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Topics - AB.Trini

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91
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Chutney for a Tiger
« on: February 04, 2010, 08:40:53 PM »
Check it out nah..... the treason why the man  horning he wife...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMCcbfJgYgI&feature=related

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/vMCcbfJgYgI&amp;feature=related" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/vMCcbfJgYgI&amp;feature=related</a>

92
General Discussion / The eye of the 'Tiger' or fall from Grace
« on: December 12, 2009, 12:21:56 PM »
                                                 'The Eye of the Tiger: Fall from Grace'
This is my original parody of events as they are unfolding before our eyes. Ah trying meh hand at writing an editorial.

 In a society which  idolizes and creates  artificial heroes it is not surprising that  when 'flaws'  are exposed, the walls around the heroes come tumbling down. Witness the ever media frenzy around a man who simply excels at his talents and became the epitome of golf greatness. yet amidst  his fame and talent in his abilities as a golfer, there exist a convoluted thinking that greatness in one area transcends a man's life in all...thus the status of hero/role model is ascribed unto him.

This arch typical thinking is not new. Literary works like Shakespeare's 'Othello' illustrates the fall of one such hero. In this work, Iago, the embodiment and symbol of all whose sole purpose is to wedge and destroy a union between lovers of contrasting cultural, ethnic and racial world views, weaves his diabolic plans and wrecks a marriage involving the black Othello and the white Desdemona.

In our times we have seen too often the manifestation played out but the hidden forces (Iagoes) are never evident. Witness the fall of O.J. Simpson, Kobe Bryant.... now Tiger.  Interestingly  When an issue with a black man and a black woman is in the media, the issues seem to revolve around  abuse: Bobby Brown, Mike Tyson, ...lately the Rhinna episode, oh yeah and Hallie Berry  relationship.....

Ah find that the media frenzy and almost fanatical reporting on these affairs are like a fierce pack of lions  ripping at all facets of a human until they diminish the very  said hero they created. I am not condoning what the man has done, but oh gosh, let the man make his retribution in a personal and private manner instead of prolonging and sensationalizing the event. The way they giving credence to the 'vipers' / women who crawling out of the woods (no pun intended), is like the snake in the garden of Eden. There is only one objective here...to destroy the man....

What if behind all this is ah 'golfing mafia' type  who are conspiring to  bring down Tiger? they find the man have a flaw/ weakness for women, then they plot and send these  vipers after the man next thing yuh know... the man life and professional game  come tumbling  down!!!! plot done all ah dem who cyar beat the man at he game really tie him up in his weakness. I eh saying Tiger couldn't resist but oh gosh every  hero does have a tragic flaw and dat is what the dam villains does exploit!!!! Shakespeare done  write about this  long time ago!!!

Today I proposing that Tiger go off to Tobago, set up a Tiger Woods Academy to promote the game for TNT female golfers. In a culture like TNT, ' horning'  exist as a byproduct of ancestral heritage...Tiger yuh could do yuh golf  thing and ride the rhythms of the islands.

It looks like all Tiger get fuh pre xmas gifts is a lot of : ho ho hos

 P.S. Lawd look how this song resonates with the events in ah man's life:

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

[Chorus:]
It's the eye of the tiger, it's
the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds, still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive

[Chorus]

Risin' up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive




93
Football / A blight on the beautiful game: maybe even our players?
« on: December 05, 2009, 10:50:46 AM »
 
A blight on the beautiful game    Macleans, Magazine

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/12/01/a-blight-on-the-beautiful-game/

The Fix is the most explosive story of sports corruption in a generation. Intriguing, riveting, and compelling, it tells the story of an investigative journalist who sets out to examine the world of match-fixing in professional soccer.

From the Introduction
Understand how gambling fixers work to corrupt a soccer game and you will understand how they move into a basketball league, a cricket tournament, or a tennis match (all places, by the way, that criminal fixers have moved into). My views on soccer have changed. I still love the Saturday-morning game between amateurs: the camaraderie and the fresh smell of grass. But the professional game leaves me cold. I hope you will understand why after reading the book. I think you may never look at sport in the same way again.

A Canadian journalist uncovers soccer’s dark world of match-fixing
by Charlie Gillis on Tuesday, December 1, 2009

When Declan Hill’s account of pervasive match-fixing in international soccer hit bookstores last year, the doubters popped up like spring grass on turf. FIFA, the governing body of the so-called “beautiful game,” dismissed The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime with a rhetorical wave. European sports commentators scoffed, while even Hill’s hometown paper, the Ottawa Citizen, brushed off his first-hand accounts of a match-rigger in Asia paying off players, referees and coaches as a “slash at the game” that “proved little.”

“It was as if because I’m Canadian, I couldn’t possibly be an expert,” says Hill, a seasoned investigative journalist who now lives in Britain. “There was an enormous amount of push-back.” But at least one man in a position of influence found Hill’s exposé compelling. Michel Platini, president of the European Football Associations (UEFA), ordered a copy of The Fix and read it carefully, says Hill, then quickly announced the formation of an “integrity unit” charged with ferreting out schemes to manipulate game results to the benefit of gamblers wagering on illegal networks in Asia. In October 2008, Platini invited Hill to a summit in Geneva to discuss findings with members of the newly formed task force.

Hill was careful not to give away his sources—“Some of these people would kill me if they thought I was co-operating,” he says. But he did offer ideas as to how UEFA might fight back, most importantly by monitoring betting patterns in places like Shanghai and the Philippines. And the results weren’t long in coming. Last week, German police stunned the soccer world by announcing the arrest of 15 people as part of a sweeping investigation into match-fixing in nine European countries, at levels ranging from third-division pro to Champions League qualifying games. At least 200 matches are under suspicion, but investigators say that’s a mere fraction of the rot caused by the Asian gambling interests Hill had documented.

While match manipulation is nothing new in sports, few in soccer grasped how important the most trivial matches in Europe have become to gambling interests on the other side of the world. With demand for gambling surging in countries like China, Thailand and the Philippines—and with electronic communication linking criminals around the globe—it was only a matter of time, says Hill, before manipulators would target Western games to create surefire cash windfalls.

Lower-level leagues may be most vulnerable because their players and officials are more desperate for cash. Among the games now under suspicion was a 5-1 loss by the second-tier Swiss club FC Thun to its rival Yverdon last April. One of Thun’s stars, Pape Omar Fayé, has been suspended by his team, and reports in Switzerland say an unknown number of Thun players received up to $22,000 to ensure the four-goal defeat. Hill himself has heard of fixers approaching players at an under-16 tournament held in Copenhagen in July 2008, with a view to rigging game scores (“Sixteen-year-olds from Denmark!” he marvels. “It really boggles the mind.”)

But the corruption occasionally reaches the top of the football food chain, too. The centrepiece of Hill’s book is the story of a Chinese fixer, whom he dubbed Lee Chin, who allowed him to watch as Chin met a middleman at a KFC restaurant in Bangkok, and arranged US$30,000 payoffs to eight members of Ghana’s national team in advance of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Sports cheats rarely seek to influence which team wins or loses; instead, they focus on goal differentials. In this case, says Hill, Chin paid to set down the point spreads by which Ghana would lose its matches against Italy and Brazil. The games finished precisely according to his plan: 2-0 and 3-0, respectively.

Hill has also chronicled the fixing of games in Germany’s top-level Bundesliga, while at least three of the games now under investigation by German authorities were qualifiers for the Champions League, a competition between Europe’s top club teams. All of this has led the former skeptics to wonder just how widely and deeply the corruption runs. And few seem comforted by the idea that the worst occurs in the backwaters of the sport. “Players with mega-salaries in the first division can’t be bought,” Franz Josef Wagner, a columnist with the German daily Bild, wrote this week. “So the cheating happens where the heart of soccer beats. The cheated fans are the ones who stand shivering on the sidelines every day in the wind, cold and rain, shouting things like ‘go on, shoot! pass the ball!’ ”

Hill has suggestions on how soccer authorities might turn back the tide. Distributing revenues more evenly between teams would remove the income disparities that cause players on some clubs to take bribes, he says. Leagues could also offer generous post-career medical benefits for players in middle-calibre divisions, under the proviso they will be cancelled if a player so much as speaks to a match-fixer without reporting the encounter. Whatever the bosses do, Hill sees the German investigation as “a good thing for the sport”—a signal that soccer’s season of denial is officially over. Now, at last, talk of a different kind of fix can begin.


After reading this  article, I am inclined to speculate of the possibilities of such practices in our own yard. 

Our national coaches have been very quiet..... Our TTFF have been very quiet... While countries like Canada continue to have the occasional friendlies, despite  not even making the hex, we remain very quiet.... as per usual we will not take 2014 WC seriously until  we squeak in the hex and about three games down.

In retrospect of our 2010 / performance/ undertook this campaign, it appears that there were some blatant decisions which  points to  a  probable 'sell out' to the Central American countries but with the veil of deception clouded so thickly around all those in power, it makes it very risky, very dangerous and very challenging to seek the truth under the existing conditions in the country.  Is there a journalist out there who could undertake an investigation of this sorts in our region? Are there probable cause that may uncover such atrocities? For example:

1. Selection of a relatively inexperienced coaching staff
2. Selection of inexperienced players....Players selected and asked to play in positions which they don't normally play. Overlooking players who are playing in higher leagues for players with less skills.
3. Inept planning
4. Lack of a consistent preparations...i.e. no friendlies
5. Inadequate preparations
6. In hindsight, is it conceivable that  Maturana the coach/person  have been plated to ensure that failure would be imminent and that information about our team be piped to his  Central Americans brethrens?

I leave it up to those in the know..but the more I read of the scandals on a world wide scale,  the more I begin to see the whole governing body as shamming the fans and those who are passionate about the game.

94
Football / Motion to FIFA.....Breaking News ..Revamped TTFF
« on: October 17, 2009, 05:59:29 PM »
The SW online forum over the years have provided some entertainment, information and so called foot ball experts.  What if the S.W forum fans were in charge of running TTFF?

Proposed Motion to FIFA:  Due to the overwhelming support for our football programs and in the best interest of sustaining the reputable legacy of football in TNT, the S.W online form fans would like to propose the establishing and revamping  the present TTFF governing body and replace it with the following personnel made up of S.W. forumities.

 In order to have an effective and transparent governing football federation in TNT we will set up a 'SHADOW' organization by the people, for the people and of the people.

Qualifications for  selection on any of the committees are based  in part to the number of and contribution of talks  posted on the forum over time by the said individuals.  At least give us the opportunity to 'walk  a mile in others shoes'. Could the people  do worst or better?[/b]

I will outline the proposed structure for the revamped TTFF, PLEASE ADD your   nominees from the SOCAWARRIORS online Forum for the following structural arms that will be within the TTFF: These are my selections

Nominees for Special Advisor:

•   Tallman
•   Flex
•   …
•   …

Nominees (select 5) for the selection and evaluation of a coaching staff:

•   Coops
•   Big M
•   Palos
•   Just Cool
       elan

     



Nominees ( select 3) for  Technical Advisor:
•King Deese
• Maxg
•   
•   
 Nominees for ( select 5) Team selection committee:



Nominees for selection of Team manager:

•   E-man
•   ….



Nominees for Team Public Relations officer and media writer:
•   Touches
•   Weary
•   BrownSugar
•   Warrior Queen


Nominees (5) for Strategic Planning and structural development committee:

•   Sam
•   Westcoast
•   Socapro
•   Pardners
•   Midnight


Nominees for scouting overseas players U.K.:
•   Socapro
•   

Nominees for scouting overseas players North America.

•   
Nominees for scouting overseas players Continent Europe.


Nominees for scouting local players

Patriot
Andre
Big M
Small M
Weary
Brown Sugar


Nominees  for scouting TNT players in whatever part of the unknown world yuh findings Trinbagonians



Nominees for  [color=orange]Business manager.[/b][/color]



Nominees for committee to plan ‘friendlies’.:

Bake and Shark

The new version of the TTFF will be comprised of S.W. forum members and those individuals who have a vested interest in the promotion, betterment and viability of football in TNT.

Please add anymore governing sectors that would assist the new revamped TTFF. Look nah, we cyar wait till 2013-14 tuh start looking at  who the team is and what friendlies we  might play , planning  begins today. Once the committees are in place, we could have blog meetings tuh set up agendas and put forth rationale  for decisions made.

95
Jokes / Computers: masculine or feminine?
« on: October 13, 2009, 09:40:36 PM »
A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la Casa.'
'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

1... No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should beMasculine ('el computador'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

Who is the WINNER?
 

96
Football / Do we need to play more friendilies to be successful?
« on: August 18, 2009, 08:33:17 PM »
Well well this is the 'new guard' the  dawn of Aquarius. Who says we have to play friendlies to be successful? 9tongue in cheek). Did El Salvador not have a friendly against Columbia and then turn around and lost to us?  Di we not have success playing against teams like St. Kitts and  the U-20's ?

why  mess with success? we on a roll!!!! who calling for more friendlies when we just  waiting for a week before and rolling out the prima donas? TNT is the best why worry?  relax nah did eh Beenhakker running the show...... we making strides..... so leh we just relax ... relax in 56 degrees weather and drink ah rum and call it South Africa.
LATA DAYS

97
What about Track & Field / Babes of T& F
« on: August 16, 2009, 12:04:42 PM »
Look nah, it have a 'Babes' thread that glorifying all kind  ah air brush looking females, I would like to honour  the natural, athletic and beauty that  are on the track and field scene.

Now I eh know how to post or upload them ladies pictures but ah think that they  deserve recognition as athletes and as beautiful females:

Flash from the past:


.Bridgette Foster :  Best looking  female track athlete in my opinion that came out of Jamaica.
Marion Jones        : I eh know  how come A.B. did not hook up with this woman before that T.M. go spoil the lady

Current  ladies that looking good in track

Debbie Dunn USA
Sonya Richards USA
Tiandra Ponteen  St. Kitts
Lolo Jones *** Yes
 Indira Terrero Cuban
Nwachrchu (SP)  German
America's Allison Stokke

Now it have some Russians, Germans and Ukrainians that looking good too but ah just focusing on the sisters for now. Man who could up load pictures  post  dem nah.

 Jennifer Oeser  Ger
Jessica ennis GB
 Natalia Dobrynska
Hanna Melnychenko


98
Football / Does a player have to score to be effective?
« on: August 15, 2009, 01:43:16 PM »
As the football gurus continue to debate the merits of which players  ought to be considered for selection on the national  team, it begs the question as to what role and what are the intangibles of each player.

Looking at  players performance and selection today in the EPL, I ask the question : if KJ could play all 90 minutes, is there a role that he is performing other than scoring that is valuable to the team's success?

Potentially , every player ought to be a 'scoring threat' some are more so given their position. However, judging by most fans reaction, why is it that we tend to place  such blame and so much credence on certain players?

In looking out for success of our team, I  think a shift in perspective ought to happen  , in that we  develop more of a team concept for success rather than 'putting all our eggs in one basket' depending /relying too much on the 'big boys' to deliver. All players who step on that field should be a SCORING THREAT! IMHO

99
  If you were the coach, select your  players for the next game given what you saw or heard about Honduras. You must provide a rationale for the selected players.

 Make a presentation to the TTFF of  what you absolutely need to do to have this team ready and be able to perform prior to the next game( i.e you may list  number of training sessions, fitness testing, guest coaches, number of friendlies..... player availabilities).

If you were heading up the TTFF outline your plans for improving the quality and enhancing the program of our SENIOR MEN'S TEAM. In addition to funding, what additional support would you  give to the program, the coach and to  the players?

What to you see as the G.A.N.( greatest area of need ?)

100
Football / Is it the Countdown to our football Amargeddon?
« on: August 10, 2009, 09:14:18 PM »
                         Is it the Countdown to our football Amargeddon?
Albert Einstein said he didn’t know what the 3rd world war would be fought with, but that he was sure that the 4th world war would be fought with lances and stones. What the science genius was saying in effect is that he was certain the 3rd world war will mark the end of civilization and organized society as we know it.

It is now in 2009 A.D. the truth is nearer home than ever as we  are not sure what team of Warriors would do battle on Wednesday and there appears to be umpteenth questions as to whether or not they will have the arsenal to be victorious. Will this team selection and the decisions which will be made, result in an apocalyptic explosion of the grand delusions of football supremacy that many have been living with in TNT?

Just a few months ago the focus, concerns and the wrath of many were on another appointed saviour of TNT football, Maturana. Like many who preceded him, he too was made a sacrificial lamb. He of once fame and glory, he a once reverend South American who was deemed knowledgeable of our feared CONCACAF opponents, this was the one to help us dominate the Latin teams, to help us develop our brand of football. He was not like the other European coaches; he should have been an easy fit to our culture but like those before him he all too soon succumbed to the powers of those above him; another victim, another scapegoat of the TTFF.  One who fell victim of what seemed like  to many a comedy of errors……as it was not evident as to who was running the show, who was selecting the teams, and a seemingly  inability or reluctance to  communicate in the 'Trini' twang all but cooked his goose. Adios Amigo ..welcome home ........the anointed one!!!

It was with open hands when the rabble hooted and howled for Maturana dismissal and to usher in a local hero, he of past fame and glory, a son of the soil , a magician of sorts. This Joshua would take over from Moses to lead us through to the ‘Promised land’
There was rejoicing in the land as the hero with promises of conquest returned home
What tributaries follow him to TNT?
To grace in captive bonds his football magic?
He was offered the crown of TNT Football
Who knows if he did refused it once. Then he was offered
    One again; then he put it by again. But, to my thinking, he
    was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it
    the third time; he put it the third time by; and still as he
    refused it, the rabblement hooted and clapped their chopped hands
    and threw up their sweaty nightcaps and uttered such a deal of
    stinking breath


But all to soon, the course of history and events unfolded as before and now of course the assembly of mockers who says, in their wilful ignorance and to their own peril, that ‘all things have continued as they were since the beginning of the TTFF under the most mightiful and omnipotent Ceasar’.

    O you hard hearts, you cruel fans of TNT,
    Knew you not Latapy? Many a time and oft
    Have you flocked to stadiums and games,
    To stands and grounds, yea, to walls
    Your Carib in your arms, and there have sat
    The livelong day with patient expectation
    To see great Latapy and Yorke play the game.
    And when you saw his magic but appear,
    Have you not made a universal Noise
    That the stadium trembled underneath her support
    To hear the replication of your sounds
    Made in her concave shores?
    And do you now put on your best TNT KIT?
    And do you now cull out for this same magician?
   
    Run to your houses, fall upon your knees,
    Pray to the gods to intermit the plague
    That needs must light on this ingratitude.
 
Let us pray that nothing catastrophic is in the offering for Wednesday. To be sure, there is no warrant for  hysteria about the end of  our  football glory, but it would be fatally delusory to ignore the signs of the time, and as in the days of Noah carry on with our daily routines without giving a thought to the unfolding of the accounts before us or lack there of.
Will  the government dare to intervene request or demand the repayment of $$$$  recently  given tot eh TTFF or was that a......ummm.. a gift for  political services rendered?



“Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee,” The fans and loyal subjects and die hearts are suffering at the incessant ringing of seemingly discordant sounds from the TTFF high above. 

Another scapegoat takes the heat and the same ole music continues.

It is with great hope and blessings that despite what may seem like miscalculated and erroneous choices,   with grace from above, let those Warriors who  are given the opportunity to adorn the national colours be resilient enough to bare fruits of tedious work and formidable odds and bring forth a sweet taste of victory to once more pacify the thirsty hordes of unforgivable elements among us; all this in spite of the ravenous despotic and seemingly benevolent ‘Special Advisor.’

Will there be another scapegoat /sacrificial lamb carved up and presented on the altar to be devoured by the fans? or will there  be a meal ( $$$$)  fit for the TTFF gods? 

Let not the final rapture unfold before us on Wednesday
But let El Sal... feel the  wrath of our pains!


