CARNIVAL DYING?

I listen to the last hour of this discussion on i95.5fm in T&T and was glad to hear this question ask and being discussed on the radio. As old people will tell you, if you see smoke most likely their is a fire, so if the question was asked probably there is good reason to be concern.

Being a senior from foreign I was taken back by not one person on the panel remembered the contribution the steelband made to carnival, not even when they played "the road make to walk" by Kitch did they remember that it was the steelbands made that song road march, and when they spoke of the lack of costume on Monday did they remember is was the steelbands presentation that brighten up Monday. I am aware that they could have been "too young to soca" that's why as a elder I feel compelled to voice my opinion.

Carnival today is suffering from the absence of the steelband, the flavor that the steelband brought is missing, what we have today is a business opp.for some, a few people who do not care about our culture making lots of money. what we are seening today is the dead end street carnival is heading down..

Trini people will never allow carnival to die,but it's broken badly and needs to be fixed, SOON

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  • Pan for Carnival

  • Anyone who feel that the steelband should be back on the road carnival day this is an opportunity to voice your opinion, lets start a movement to get back the steelbands in carnival.

  • We have to keep hope alive, It's so much better than saying "dem days done"

    • Cecil now is a good time for the government to put in place a team to handle mas, pan and calypso for 2017. Offer $250,000 to each large steelband who bring their steelband on the road with pan pushers. I believe this will rebuild Trinidad and Tobago steelband culture. Many lightweight materials to choose from today. Dimanche Gras back again to include pan, calypso and king and queen mas. With less oil money I believe all will get created, start with a single group to handle everything. Less corruption in handling funds.

      • patrick, you are correct, now is as good ah time as any, they are forced to look at what's going on any way. The steelband biggest keep back is Pan Trinbago, they don't have any plan to reintroduce the steelband to carnival, we must have steelband representation.

        If the money it took to produce the ICP last year was used to bring back pan on the road everyone would have been hard at work doing what needs to be done, but they themselves have a defeatist attitude toward the steelband thus hindering any progress.

        I'm against pan pushing, even if they are paid, I know they can find a way to move pan today, we are in 2016

        • I can never  agree with you that pushing pan is archaic. I still do love to see stick fighting today. No one in trini decides to move on with this culture to use laser swords etc. Kings and queens of carnival, this organization is not moving to the future to use robots instead. Moko jumbie, this is not going to be fazed out, in fact we seeing more of this every carnival. Its sickening and sad to hear many on this forum, we do have many also with great ideas, to shoot down pan on the road. As one member on the forum mentioned, America still maintain their 'Rose bowl parade', Mardie Gras in NO, and so many other annual festivities as they did years ago. Why trinis can't see pan culture as ours and keep it as we know it to be. The impression I am getting is that old trini panmen on this forum want to go down the road and have panorama in a Queens Hall type facility now. Great ideas mixed up with endless fluff gets the pan no where today.

          • patrick, pushing pans is hard work, those involved with steelbands will tell you so, at first everybody want to push pan but as time passes you start seeing the help dwindle, when it's time to return to the yard players have to stop playing and push pan, sometimes pans has to be left at the side of the road, this is the reality of pushing pan, I don't think it will be any different if pushers are paid.

            We should not get side tract by pushing pan, it probably of the least importance in the fight to bring the steelband back on the road.

            • Cecil the point here is maintaining pan culture. To much emphasis is put on the hard work of pushing pan. Make ten times lighter and bring back, don't eliminate. Mas, kings and queens today still making the same heavy costumes like they did many years ago. Still same pulling and pushing. How come this is not a problem? These costumes are also NOT on trailers on carnival days. Hopefully you see what I am trying to get at.

              • patrick, I see clearly what you are getting at and I respect your opinion, it's just that I feel the pushing of pans is sucking all the oxygen out of the pan on the road discussion.

                If you know anyone that's involve with a steelband in the Mecca ask them about pushing pan and hear what they tell you, I've spoken with 3 people.

  • Understand something , people. Change does not just happen.

    And political leaders and groups like Pan Trinbago tend to be conservative in maintaining the status quo

    The natural state of things is inertia.

    When  President Johnson wanted to pass the Voting Rights Act , he knew he couldn't get it done in Washington , so he told Martin Luther King to put his people on the streets , hold people's feet to the fire and "make me do it".

    He knew he couldn’t get it done without grass roots support so MLK did as he asked , and the Bill was passed.

    Politicians and leaders do not bring change , it has to  from the bottom up, and the people have to demand it.

    President Obama said pretty much the same thing..

     

    Not being in Trinidad , I do not know how much we can accomplish or what impact we can have , but hopefully we can stimulate discussion , and help create a groundswell among the public to demand change.

    No guarantees , but it's a start , and better than doing nothing , as some would suggest.

     

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