by Rubadiri Victor
Trinidad Express
The only way to preserve festival essence whilst transforming into a larger event is to return to the source — and to engineer growth from out of the principles that were sacred to the festival from the beginning. For example, if one was interested in restoring the declining power of Panorama the answer would not come from corporate market-based interventions — the answer would be to return Panorama to its ritual power.
Panorama — like football, cricket, and other forms of ritualised warfare — is about community. Panorama is a ritual where root communities groom and bear witness to their “Warriors of Steel” who prepare musical arsenals in their panyards for war. These warriors and their communities get ready for battle over the course of months and then journey collectively to the gayelle of the “Big Stage” in the “Grand Savannah” where a series of “sacred points” serve the convergence of these communities and the performance of the bands. Any insensitive tinkering with the “Stations of this Cross” destroys the alchemy of the festival. Over the years these sacred points have been weakened and MUST be restored.
The sacred points of Panorama include: the reassembling of the players in the panyard; the selection of the tune; the re-gathering of the community in the panyard; the evolution of the arrangement; the journey to the gayelle; the meeting of bands at the Savannah periphery; the meeting of communities on the “Track”; the slow-tempo jams on the “Track”; the pushing of the pans to the stage; the storming of the North Stand; the roots community enjoying the performance in the “pit”; the repetition of the signature tune over the sound system; communal silence during the performance; the interaction of the Panorama arrangement with its core community and larger audience; the eruption after the performance; the pushing of pans off the stage; the abandonment of the racks; the waiting for results; the reaction to results... These holy points of ritual must be respected and consolidated to return the life to Panorama....
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Now you have sentries on the ramp with automatic rifles at the ready in case you dare go on stage to support your band and share in the vibes. Watching old panorama performances makes one depressed...
"Panorama ............. is about community."
Return to the source! The way things used to be!
Just another of boring old feller living in the past.
But wait !
The author in not an elderly ex-pat living in the US.
He's a young T&T columnist. With dreadlocks!
What's going on?