Videos

Directed by Arthur Cohen, "Steel Bands -- Tropical Music" presents the Calypso singer Lord Inventor and a couple of the bands of the island of Trinidad. Lord Inventor was also known by the name Lloyd Merchant. This film was likely sponsored in part by Pan Am, which operated flights to the Piarco Airport in this era. Trinidad (Spanish: "Trinity") is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 11 km (6.8 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. Though part of the South American continent, from a socio-economic standpoint it is often referred to as the southernmost island in the Caribbean. With an area of 4,768 km2 (1,841 sq mi) Many believe the original name for the island in the Arawaks' language was "Iëre" which meant "Land of the Hummingbird". Some believe that "Iere" was actually a mispronunciation or corruption by early colonists of the Arawak word "Kairi" which simply means "Island". Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration.