Tony Rakhal-Fraser
I worked at TTT and the successor stations for a number of years, and I still have professional colleagues there. I believed them when they told me the loss of audio in the Helon Francis performance was genuine and not deliberate. I even asked about the possibility of a saboteur who silenced the audio to the ignorance of the technical crew.
That was near impossible, I was told. I leave it as communicated, unless new information arises.
What is completely unacceptable is Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s attempt to belittle, scathe calypso, and to seek to make calypsonians the real sources of “divisiveness” in Trinidad and Tobago with their “hateful diatribes.”
Far closer to reality is that no individual, nor collectives of people, have come close to systematically dividing this society as politicians and political parties. In the main, calypsonians have generally reacted to the institutionalised, divisive and racist politics of the two major parties, the People’s National Movement, the United National Congress and the latter’s precursor parties.
The Honourable Prime Minister neglected to mention the fact that if there have been calypsonians who have been “stooges” for political parties, she, as leader of a party and as a senior member in others, has contributed to the “eat ah food syndrome” by hiring calypsonians to sing the “diatribes” for those parties in election campaigns.
In her raging tantrum, whether out of ignorance or simply being carried away by political angst, her attempt to restrict the art form to soca, the PM ignored Machel Montano’s assertion of “calypso is soca and soca is calypso.”
For her benefit, here are a few definitions of calypso and practical applications: Calypso is “how we have lived, loved and sinned,” Albert Gomes, a politician who understood and was a great supporter of the calypso. “It’s a feeling from deep within … it’s an editorial in song of the life that we undergo, that and only that, I know, is true calypso,” the Mighty Duke. Then there is Rudder’s take on the output of the calypsonian: “lyrics to make a politician cringe, and turn ah woman’s body into jelly.”
During the 1930s-1940s, when T&T was fighting for self-government against Britain’s imposed Crown Colony rule, Growling Tiger and Attila the Hun fought pitched battles against the government. From the 1970s right into the 21st century, Black Stalin, Valentino, Sparrow, Composer, Superior, Explainer, Maestro, Chalkdust and others, not only attacked the PNM and UNC governments of the period, but raised the consciousness of both Afro and Indo Trinidad as a means of seeking to advance the society to achieve a more resilient and meaningful Political Independence.
“If we treat we traditions like ah pappy-show … Tell me where, where else we can go,” Helon Francis 2026.
Calypsonians have fought long and hard against inequality and racism: “If ah man have money today, people do not care if he have cocobay, he could commit murder and get off free and live in de Governor’s company, but if you are poor, people will tell you shoo, even ah dog is better than you”—Growling Tiger. Black Stalin made it clear to “Mr Divider, here is a warning, meh blood in this country, meh sweat in this country, so when yuh sharing de oil bread, remember me, dis ent no black power talk, no talk bout revolution, dis is man talking to man.”
Composer exposed the inbuilt racism in the language of the colonial masters; calypsonians have sought to foster and encourage togetherness amongst the ethnic groups; it is from calypso that chutney soca was derived.
During the long reign of the PNM, Valentino declared the “calypsonian as the true Opposition,” the UNC and other opposition parties being politically helpless. Chalkdust intervened when he interpreted Karl Hudson-Phillips’ imposition of the Sedition Act in his role as Attorney General.
It is the calypsonian who has recognised and brought our attention to the real heroes of society, the artists, the athletes, the intellectuals, and reminded us that “we shouldn’t treat our heroes so,”—Explainer.
Stalin, in his attempt to crossover, sought the assistance of “Sundar, wey de song, yuh promise me so long”. Out of the calypso, has come Rudder’s recognition of cultural heroes: the Panmen, the Black Indians, “little Man with his ancient tenor pan” … he sought to retrieve the Carnival from those who made “de Carnival soft” … is only “Peter Minshall” who was playing real mas … “but he gone to “Spain.”
Chalkdust once advised that to live in this society, you have to learn to laugh; calypsonians have provided such therapy in Nello’s “Lying competition.” The unrivalled king of serious comedy, Spoiler, gave deep insight into our existence. Sniper’s immortal Portrait of Trinidad recognised the achievements of the young nation.
The calypsonian has, however, not allowed our “sins” to escape us: “Good Citizen”—Sparrow, Valentino and Maestro have pointed to our failures to make use of our strengths. Without wanting to be offensive to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, her expressed understanding of the contribution of the calypso and generations of calypsonians is either a deliberate attempt to distort, or studied ignorance.
Tony Rakhal-Fraser – freelance journalist, former reporter/current affairs programme host and News Director at TTT, programme producer/current affairs director at Radio Trinidad, correspondent for the BBC Caribbean Service and the Associated Press, graduate of UWI, CARIMAC, Mona and St Augustine – Institute of International Relations.