101
Do we still rely on calypso to unveil the ills of society?  does it still have the impact to effect change?

PROUDFLESH: A New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics & Consciousness

ISSN: 1543-0855

Intimidation of Calypsonians by the UNC Government of Trinidad & Tobago
   ProudFlesh: New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics and Consciousness

Lynette M. Lashley
Introduction

The calypso is one of the indigenous music forms of Trinidad and Tobago. This art form originated from among the talented, dispossessed African males of the society, similar to the art forms of reggae and rap. Among the many functions of the calypso, it has played the role of unofficial political activist and communicator for the masses of the society. Its lyrics can disseminate such significant messages to the population of Trinidad and Tobago that people have come not only to listen to them purely for entertainment, but also for their instrumental value. They listen with the expectation of receiving messages from the calypso about political, governmental and other topics, to which they could relate.

Specifically, in the areas of politics and government, when all is not well in those spheres, the calypsonian articulates this on behalf of the masses. The more there is dissatisfaction among the masses with the state of politics and government in the country, the more this is reflected in the calypso genre of political commentary. While this form of expression had been challenged by the United National Congress (UNC) government of Trinidad and Tobago, and many calypsonians had begun to practise self-censorship, it was also being used by the UNC government self-servingly. The perspective of the UNC government was that calypso should promote the government, not criticize it. This paper will examine the status of the calypso genre of political commentary in Trinidad and Tobago, under the UNC government’s tenure from 1996 to 2001.
The Influence of Calypso in Political Communication

As far back as during slavery, calypsonians seemed to have special powers through their songs to sway, control, and influence people around the “slave masters.” This ability earned them, in some cases, special favors. After slavery, the power of persuasive communication remained a strength of the calypsonian. They were experts in their art form on the communication of political and other relevant messages to the population of Trinidad and Tobago (Lashley, 1982).

Calypsonians were described as gun-slinging balladeers whose weapons were quick wit, good voices, and a wide knowledge of the events of the land. They were the mouthpiece of the people. They were able to articulate for the population their analysis, a synthesis of opinions on an extremely wide range of matters, both local and foreign, particularly regarding social, economic, and political issues (Lashley, 1982).

Political commentary in calypsoes has assumed many different forms. Some of the lyrics are blatant; some are in double-entendre; some employ puns, satire, acerbic wit, pungent humor, and corrosive discourse; some even become personal, going so far as to incorporate commentary about family members.

Albert Gomes, now deceased, a former head of state of Trinidad and Tobago during the years 1950 to 1956, firmly believed that the calypso was an important vehicle for communicating political messages. He states:

    The calypso is the most effective political weapon in Trinidad. The singers - all of them - are men reared in poverty and oppression and they sing of the life they know. Thus it is that even when cleverly camouflaged with wit and banter, the sharp tang (acridity) of social criticism is evident in their songs. Moreover, people go to the calypso tents (concert halls) to be entertained. What politician, who must harangue from the rostrum, can boast of a better opportunity for influencing people’s minds? The fact that the tents are so sedulously supervised by the police reveals the extent to which the calypso singers influence political thought (Brown, 1987, pp. 251-252).

Gomes, as an early politician, expressed a truth about the potency of the calypso. Other politicians recognized this truth as well.
The UNC Government’s Reaction to Political Commentary in Calypsoes

Since the British colonial government, it has only been the United National Congress government that has sought overtly and insidiously to censor and manipulate calypso with political commentary in Trinidad and Tobago because this genre of calypso comments candidly about political and governmental issues.

As an art form, the calypso has been traditionally regarded as the people’s newspaper, whose lyrics carry social and political commentary. Calypsoes have always contained lyrics that have been known to criticize politicians and government. Possessing an equivalent of poetic license, calypsoes have been recognized as having the right to be tasteless or insulting, sardonic or venomous without being viewed as a specific assault against any particular group or individual (Lashley, 1998).

It should be noted that no government of Trinidad and Tobago has ever escaped the pen of the calypsonian. Lyrics of calypsoes pertaining to government and politics have always either been invective or complimentary in their satirical or blatant commentaries. During the Carnival season, the public is treated to a variety of this and other genres of calypsoes.

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is a pre-Lenten festival which starts shortly after Christmas, and ends the day before Ash-Wednesday, culminating in a street festival of costumes and dancing on Monday and Tuesday. During this season, calypsonians provide the music and appear at various “tents” to showcase their compositions. These “tents” are the equivalent of miniature concert halls where the calypsonians perform their work. Those with the best calypsoes from the various tents appear as finalists for the National Calypso Monarch competition at the government-subsidized Dimanche Gras show on the Sunday before the street festival begins. There are substantial monetary and other gifts for the competitors. Besides, the calypso public in Trinidad and Tobago looks forward to the contest. It is at that venue where calypsonians present political commentary at its best. Whatever is currently politically relevant in the country is sung about, and most songs are laced with corrosive humor.

The first Carnival season after the United National Congress had formed the government of Trinidad and Tobago was in 1997. Some of the calypsonians sang calypsoes critical of the government. One calypsonian with the sobriquet “Watchman” sang a calypso titled “Panday needs glasses.” This calypso was about corruption in the UNC government, and about the Prime Minister himself, Mr. Basdeo Panday, who allegedly imbibed heavily and regularly.

“Watchman” used props and portrayed the Prime Minister as a blind man with dark glasses, being led around by someone with a glass of liquor, with Panday sniffing trying to find the liquor himself (Lashley, 1998). In other words, “Watchman” was commenting on Mr. Panday’s alleged alcoholism and blindness to corruption in his own government. This type of portrayal was not unusual for calypsonians. They had long targeted errant politicians and the corrupt in the society, using the tradition of their art to do so (Lashley, 1998).

Besides “Watchman,” Mr. Panday had to contend as well with three other calypsonians, “Cro Cro,” “Sugar Aloes” and “Pink Panther,” who mainly sang calypsoes expressing similar sentiments as “Watchman.” Panday reacted to these calypsonians by warning them that the UNC government would ensure that it did not happen again (Lashley, 1998). In 1998, he repeated the threat. No “post-colonial” government had ever sought to be antagonistic to the calypsonian, even though many of them had been mentioned negatively in calypsoes.

For example, the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Eric Williams, was hearing-impaired and wore a hearing aid. He had held office for thirty years before his death. He was often ridiculed in calypso for some of his policies, and was even called “Deafie” by some of the calypsonians, meaning that he was stubborn and did not listen because he could not hear. Williams never sought to punish those who sang unflattering songs about him. Williams’s successor, the late George Chambers, was even called “Duncy” (Lashley, 1998). This is because Trinidadians had become accustomed to his predecessor, a Prime Minister with a Ph.D. He, too, like Williams, did not retaliate.

