An Open Letter to:
His Excellency
Mr. Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona SC
The President
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you as a citizen who has been involved in the Steelband art form for over fifty years. Those who have been involved in this art form for this length of time and more have struggled and made great sacrifices against great odds to bring the Steelpan to what it is today.
Today, it is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. I must say thanks to those who gave blood sweat and tears before my time; those who went to jail and lost their families and were considered outcasts by this very society, only for the love of the Steelpan. Today, the national instrument is still considered a noisy instrument by many in the country of its origin after all it has done to put this nation on the world stage.
This Steelpan instrument, has done more to improve the lives of more citizens and to promote the brand T&T, than anything else this country has produced and is still contributing towards holding the social fabric together. Why is this not being recognized for what it’s worth? It confirms the saying, a prophet is not without honor save in his own country.
I say all this to identify some challenges facing Steelbands in the South, especially during the Carnival season. Suddenly, some people find that the Steelbands are making too much noise in their communities, while practicing to represent the said communities at Panorama and the national festival.
So, the police is taking time off from crime fighting, to visit Pan Theaters to let the many young people gathered there practicing their culture know that they have to be EMA-compliant to continue making themselves useful. To me, this was the same thing the pioneers fought against and went to jail for. Is it that those times are coming back again? Are we to, once again, prepare ourselves for a battle with the police, in order to maintain and preserve our culture that is now sweeping the world?
One would have thought that the police would have seen the Pan Theaters as a welcome aid in its fight against crime; pan theaters where hundreds of young people, are engaged in meaningful pursuits, and not out on the streets creating problems for them.
Are we still in colonial mode? Are some of us still trying to understand what is our own, and what is imported? Please Mr. President, give us some clarity on this serious issue. Another very serious and sensitive issue that must be addressed by your good self, sir, is the carnival proclamation signed by you, giving citizens the right to play mas and parade the streets from 4:00 am on Carnival Monday to midnight on Carnival Tuesday.
This right is being infringed upon by the police, giving all sorts of frivolous reasons for their infringement. The Carnival is what it is and is adding much needed revenue to our treasure, but the police seem to feel overworked and unable to manage our national festival effectively. The solution is not in disrupting the people's celebration. The solution is added manpower. This is not rocket science.
But, the stopping of Carnival in the City of San Fernando at 2:00 am on Monday night, and 10:00 pm on the Tuesday night could lead to serious confrontation at some point in time. We certainly don't want such a situation exacerbated. There are people who live for this art form, and they invest a lot of money to make it happen. Please Mr. President, clear the air on these matters of national importance. All we want to do is play our part in the national festival without harassment and interruption.
Thanking you in advance for an early and positive intervention.
Respectfully submitted,
Yours in Culture
Michael Joseph
Citizen.
Replies
Hmmmm!!!!
That Hmmmm! is probably all they will hear if ear plugs are worn when the bands are practicing.
I lived for years in the back yard of Silver Stars with young baby children with nothing but pleasant memories.
C'mon. Carnival will be soon over.
Pass a decree, tell the people what they already know, that it's only for a few weeks, so , bear the noise, it will be over soon.
I am a lover of pan, but never lived near to a panyard. I know if I want to sleep and music is being audible, I will be upset.
Renegades and Desperadoes existed in their respective areas much longer than 75% of the present homes.
What bands could do is to instill what I call "QUALITY PRACTICE TIME;" discipline and punctuality is also a must.
Practice makes sense, but Quality Practice Makes Perfect. Please be advised that the Streel Orchestra that placed 3rd at the 2014 small category rehearses 3 hours, 5 days.
The funny thing about this situation is, only recently people start complaining about the noise steelbands make, back in the day folk tolerated noise because they knew it's only for a few weeks.
I agree Cecil (lol)
You know the one constant in life is change....so it maybe time for steel bands to consider changing how they approach teaching a Panorama arrangement. I find that most times, folks don't like change, but sometimes change can make things better. I know bands are accustomed to practicing until 2am or 3am in the morning during this time, but since the residents of the community are complaining, they maybe forced to shut down earlier, like what happened here in NY.
My suggestion would be to start preparing for Panorama earlier in the year....have an arranger teach the stage-side band, so that when the Panorama season starts, the bands section leaders will teach the orchestra. This means instead of one man teaching one section at a time, you will have many sections (lead, DT, seconds, guitars, cellos, quads, bass, etc.) being taught at the same time. In theory, it will require much less time to teach the band, so practicing until 2am becomes unnecessary.
GP
GP We all make adjustments during the carnival season.
Dear mister Michael Joseph,
I read your letter.
Although I live in The Netherlands, I do understand your concern. And I fully agree by the arguments you give, concerning giving young people a chance to do something that adds to their lives.
On the other hand I can understand the people who are living next to a panyard. It is a lot of noise ( meaning music) and just because you live there you can't escape from it. So I can understand. But what can you do. It is an acoustic band, so turning back the loudness isn't possible. And as you said, they are with a lot of players.
I assume that the panyards are in the open, so no possibility to shut the doors and windows.
I live in the center of a city here in The Netherlands and during summertime we have a lot of festivals ( music). I do adore it. On the other hand I was happy that they turned down the volume and stop at 1.00. after complains from the neighborhood. Surprisingly no big problems.
I know I can't compare this to the huge carnival you have, but just telling you, because all the people involved and the visitors got used to this. They do party after the music stopped, but that is by far not the noise of a band playing.
And as I said , I do live in a complete other region of the world, and maybe therefore I look at it in a complete different way. Feeling on thin ice, 'cause I do understand you comparing it with the start of pan, I don't think this is the case. People who live next door are complaining about it.So to my opinion it has nothing to do with colonial thinking.
Unless I understood completely wrong and the neighborhood is occupied by foreigners who don't want do have anything to do with the carnival, I think they have the right to say that it bothers them. Maybe they have to work the next day or are ill, or whatever reason. So maybe there is a way to solve this problem.
But keep playing please. I love pan and are glad that I got to know it at a young age.
Deanne