Joseph and Henry Cyrus) have been killed at panyards recently.
“The crime is cause for concern,” she said. “It is impacting on the pan yards it is impacting on the Carnival as a whole but we will continue to do all that we can to bring the crime down.”
Peters revealed the facilities at the Savannah will be handed over to the State tomorrow.
“We want to tell the world that Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is open for business,” he said. The Minister defended his call for increased taxes on costumes imported for Carnival. He reiterated that this is meant to be a punitive measure and was not aimed at the import of raw materials.
The Prime Minister visited the mas camps of Rosalind Gabriel, Brian Mac Farlane, Legacy, Harts, and Tribe on Tuesday night, almost a year after doing a similar exercise when she was the newly-elected UNC political leader. www.panapparels.com
Replies
Peoples' this is serious business - stop being a sycophant leave the politricks out - read what Professor Brian Copeland have to say about the discussion in the forum "What ever happen to the Genesis(G-Pan) project" that is where the future lies in the development of the instrument. $10 million spend to develop this project.
THE RESERCH HAS BEEN COMPLETE - AS PROFESSOR COPELAND SAID ANY BODY WHO HAS A T & T ID HAS A SHARE IN THIS PROJECT. All this talk about these people not educated - we are talking about UWI involvement.
p.s. there is another post appear two weeks ago about another professor of UWI about mass production of pans read on...........STOP BEING A SYCOPHANT.
Pan Tuners please do not fall for this nonesense. Please keep these people out of your business. All this old talk as to what they will do for pan etc. will only make you a factory worker and hinder the developement of the instrument. These people are not educated in this art form and should not be given the oppornitunity to control. Pan belongs to Trinidad and Tobago; but not to all Trinbagonians. Since they are so interested in "doing something for pan", why not make premium quality steel available to all tuners so they can produce high quality instruments. Right now they are still using whatever is available. Drums that contain poisionous materials is a detriment to their health and the environment. Unfortunately they ignore the danger; and because of their love and dedication, they are still able to produce crafted products that is second to none Just imagine if these techinicians had the right equiptment and materials.
Anyway, when they mentioned the 2 Million dollars in prizes Steelbands were not considered in that decision. OK, lets reason here: One artist be it Chutney, Soca whatever is going to receive 2 Million, And One Hundred And Twenty Steel Band Men and Women will receive 2 Millions. and to add insult to injury they cut back on little pittance that cannot compensate for the time and effort put out by these musicians who are diligently working on Showcasing Trinidad and Tobago around the World.
So please Pan People, these Politicians, whether PNM, UNC, COP or whoever; keep them at a distance. They do not have a clue.
Please excuse my ignorance but when did China and Switerland start selling pan to the world?
bugs