Another former Prime Minister, A. N. R. Robinson, was described in calypso as a driver who could not drive, meaning that he was not a good leader and did not have the skills to rule Trinidad and Tobago. The calypsonians again suffered no repercussions because of their calypsoes.

The UNC government, however, was different. The Prime Minister was hell-bent on muzzling the calypsonians. Panday, who is of East Indian descent, saw the calypsonians, the majority of whom are African, as being racist. The UNC government was demonstrating ample evidence of pervasive intolerance of criticism. On one of his visits to Trinidad during the UNC administration, Colin Powell, the present Secretary of State of the United States, told Mr. Panday that he should not be offended by the calypso because it has always been sung in the same tradition with no racial overtones (Lashley, 1998).

According to Selwyn Ryan, a professor and political commentator who responsed to Panday’s accusation of racism by the calypsonians, “The epithet racist is used in the Trinidadian society in a very irresponsible and abusive way. To some, any Afro-Trinidadian who is pro-PNM [People’s National Movement, the party that held government prior to the UNC] or not pro-UNC is a racist or a pseudo racist." (Lashley, 1998).

The Prime Minister had on many occasions openly attacked Sugar Aloes for singing about the political issues affecting Trinidad and Tobago. In due course, Panday accused Aloes of being a racist. But the calypsonian stated in a newspaper interview:

    I am not an exterior or interior decorator so I don’t dress up the issues I sing about. I put in melody the same comments I hear from people in society. My work is simply a compilation of national issues. Much of the information I gather from the weekly talk shows, such as Issues Live, I just give it back the way I get it. My comments are made by respected speakers and casual observers. How the people feel on social and political matters are the indicators for composing my songs (Findlay, 1998, p.7).

In 1998, Aloes sang a calypso, titled “Ah Ready to Go,” which was critical of some of the UNC government’s policies. In the calypso, Aloes said that government officials were offended by his informing the people of some of the wrongdoings in society. He said that he was ready to go to jail. In the same calypso, one of the verses addressed the behavior of Panday’s wife. Among other things, Aloes said that Mrs. Panday likes to wipe the brow of her husband’s face in public; and that she likes to “boo” the opposition. He said that he never intended to offend Mrs. Panday. “She has done the things I mentioned in the songs, and I am not the first to comment on it… I love Mrs. Panday. She looks good, very good, and as you can tell, she is a devoted wife…always wiping sweat off her man” (Lashley, 1998).

Mrs. Panday had not been held in high esteem as the First Lady. She used to be Panday’s maid, was not highly educated, and was seen as socially inept. Understandably, the Prime Minister might not have liked personally coming under attack or having his wife ridiculed in verse. But is this racism? It is not. What we see here is the UNC government distorting a traditional art form, labeling calypsoes as racist, because the lyrics offended Panday and UNC officials.

Sugar Aloes further claims that in 1998 he was approached by a government official who asked him to take out certain lyrics from his calypso; in return, he would be guaranteed to win the Calypso Monarch contest (Osuna, 2001). He refused to do it and had remained a thorn in the side of the government. This is yet another illustration of attempted censorship by the UNC government.

Mr. Panday decided to animate his aversion to criticism of himself and his government by attempting to punish calypsonian critics. One route which he chose was via the government-sponsored National Calypso Competition which takes place at the annual Dimanche Gras show. Most calypsonians, the majority of whom are not gainfully employed, aim at a chance to obtain such largesse. Panday was well aware of this fact. Besides, there is the status that goes with being in the national finals. This lends prestige and validation to those who make it there. Appearing at the finals defines the worth of the calypsonian. These were excellent circumstances for Panday to cut down his perceived "racist" enemies at their knees.

Panday was determined to silence calypso, part of Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural heritage. In 1999, the National Calypso Competition committee excluded Sugar Aloes from the annual contest on the grounds that his presence “harboured the possibility of embarrassment to dignitaries in the audience.” Aloes said boldly, “I was victimized,” when officials told him that his invitation to perform was retracted to protect Mrs. Panday. It should be recognized that sometimes the thoughts and lyrics of a calypsonian can be perceived as ugly or hurtful by some. But they are still important. They are the calypsonian’s freedom of expression (Lashley, 1998).

Not satisfied with using the national calypso, Panday went another step further. In 2000, the UNC government proposed a bill, ironically titled the Equal Opportunities Bill. Certain calypsonians believed that Clause 7 in Act No. 69 of the bill was drawn up by the UNC government to muzzle them. Although it purports “to prohibit certain kinds of discrimination, promote equality of opportunity between persons of different status, establish an Equal Opportunity Commission, and an Equal Opportunity Tribunal and other related matters,” many viewed it as a subtle means of controlling freedom of speech in Trinidad and Tobago.

According to T. Joseph, a journalist in Trinidad and Tobago who has written extensively on the use of the calypso in political communication, this clause had been interpreted by some in the media as well as the performing arts as a mechanism that would lead to some form of censorship (Personal Communication, May 10, 2001). Clause 7 was reminiscent of the Theatres and Dance Halls Ordinance, 1934-1935, used by the colonial rulers to abolish the calypso because they did not like the themes of some of the calypsoes on social and political concerns (Lashley, 1998).

    Clause 7 states:

        (1) A person shall not otherwise than in private, do any act which

            (a) is reasonably likely, in all circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of persons;

            (b) is done because of the gender, race, ethnicity, origin or religion of the other person or of some or all of the persons in the group; and

            (c) which is done with the intention of inciting gender, racial, or religious hatred.

        (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), an act is taken not to be done in private, if it –

            (a) causes words, sounds, images or writing to be communicated to the public;

            (b) is done in a public place;

            (c) is done in the sight and hearing of persons who are in a public place. … (Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, Oct. 27, 2000, p.950).

Whatever was the real intention of Clause 7, it was seen by calypsonians as an attempt to abridge their freedom of expression.

The government’s attempt to censor the calypsoes, it was believed, would clean up the so-called distastefulness and “racism” in the lyrics. In so doing, the government was trying to deflect the population’s attention away from the real issues and problems of the society. It was using the calypso as a diversionary strategy (Lashley, 1998).

The UNC government’s folly has been made obvious when compared to a situation that existed in the U.S. a few years ago. Rap artiste Ice-T released a song titled “Cop Killer.” Many law enforcement officials and politicians were outraged by its lyrics. Officials at Time Warner, the company that produced the record, received threats from police officers for distributing the song. The American Civil Liberties Union named former Marine Colonel Oliver North sarcastically as one of the “1992 Censors of the Year” after North and his organization, Freedom Alliance, said they would ask governors of the fifty states to bring charges against the record label for violating sedition and anti-anarchy laws. Then President George Bush also attacked Ice-T; and the U.S. Congress condemned him (Lashley, 1998).

