Some 34 years after its inception, the Junior Parang Festival has evolved and is now a major event on the calendars of many primary and secondary schools across the country. The National Schools' Parang Festival was launched in 1978 by Diana McIntyre who was the music officer of the Division of Culture in what was then called the Ministry of Education and Culture. McIntyre said she decided to launch the festival in an attempt to change what she saw as the negative perception of parang and parranderos at the time.
Now referred to as the Junior Parang Festival, the event was launched in 1978 at the hall of the Providence Girls' Catholic School in Belmont. McIntyre said more than 12 schools and groups participated in the inaugural event, including Arima Government Secondary, St Dominic's RC Primary School, the School for the Blind, the School for the Deaf and Los Paranderos de UWI. McIntyre said she aimed to include all schools regardless of the academic level. She said by the following year, the number of participating schools had increased significantly and the event had to be relocated to?Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain to accommodate them.
The following year, McIntyre said she travelled across Trinidad establishing mentorship programmes between resident parang veterans and nearby schools. She gave the example of the Los Muchachos del Agua which served as the mentor for the Tabaquite area. McIntyre said this mentorship system was very successful in establishing an appreciation for authentic parang music. McIntyre told the T&T Guardian as the event evolved over the years, it has helped to change the perception of parang music which is now a must in most Christmas parties and events.
This year's finals of the Junior Parang Festival which is sponsored by bpTT will be hosted at the Brazil Secondary School and will feature 29 participating primary schools and 22 secondary schools that will compete on November 17 and 18 respectively. Tickets for the event will be sold at the door.
