Page 26 - MIN TTC 18 JAN,2016

Dialuna 18 Januari 2016
Rudy Richardson di MEP:
Politics and Calypso Culture
I was born on the island of
St. Kitts and Nevis (British
Caribbean), that’s also the
birthplace of my mother.
Little do I know about that
island because I was raised
on the island of Aruba
(Dutch Caribbean) from
childhood. I recall going
to visit my grandparents
twice and visiting the capital
Basseterre and spending
time in the mountains and
getting acquainted with
some of my roots. My father
was a native of St. Maarten
(Dutch Caribbean). At home
we listen to all forms of
music, I was never thought
about the contemporary
history of Calyspo Music.
My parents some how
seem to like all forms of
genres, English of course
been they both had English
as their primary language.
During my formation years
in San Nicolas I realised
that the Calypso genre had
something to do with the
Diasporan experience. So
as a seeker of knowledge I
started to study this art form. in West Africa) became
Growing up it wasn’t my firts
choice I must admit. I some
how leaned towards Urban
American music, but was
conscious enough to know
that Calypso had something
to do with Caribbean
people in general. I grew
up jumping the Lago Sport
Park wall to attend the
Calypso and Roadmarch
Contest ever since I was
permitted to by my parents.
I always had an allowance
to attend, but like most
young boys, it was part of
the adventure to jump in and
buy soft drinks and snacks
with the money we had. My
good friend Anthony Brooks
and me was them boys
that represented at every
single Calypso contest. As I
grew older I realised it was
protest music that came
out of the enslavement
of African people in the
West. So I naturally like
it more, because it now
had a revolutionary touch
to it. Calypso is a style of
Afro-Caribbean music that
originated in Venezuela
and Trinidad and Tobago
during the early to mid-20th
century. Its rhythms can be
traced back to West African
Kaiso and the arrival of
French planters and their
slaves from the French
Antilles in the 18th century.
Calypso drew upon African
and French influences, and
became the voice of the
people. It was characterized
by highly rhythmic and
harmonic vocals, which was
most often sung in a French
creole and led by a griot.
As calypso developed, the
role of the griot (originally
a similar traveling musician
known as a chantuelle and
eventually, calypsonian. As
English replaced "patois"
(Antillean creole) as the
dominant language, calypso
migrated into English, and
in so doing it attracted
more attention from the
government. It allowed the
masses to challenge the
doings of the unelected
Governor and Legislative
Council, and the elected
town councils of Port of
Spain and San Fernando.
Calypso continued to play
an important role in political
expression, and also served
to document the history of
Venezuela and Trinidad and
Tobago.
Calypso music was
developed in Trinidad in
the 17th century from the
West African Kaiso and
canboulay music brought
by African slaves imported
to that Caribbean island to
work on sugar plantations.
The slaves, brought to toil
on sugar plantations, were
stripped of all connections
to their homeland and
family and not allowed to
talk to each other. They
used calypso to mock
the slave masters and to
communicate with each
other. Many early calypsos
were sung in French
Creole by an individual
called a griot. As calypso
developed, the role of the
griot (originally a similar
traveling musician in West
Africa) became known as a
chantuelle and eventually,
calypsonian. Modern
calypso, however, began in
the 19th century, a fusion of
disparate elements ranging
from the masquerade song
lavway, French Creole
belair and the calindastick-
fighting chantwell.
Calypso's early rise was
closely connected with the
adoption of Carnival by
Trinidadian slaves, including
canboulay drumming and
the music masquerade
processions. The French
brought Carnival to Trinidad,
and calypso competitions at
Carnival grew in popularity,
especially after the abolition has been cancelled. This
of slavery in 1834.
Today’s Arubans are
generally of mixed ancestry
of Caquetio Indian, African
and European roots. In the
early 20th Century with
immigration to Aruba from
the British Caribbean the
Calyspo music couldn’t
stay behind. Influenced by
American tourists and the
Latin Americans working in
Aruba, Halloween is now
observed and to a lesser
extent the celebration of Dia
de Los Muertos among the
Latin Americans. The first
beliefs and superstitions
in Aruba date from Pre-
Columbian times, when
Indians roamed on Aruba.
After 1820, with the
disappearance of the Indians
Pagina 23
their imagery and cultural
heritage was lost. With the
influx of slavery during the
seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, African beliefs
and superstitions were
assimilated, some of which
are evident in the traditions
of Dera Gai, Dande, and
harvest feasts.
Aruba’s Calypso and
Roadmarch Contest was
successfully organized for
51 years by the Aruban
Carnaval Committee
(SAC) until when the AVP
government and their
Minister of Culture went
interfering with a sovereign
entity although subsidized
partially by public funds.
Since 2013 a new Carnaval
commite was installed and
I must say it’s literally a
copy paste of the former.
It was all a game plan for
more power and greed by
the incumbent Government.
The musicians the heart of
the Carnival Festival was
never please with their
participation. Prior to a
new musician association
MUSICA their was ASOMA
and there was always issues
back and forth like anything
that has e economic
structure behind it. SAC the
organizing commite for the
last 60 years got pushed
aside with the help of
incompetent polticians and
after two years the biggest
Cultural event of Aruba
makes me very angry of
course looking at the history
and cultural heritage this
means to the Afro English
speaking population in
Aruba. What a disgrace to
see a Prime Minister that
got elected by this same
demographic has let the
people of San Nicolas down
once again. Not only did his
Government do a terrible
disastrous job governing
our tiny island nation but
he also destroyed a cultural
event that has it roots deeply
embedded in San Nicolas
and its natives. So the big
question is who’s fault is
it. It wouldn’t be fair to say
its totally the Governments
fault, but the Government
has a symbolic gesture
in the entire Carnaval
season. The Carnival
Committee is encharge of
organising the events, but
if by whatever reason they
can’t organize the events
its the Prime Minister and\
or Minister of Culture to
intervene for the benefit of
general interest. Mr. Eman
once again showed that
San Nicolas is only good
for votes with no dignified
representation from his
side. What a shame to see
after 51 years our ancestors
favorite SocialPoltical event
has been cancelled by the
AVP Government, a bloody
shame to say the least.
I hope the people finally
awake and see what’s at
stake here. Not only did we
(Aruban people) loose on
this issue, but it affected
the whole Carnival season;
in my opinion it’s not
acceptable to have the new
Carnival Committee stay in
power, they should resign
and the Government should
learn from this painful
lesson and have SAC return
as the organizing body and
the musicians have to get
their act together. From
ASOMA to MUSICA and
now they are proposing a
new musical organisation.
After they fought SAC
for many years and SAC
succeeded to them to
organise the festival for 5
years. In merely three years
they can’t handle it anymore
how pathetic is this. Life is
about discovering who we
are; leading is about striving
to become better than we
are, and helping everything
and everyone around us
to become better too. I
can only hope we all have
learned a bitter lesson that
politics should stay out and\
or have limited influence in
certain aspects of modern
life. The greatest leader is
not necessarily the one who
does the greatest things.
He is the one that gets the
people to do the greatest
things. I finalize with an
excerpt of a Calypso song
form Le Groove: Calypso is
muse and gossip, so where
the frans you all come from
to stop it???