In rebuttal, George M. Levine, president of Time Warner, said the song “Cop Killer” was not written to advocate an assault by young Black people on the police. Levine said that the song did not glorify violence. He added, “Whatever the medium -- print, film, video programming, or music -- we believe that the worth of what an artist or journalist has to say does not depend on pre-approval from a government official or a corporate censor or cultural elite of the right, or the left” (Lashley, 1998).

Yet Panday was insistent that calypsoes should not reflect anything factually negative about him or his government. His Minister of Culture laid down certain criteria for acceptable calypso lyrics for the 2000 National Calypso Competition. A local newspaper editorialised about this action.

    Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, it seems, has wisely abandoned his plans to pass laws against calypsoes, which he deems to be offensive. Is that why Culture Minister Daphne Phillips is now trying to achieve the same by other means? Because that is precisely what she is doing when she threatens to pull funding from Tuco (Trinidad and Tobago United Calypsonians Organization) if Sugar Aloes is allowed to compete...

    As we have stated before, Mr. Panday has every right as a citizen of this country to object to any calypso. If he considers it defamatory he has the legal right to bring its perpetrator to court and claim any of several remedies.

    Apart from his understandable dislike for specific calypsoes by specific calypsonians, such as “Why I Stay” by Sugar Aloes, which after all targets both Mr. and Mrs. Panday, the Prime Minister seems to hold strong opinions on matters related to what is good form and what is not in cultural matters...

    But to seek to ban calypsoes and calypsonians (the aim of Dr. Phillips’s threat) from the national competition because the Prime Minister does not like them -- is unacceptable.

    It’s unconstitutional and not in the interests of either our democracy or our culture (Sunday Express, March 5, 2000, p.12).

This editorial condemns the tactics that the government was employing to try to suppress calypsoes with social and political commentary. When politicians attack artistes, they feel that they are doing the citizens of the country a service. But, in reality, they are violating the citizens’ rights. The attempt to censor a calypso is actually an attempt to censor the thoughts of a person. How can any democratic government subscribe to that?

Panday's relentless mission to muzzle the calypsonians was succeeding in part. At the 2000 National Calypso Monarch competition, calypsoes did not “carry the same caustic political sting as in the last few years” (Rampersad, 2000, p. 14). In other words, some calypsonians practised self-censorship. The calypso public was not treated to the usual fare of humorous, vituperative commentary about the government.

In the meantime, however, the UNC government had begun to use calypsoes in their political campaign for the upcoming national elections of 2000. The government employed the genre in both ancillary and adversarial roles in their campaigns (Joseph, 2000). The UNC commissioned two calypsonians, Gregory “GB” Ballantyne and M’ba, both of African-descent, to come up with campaign calypsoes. GB’s tune, “Double or Nothing,” deals with UNC achievements during the party’s stewardship (Joseph, 2000).

“Double or Nothing” praises the performance of the UNC. He speaks of the progress that has been made in Trinidad and Tobago under the UNC administration. He says, in an excerpt from the calypso:

    Yuh now come and yuh gone clear
    Yuh build police station
    Ah hah! Ah hah!
    Introduce minimum wage
    On crime yuh take advantage
    And I was de one who had money in a rage
    (Joseph, 2000, pp. 6-7).

He is saying that since the UNC came into power, there is minimum wage legislation; crime is down; and the economy is good. GB has defended his making a calypso in support of the government. He has said, “The constitution defends freedom of choice and my profession does not debar me from working for anyone” (Joesph, 2000, p.3).

M’ba, the other calypsonian commissioned by the UNC, came up with “Put We Back,” which was also used as a favourite theme song at UNC political meetings. Some of the lyrics were used as paid radio advertising by the party (Joseph, 2000). The UNC was now using the same medium or art form it had been condemning for affirmative commentary about its administration. The government was returned to power after the October 2000 elections, amidst numerous allegations of voter fraud. This signalled even more problems for the calypsonians who persisted in singing social and political commentary.

Many improprieties were reported about the 2000 general elections. For example, there was widespread allegations of voter padding, Elections and Boundaries irregularities, and falsification of citizenship by two successful candidates. Still, no contestant touched on any of those subjects. At the tents, Cro Cro and Pink Panther, two stalwarts in the genre of social and political commentary, and other calypsonians trounced the UNC government for their shenanigans and blatant misconduct in the elections. For the 2001 National Calypso competition, no one who dared to sing in the genre of political commentary was chosen as finalists, despite bringing down the house at the tents.

Sugar Aloes, however, renowned for his blatant social and political commentary, seemed to have cleverly toned down his lyrics about the allegations of fraud in the 2000 Elections. Instead his calypso laid the blame on the African Trinidadian people for returning the UNC to power. Indirectly, he did the government a favor by legitimizing their success at the polls, even though he did not believe it. He was among the finalists because of this manoeuvre.

Not surprisingly, the two renowned calypsonians of social and political commentary, Cro Cro and Pink Panther, did not make it to the finals. Cro Cro has always employed brazen lyrics in his calypsos. Pink Panther has always been subtle, using satire full of double-entendres. It is quite glaring that Cro Cro and Pink Panther, who usually appeared as finalists, were not chosen as finalists.

The year 2001 was the second successive year that Cro Cro had not made it to the finals for the Monarch contest. He has had a record of making it to eleven finals consecutively. He has won the title three times. And he has placed second on five occasions, under three different government administrations. He says he knows that he has not been picked for the finals over the past two years because of what he persists in singing -- commentary of governmental and political issues. Two of Cro Cro’s calypsoes for the year 2001 addressed the alleged irregularities and shenanigans of the 2000 general elections. Cro Cro said, however, that he did not care about being a finalist because he was committed to singing about the plight of the future of the African masses under the present oppressive conditions of the UNC administration (Rawlins, 2001).

The 2001 National Calypso Competition “was perhaps one of the most apathetic and unexciting of recent times. Not only was it sadly lacking in good Trini humor, but the stinging political commentaries were not as prevalent as in previous years” (Rampersad, 2001, p.14). Calypsonians stayed away from singing calypsoes of social and political commentary. The calypsoes seemed to reflect adherence to the “criteria” that had been laid down by the Minister of Culture in the year 2000. In a newspaper article, one journalist notes:

    …some calypsonians are afraid to deliver caustic political commentaries for fear of offending certain politicians who may not allow them to escape unscathed. Indeed, Prime Minister Panday, himself, has been an avid critic of calypsoes which he views as “belittling and denigrating citizens and dividing the races in the country.”

    Since 1997, he had declared that his Government “would not sit idly by and allow this practice to continue.” (Rampersad, p. 14).

Fearing reprisal by the UNC government, the tunes calypsonians offered at the competition ignored the tense political climate in Trinidad and Tobago at that time. What was sung seemed oblivious. The calypsoes sung were like a salve trying to cover the many political wounds that were still festering in the country. One would have believed that no one in the population was concerned about the results or carryings-on of the 2000 elections. The allegations of impropriety regarding the general elections were not dealt with in most of the calypsoes.

