When Steel Talks, it is regrettable that I address this forum with this assertion, as I write in utter disgust at the apparent dishonest practices of those who have been entrusted with the responsibility, bestowed as an act of parliament, of being the custodians of the national instrument, the administrators at the touted global headquarters of pan.


Young agrieved exponents of the artform, are greviously dissapointed in your betrayal of their trust. Those who make up the vast majority of the human resource capital, that is absolutely necessary to promote the income resource magnet, PANORAMA.


If it is, that state resources allocated for the procurement of services provided, cannot be accounted for by those with whom it has been entrusted, although the service providers have delivered the requisitioned product acceptably to the receiver, yet after more than 300 days their invoices cannot be honored, that is ROBBERY.Pannists globally must speak out against this atrocity in respect of the disenfranchised young proponents of the artform, those upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility of taking the movement forward. Let us protect them from predators of the artform, and from the cultural child abuse that is being practiced in the pan world that is the mecca of pan, here in the republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

by Russell J C Providence

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  • "If it is, that state resources allocated for the procurement of services provided, cannot be accounted for by those with whom it has been entrusted,(Pantrinbago) although the service providers(Panorama 2016 participants) have delivered the requisitioned product acceptably to the receiver, yet after more than 300 days their invoices cannot be honored, that is ROBBERY."

    In light of these well documented facts the' agrieved exponents of the artform" need to  unite in order to file a class action suit in a court of law, against the person or persons with whom they signed their performance/suppliier-contracts for the specic Panorama event, in order to recoup their promised compensation along with damages and court costs. 

    This unfortunate situation presents an opportunity for the T&T legal community to come to the rescue of Pan artistes to settle or resolve this dispute, because it involes our national instrument and national musicians, both of whom have been exploited and marginalized for far too long, and by the very people who purport to stand up for them.

    Beyond this, pan artists need to  immediately avail themselves of proper arts /business-management training so that they are more business- savvy in the 21st ccentury.

    Its never too late to learn. "We are either progressing or retrograding. There is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life. To feel the urge to want to grow, one must have a level of discontent"

    • "In light of these well documented facts the' agrieved exponents of the artform" need to  unite in order to file a class action suit in a court of law, against the person or persons with whom they signed their performance/suppliier-contracts for the specic Panorama event, in order to recoup their promised compensation along with damages and court costs."....

      At risk of sounding pro-Diaz etc...please get your facts straight before you disemanate information meh lady...The only panists that may probably "sign contracts" are those crackshots hired by individual bands...the government check routine is simply a matter of a band submitting a list of players to Pan Trinbago as performers for Panorama. No player on a steelband list signs any contract, not even with the band they play for. If anybody knows otherwise and can contradict me I'm fine with that...And that is dotishness of the situation that we (I included) find ourselves in. Again I repeat, the government had business agreeing to pay individual panists in the first place. Clearly nobody from "the government" knew of the skullduggery that takes place annually, where all you have to do when you play for more than one band is simply submit you son, daughter, wife dead grandmother  (well maybe not) name...but then again as some of us here happilly admit..."Panorama is a hustle"...

      As far as I know, panists represent steelbands and as such steelbands should be at pain to pay their charges. Thus the government should rightly "pay" the steelbands a lumpsum and let them in turn handle their stories...

      So tell me ...who suing who?...

      • Mr. Merrytonestothebone: Yuh tell me I harden, well yuh just as harden as me. Look, the most common angst on this forum is driven by an idealism which has no applicable basis in the reality that is Trinidad and Tobago. Sometimes I think that the EXPATS who frequent this forum all came on a boat to Trinidad when they were SIXTEEN YEARS OLD spend about FIVE TO TEN YEARS in Trinidad and then came to America. That is a roundabout way of saying that they don't know NOTHING about how things operate in Trinidad and the vikey vieness that permeates most administrations (and I am not talking about government administrations only) in the country. Some EXPATS that I knew used to call Trinidad "LAX" -- don't know if they still do.

        What has frustrated me the most about this forum is that people feel that if they come on here and post something that they believe will benefit the cultural landscape (more specifically PAN) that it will instantly become manifest destiny. TING DOH WUK OUT SO!!!

        Like yuh pardner Byron Serrette run out of ammunition on Keith Diaz or what? He better come up here and take some lessons from TRUMP on how to keep the MEDIA BUZZ GOING.

        Please try NOT TO KEEP IT SO REAL on this forum, MR. MERRYTONESTOTHEBONE!!!

        Sing about your neighbor's wife/sing about your own sex life ... That is what Chalkdust  reduce it too in a manner of speaking!!!

        • Senor Gonzales...I really try very hard to ignore certain posts here...but like post break in meh ears...not just stick...lol...I try to take yuh advice form now on sir...

          • Ah see yuh really harden. Yuh calling me Senor Gonzales after DONALD TRUMP just win the election and signing the deportation papers. Ah told Dr. deLite to address me as Mr. Gunn after the results were declared early Wednesday morning. Where is bugs? We have to produce a movie called UNDERCOVER SPIC.

            I have been reciprocally amused over the last few days reading all the nonsensical analysis of the American Election that I see in the Trinidad Newspapers. Just as EXPATS doh have a clue about what is going on in Trinidad dem columnists in Trinidad doh have the first clue about American Politics ... if TWO TRINIDADIANS get deported under this new TRUMPISM I will be shocked.

            Ah done explain to the forum numerous times that this whole deportation ting is a MEXICAN TING (13,000,000 illegals) and with a last name like Gonzales -- as soon as ah say CAJA is straight to TIJUANA dey sending me. Imagine me at this age trying to dig a tunnel under the BIG BEAUTIFUL WALL trying to get back to California -- the land that Trump's forefathers stole from MY FOREFATHERS.

            • Well especially after Mexico put goals in dey waist last week is now self the wall building...all round America...even in NY...

      • Suing people is a waste of time and money. Time will be better spent finding ways to prevent these things from happening.

  • Now that you acknowledge it is broken, lets hear what you have to say about how it can be fixed.

  • Pannists globally must speak out against this atrocity in respect of the disenfranchised young proponents of the artform ...

    It seems that BYRON SERRETTE is the ONLY VOICE in the PAN  WORLD people can hear clearly. And he must be hoarse by now, so his message must already be yesterday's news.

    For years people like BUGS and CECIL and BEDE and ODW and BEVERLEY and KEITH and BERTEL have been on this forum screaming ROBBERY and nobody take them seriously. Suddenly Bryon Serrette come and RECYCLE and the whole PAN WORLD standing at attention screaming for JUSTICE.

    May I remind you that there is ZERO JUSTICE coming because NO CRIME WAS COMMITTED.

    The Minister of Culture explained to us that THE GOVERNMENT gives KEITH DIAZ the money and what KEITH DOES with the MONEY is KEITH DIAZ business.

    This is an AGREEMENT between the PNM and PANTRINBAGO and I don't want to hear no talk at all about ALL GOVERNMENTS and SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS nonsense this morning because the FAR LEFT and POLITICAL CORRECTNESS is DEAD in AMERICA (at least for the NEXT 8 YEARS) and I am jumping up in front of the CENTER RIGHT STEELBAND.

    • Just curious, Claude. 

      But why eight (8) years and not four (4)?

      Am I missing something or is there something that you are privy to?

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