University lecturer: ‘big money’ undermining calypso

[Pan Times]

By COREY CONNELLY - Trinidad Newsday

The involvement of “big money” in Carnival has, to some extent, minimised the importance of calypso as an accepted traditional artform, says university lecturer Dr Louis Regis.

Head of the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies, Regis said calypso, once an integral part of Carnival, has been impacted by what he called the institutionalisation of an oil economy.

“For most of its life, calypso has been associated with the Carnival, which is the time when the tents operate and society tunes in most. But many things in society have changed and are still changing and the complex of factors which most concern us is the involvement of big money in Carnival,” he said in a Sunday Newsday interview on Tuesday.

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[Michaele]

Thanks...very informative.

[patrick]

Big money is one thing but what about EDUCATION of the Trinidad and Tobago culture by these big money people. Most of them foreigners, that is not Trinidad and Tobago born citizens.

[Cecil hinkson]

"Big Money" has it's own culture and don't care about the culture of the people.

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

Big Money Captial has also aided the discounting and devaluing of steelband and masqueraiding from the traditional celebrations and festivities. Some say rebuild it and they'll come, but that is left to the oligarchs and masses to determine.