Sugar Aloes placed third in the 2001 competition, with “I Plead the Fifth,” which was benign when compared to his renditions of the past. What one can conjecture is that Aloes had cleverly detoured from blatantly attacking the government. The 2000 general elections were fraught with allegations of irregularities, which supposedly contributed to the victory of the UNC. For 2001, Aloes changed his style. Like Sugar Aloes, the rest of the finalists realized that political commentary was becoming passé. The contest was therefore listless, devoid of substantive political commentary.

It was now becoming frighteningly apparent that the UNC government was succeeding in manipulating the calypso. Both the calypsonian and the politician seemed to use the calypso as a vehicle to advance their agenda in line with UNC rule.

As can be seen from the 2001 Calypso Monarch contest, the overwhelming majority of the contestants sang tunes other than blunt political commentary. The absence was markedly so, even in the face of the recent events which had taken place in the 2000 general elections. The Calypso Monarch contest seemed to be no longer the forum for political commentary.
Conclusion

The intrepid commentators, Cro Cro and Pink Panther, and their likes, would never have been among the finalists at a Calypso Monarch competition, the paramount forum for their genre of outspoken political commentary, as long as the UNC government remained in power. The only avenue for such expression would have been relegated to calypso tents. Increasingly, commentary about political matters in Trinidad and Tobago through calypso was being self-censored by calypsonians. The calypso was becoming a “political football,” being kicked around by both politicians and calypsonians in Trinidad and Tobago for political expediency.

Through a strange twist of fate, shortly after forming the government after their electoral success in 2000, the UNC was rocked with scandal. Three of the ministers resigned from the party as a result. The government was then forced to call a new election in 2001, only one year after it had taken power. This resulted in a tie between the incumbent UNC government and the opposition party, the People’s National Movement (PNM). Having no precedent in the Trinidad and Tobago constitution to follow for such an unusual circumstance, the President of the country was at liberty to make the decision as to who would govern the country. He chose the PNM because of all the corruption and dictatorship tendencies of the UNC. Had the UNC party been returned to power, the calypso genre of political and social commentary would in all likelihood have been decimated.
References

Brown, W. (1987). Angry Men - Laughing Men: The Caribbean Caldron. New York: Greenberg.

Findlay, M. (1998, February 20). “Aloes No Longer Bitter.” The Independent, p.7.

Joseph, T. (2000, November 24) “Lyrics to Make a Politician Cringe.” Retrieved January 31, 2001 from the World Wide Web: <http://trinicenter.com/Terryj/200/Nov/lyrics.htmlm>, p. 1

“Keep It within the Constitution.” (2000, March 5). Sunday Express, p.12.

Lashley, L. (1982) An Analysis of the Calypso as a Mass Communication Medium: The Social and Political Uses. Unpublished Dissertation. Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Lashley, L. (1998). "A Threat to Freedom of Speech by the United National Congress Government of Trinidad and Tobago". Unpublished paper presented at the 23rd Caribbean Studies Association Conference, St. John's, Antigua.

Osuna, M. (2001, 14 January). Personal Interview.

Rampersad, I. (2001, March 4). “Calypso apathy.” Sunday Express, p.14

Rawlins, W. (2001, 23 February) Personal Interview.

Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. (2000, October 27) p.950.

Copyright © 2004 Africa Resource Center, Inc.

Citation Format


A
PROUDFLESH: A New Afrikan Journal of Culture, Politics & Consciousness: Issue 3, 2004.

Another good read:

Carnival
 By Milla Cozart Riggio

http://books.google.ca/books?id=EjaW-iU4fEwC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=Carnival++By+Milla+Cozart+Riggio&source=bl&ots=-XNnN_FTRX&sig=LHEX8fsXQxGOVvKXY06Tcf-LFlg&hl=en&ei=Pg9iSsHYOYWGsgOklPSPBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1

102
Culturally, in our society,  there is this layer of commentary which we possess. Where did this come from? the  'Bard' of poetry, prior to our technological world was deem to be the social commentator in a society. When one relied on  the radio, the calypso was the art form that informed, instructed and entertained us. From political satire, to personal commentary we were versed on varied aspects of life: some heard the 'smut,' some the didactic lyrics some the humor. Our cultural life was fashioned also by  'throwing ole talk'  giving 'fatigue' and 'calling out other publicly'  We lived with it and so it was and still remains a way of life. Today given the advent of 'blogs' online chat forums we see evidence of our social interactions seeping through in the form of  fatigue,  teasing, taunting someone with a mixture of half-truths and imaginative fabrications, trying to up one, looking for the public sentiments, the  'cheap laugh'(ridicule),  giving insightful views, and at times being openly reflective  and opinionated with what we  consider to be solutions to a host of  issues.

Just how much of our cultural style of interaction is reflected on this forum? what impact does it have on today's generation? How much does this forum reflect  our cultural proclivities and  who we are as by-products of cultural mores and norms? Are online forums today's medium in as much as what we know the calypso to be?



103
    It is not without blame that we cast our pangs of hope, sorrows and whatever  pent up frustrations for our lack of football domination at some sacrificial  scapegoat.

    I am sure it happened in pre - Gally times and as witnessed throughout the years, the state of our program has been mired in blame. But who is at really at fault?

    Witnessed the score of the last game. Some wonder as to why we did not qualify for the Gold Cup and before one could say  'Jack Sprat'  Maturana was chastised as the culprit. Now does winning against a  powerhouse like St. Kitts, 3-2 rings an endorsement of domination? Shouldn't our local  professional squad, dominate St.Kitts and beat them into oblivion? I am not denigrating the quality or the  standard of football in St. Kitts but I am moreso implying that if we are aspiring to have favourable results against higher ranking teams but are unable to decisively and convincingly control our game in the defense, midfield and offense against lesser oppositions, then what does this tell us about our current level of play? If in fact some people believe that most Caribbean teams are on par on any given day in with each other, then what would it take to go beyond to be at the NEXT level? whose responsibility is it to get us to the NEXT level?

    So wherein lies the fault? Is it the inability of the coach's tactics? the selection committee (or person) or is it within the grasp of the players?

    It is my humble opinion that players despite the coaching at this level, have to bring  a motivation  and a skill set that is beyond reproach. Consider the fact that:

    • as a player you are getting an opportunity to represent your country. Is the sense of pride and nationalism a thing of the past?
    Consider that as a player, playing for one's country may  provide  some players with the opportunity  to be scouted to foreign contracts
      Consider as a player, the ultimate goal of playing on the world's largest stage- the World Cup.

