Martin Daly - republished with, the expressed permission of: the Author
This column is no longer a voice in the wilderness. I now have powerful company on the public record. In the Newsday of 15 January this year, Mayor of San Fernando, Junia Regrello, leader of Skiffle, reportedly advised Pan Trinbago to restructure what has been done for decades in order to move forward.
Regrello’s advice was that Panorama payments must be restructured to work as an incentive to make players work hard to strive for top places in the competitions and that the medium band competition be removed from the finals letting large bands stand on their own so that the competition does not drag on.
Michael Marcano, President of Renegades, in an interview with Dalton Narine on the renowned site When Steel Talks, spoke about how the easy Panorama facilitation of single pan is retarding the challenge for excellence and depth in pan music for youngsters.
Replies
I can understand the outrage, no disrespect to the GUARDIANS of this great art-form, as usual more talk than ACTION!
Can anyone name a Panorama classic from the last 10 years? Can't call those years the Golden Era for Pan. There was a time when steelbands were able to achieve MORE with LESS, a Steelband Music festival, Pan Ramajay, Pan in the 21st century, Ping Pong Solo competitions, year round events. PANORAMA is all that's left to showcase the art form.
Who is willing to take the LEAD in re-configuring this stagnated process, who is willing to WORK together for CHANGE???
Renegades - Bees Melody HD (Panorama Classic)
Why must the steel-band be mounted on a tractor trailer and the driver, nothing to do with the band itself, always get paid lavishly and no issue here. The typical trini pan-man don't understand that this is their money, and should be in their pockets.
Next, it seems the steel-bands accept crime in Trinidad, take Desperadoes for instance, cannot go home again, no massive protest to rid the gangsters etc. No thousands of people protesting to the government to rid this, so pan players, citizens, supporters etc. can feel safe to visit panyards and enjoy a good time etc. Nobody cares, is only writing articles that sound good over and over again. The nonsense continues. And this goes for all other steel-bands in the country. Just like politics, PNM and UNC, hopefully some young man or woman under the age of 40 years decide to form a party, get elected and lead Trinidad and Tobago thru good governance. Jail all past and presence politicans of TT over 50 years on age.
Only then, people will listen to one another and have a better arrangement for the panorama competitions and other more important issues.
"Nobody cares, is only writing articles that sound good over and over again." [Especially when people catch PANORAMA FEVER at this time of year.]
Patrick: Ah continuing to build my profile on you ... yuh doh like FOREIGNERS and yuh doh like politicians over 40 years old and yuh doh like tractor-trailer drivers moving steelbands through the streets.
And you want PAN ON THE ROAD rolling on the ground with PEOPLE PUSHING just like in the FIFTIES and SIXTIES. (Talk to Bertel Gittens and he will tell you that in the REAL WORLD today -- nobody doh want to push NO PAN. And share the news with your pardner in PAN PUSHING CRIME, Cecil Hinkson.)
The one thing we both have in common is that both ah we doh like the HIGH CRIME RATE -- but that is not going to change my friend, it is only going to get worse!!!
If DIAZ and FORTEAU and JOSEPH and SHEPPARD steal 60 million from PAN TRINBAGO right under DOLLY NOSE and she eh lift ah finger to lock up nobody -- who go lock up every politician over 50 years of age?
Claude You need to be fair. You cannot ADD that I want pan people pushing pan just like the fifties and sixties. You may not know this, but their is a University of the West Indies in Trinidad. Their are many engineering graduates, I believe can specially design built electric mobile vehicles to move these steel-bands through the streets very easily. Need to get pan back to trini style, literally on the road. Big trucks and nasty fumes should not be part of any steel-band period. Again, to much money wasted here(basically to a truck driver, the easiest money he will ever make, and may never like pan). Put young people to work by using their academic knowledge. And please give the pan president a chance, can be for the better hopefully.