Every Carnival some contention raises its head and the beef this year is centred around the decision to extricate the National Calypso Monarch Final from Dimanche Gras on Carnival Sunday night and stage it on the Thursday before Carnival.
Calypso on Dimanche Gras night is always a bone of contention in the annual festival, even as far back as its inception in the '50s.
Originally staged at the Queen's Park Oval, the final was moved to the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, in 1953 to facilitate cricket at the Woodbrook sports ground. That year, just four singers contested the final which was won by Spoiler, singing Royal Wedding. Runners-up were Small Island Pride, Mighty Panther and Lord Melody.
Six finalists contested the 1954 competition with Lord Melody copping the title, singing Second Spring, and beating crowd favourite Lord Blakie, who sang Steelband Clash.
The Dimanche Gras final of 1955 was embroiled in controversy as, for the second time, eventual winner Spoiler, sang a calypso–Picking Sense Out of Nonsense–which he had previously sung.
Even more significant was the disparity in the prizes awarded to the calypso king and the Carnival Queen. Producers of Dimanche Gras back then treated calypso like a bastard child, as a cameo attraction to the centrepiece of the night, the Carnival Queen pageant.
The 1955 Carnival Queen Angela Graham won a cash prize of $7,500, compared to Spoiler's $50 and a silver trophy.
Calypso has had to fight to secure a respectable and central place of honour on Carnival Sunday night on the Dimanche Gras programme. The art form in this arena gained significant attention and prominence in 1956 with the ascendancy of the Mighty Sparrow as that year's Calypso King, singing the immortal Jean and Dinah. Out of the country that Carnival Sunday night, Spoiler didn't defend the title.
Totally against the move is stalwart bard/historian Mighty Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool).
The eight-time national monarch said: "I don't agree with that at all. I understand the motives and I understand the complaints. But, the producers have to fix the complaints. The answer is not moving the calypso. If the calypsoes are too long shorten them, if there are too many calypsonians, chose less.
"Calypso finals on Dimanche Gras night is too steeped in tradition to throw cold water on it now. In addition, the Dimanche Gras, in its traditional format, is the impetus for Dimanche Gras productions all over the world and the Caribbean.
When we interfere for a tardition like that we are showing little respect for the ancestors. All those who have gone before worked so hard to establish it as a pillar in our national festival.
"So, what you have on Carnival Sunday night may be a concert, something like a Champs in Concert, but not Dimanche Gras. Long ago, people used to be in a fete on Carnival Sunday night with a radio to their ears to hear who was the winner of the calypso final. For many people, the National Calypso Monarch final on Carnival Sunday night marked the official commencement of J'Ouvert on Carnival Monday morning."
One calypsonian giving his nod to the change is five-time national monarch Black Stalin (Leroy Calliste). This week he said: "I am for the decision. It gives Tuco?(Trinbago Unified Calypsonians
Organisation) the opportunity of running its own final and making some money. They now have a whole night to sing two songs and get into some serious productions. That Thursday night, a guy could bring an elephant on stage to sing his song. I love the Thursday night."
Also sharing Stalin's view is defending national monarch Duane O'Connor who said:?"I think it is a very good idea. For one, it's a better revenue-earner for the calypsonians and Tuco. And two, it would allow Tuco to select more finalists in the competition. Personally, it doesnt affect me. I will be there that Thursday night to defend my title. For a long time we have had problems with the
NCC on Dimanche Gras night, with them claiming that it was the calypso segment in their production which caused the show to last so long. On the Thursday, the entire night will be ours to produce our own show."
Conversely, another calypsonian to express angst over the decision to move the calypso final is Singing Sandra (Sandra Des Vignes-Millington).
Moved to tears last Wednesday night at the De Nu Pub, at the opening of the Divas Cabaret International calypso tent, the twice-time national monarch said the move was "utter disrespect...for the artiste and the art form."
She added: "In recent years, those in authority have been showing much disrespect for calypso and calypsonians, apparentlty ignorant to the invaluable contribution the calypsonian has made to building this nation of ours.
"When you begin dismantling history and tradition, and removing pillars to any structure, eventually that structure will collapse."
And so, the debate continues; have organisers of Carnival committed a gross sacrilege and unpardonable sin against the gods of the festival by extracting the National Calypso Monarch final out Dimanche Gras? Or, is the move a well thought out decision that will enhance the overall spectacle Carnival is touted to be?