      My sense from. here is that our players lack this sense of urgency, this sense of hunger , this sense of  desire. Looking at the standard of play at the Gold Cup, I have to wonder that if we are not up to the standard of Grenada, then we must be really in a sad state. The illusion of TNT as a Caribbean powerhouse in football is simply shattering into fragments and no one seems to be able to put us back up on the wall.

      Blaming J.W and the TTFF seems contrite. We had a' blacklist' and we did not have a blacklist-- same results. The ineptitude of our foreign players to the squad is not helping matters. I venture to say, that at the time when Maturana field a local squad that went into Cuba and dominated that game, was a time when we came closest to playing with some urgency. Since then , this experimenting with an inferior squad and then inserting 'star boys'  two or three days prior to crucial games  is not effectively working in this campaign for our cause. Team chemistry, cohesion are seriously missing. J.W does not play the game!!!!! players do!

      Not much has been attributed to the inexperience of our present coach at least Maturana had the distinction of taking a team to W.C like or despise him, he has been to the big stage!!!  What were our expectations of  our present coach? Once more given the players available to him, it stands without reason, that our present performances should have yielded better results. Our present coach  brings experience from his playing days as well as coaching knowledge beyond the ordinary fan or local player. It would seem then that the direction should not be to blame coaching or  moving a coach along as an excuse for poor performance, as coaches do not play the games , Players do!!!!

      So where does the blame truly reside? who sets the conditions for success? and how do we nurture intrinsic motivation? It is about time that collectively the powers to be and those who are given opportunities to lead and to play, do some serious 'soul' searching ad begin with the question are we better than what we are presently showing or do we have it within us to be like the Brazil of the world? do we truly believe in TOGETHER WE ASPIRE AND TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE or are we simply a group of individuals running around like chickens with our heads chopped off?

      "The fault dear Brutus lies not in the stars but within us" Let each man accept a measure of blame and let's put yesterdays behind and move on for a more promising tomorrow.


http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=18636.msg191407#msg191407


Check out what Hart accomplished so far without  so called 'start boys'  in the line up:




Kudos to Hart for stylish play
By GARETH WHEELER
            


Here we go again -- Canada is making another unexpected run at the Gold Cup.

Lack of preparation games? No problem. Key Canadian players deciding to take a pass? Whatever.

The bottom line is that Canada has flat-out performed, and winning the tournament's Group of Death is no small feat. Jamaica, El Salvador, and Costa Rica are all solid CONCACAF teams; none of them even close to a walkover.

There is reason to be more encouraged by this side than the team that was robbed in the semifinal against the U.S. in the 2007 event.

Much like that team, Canada's young talent has risen to the occasion.

This year's version is even more composed, confident and cohesive than the last .

Most noticeable is the team's confidence when in possession of the ball.

The young kids want the ball at their feet, which is a new-school trait of the up-and-coming breed of Canadian players.

And with any luck, we've seen the last of the Canadian kick and run for good.

This stylish side is a far cry from the team under former head coach Dale Mitchell.

As for any in-fighting, it's non-existent.

Seemingly bringing it all together, yet again, is interim head coach Stephen Hart.

Back on the sidelines, Hart has proven he can consistently get the guys to play.

Not just to play hard, but to play intelligently and he has got the most out of his roster.

There's no need to use the Canadian Soccer Association's limited budget to bring in a so-called "big name'' international coach when you've got a guy who can get the job done doing it right now.

After the tournament, regardless of whether they beat Honduras in Saturday's quarterfinal, the interim tag should be taking off.

Hart has to be the man.

That being said, more technical and support staff are needed to assist Hart on the scouting, player development, and organizational duties he currently has been over-seeing. [/list][/list]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2009/07/13/10114226-sun.html

104
Football / What these men do the TTFF a.k.a. JW?
« on: June 29, 2009, 01:25:06 AM »
Julius James

Sancho

Randi Patterson
Scott Sealy
Kelvin Jack
Daryl Roberts
Osie Teleford

Who else fuh this list?

105
Football / TTFF new 2014 five Year Plan
« on: June 03, 2009, 10:03:59 PM »
Is five years  enough to prepare a solid team under the new direction of the coach for WC 2014?

Besides recycling old stars  which players (especially some from the u-21 and u-17 program) could form the nucleus of a team that could begin preparations from now for 2014?

106
Football / Criteria for selecting national team
« on: May 17, 2009, 08:31:21 AM »
leh meh hear if there are soem valid criteria that yuh believe that is considered when selecting this team.

107
Jokes / Horner Man
« on: May 04, 2009, 06:10:56 PM »
To the horner man bullin' meh gyul. Yuh know who yuh is an Yes I know who yuh is too. Ah not mad at yuh but ah jus wha yuh do sumthin' fuh meh. After all, yuh bullin meh gyul.

1. Please doh leave de' toilet seat up, I does get blame and it is startin to get old.

2. True, ah gettin a chance to go an lime more often but please stop drinking all de STAG. Is no scene if yuh bat a few while yuh dey (god know I does drink plenty before I find she f**kable), but please leave a few for me, I have to be dey more than you.

3. If yuh drink the last one, no scene, jus buy more or leave money on top the T.V. an i go organize.

4. Put up a roll ah' toilet paper if you use all. For some reason meh lill son belive if it not there he doh not have to wipe he ass. We does keep it under de sink, unless you can gimme a better spot?

5. whe allyuh doen bull, please(ah beggin) use a napkin or toilet paper to wipe off with, nah. The clothes bythe bed is mine and they clean! That gyul doh know bout washin clothes an I does run out ah time rushing to work. Last week meh shirt had break on it (thanks).

6. Please doh not tell the children dem you is dey uncle, they young, not retarded.

7. Please doh turn the A/C so cold nah, You en payin nothing and T an' TEC not cheap, de gyul might like it but It gettin real expensive.

8. When she ask yuh if she lookin big in the new jeans, jus say no. Yuh think she go not eat as much but all she go do is spen more ah' meh money buyin jeans to look fat een.

9. Doh eat all de pone. The one yuh eat was from meh queen fuh meh earthstrong. de gyul cyan cook, an when she brink home she KFC, she doh share!.

10. Try shiftin yuh weight when you sit down on meh chair. The recliner that I doh have much time to use because football practice an basketball camp fuh the youth an dem does takes plenty ah meh time and I does try to help wit de homework too.It have a sink in it that does force me to roll to the left lill bit.

Last thing. ah have to say thank you fuh carryin she out Valentines Day. She was'n as hungry as usual later in de night, an use the extra money ah save to carry the children cinema.

I really hope yuh could help meh out dey wit dem ting, Ah really doh want to have to tell she nun. If yuh could do this fuh meh, ah go let yuh know when ah headin out an fuh how long so yuh doh hadda rush.

By The Way, ah goin up in de country by meh queen with de chiren dem de 3rd ah April fuh four days, It have a bottle ah hard wine an a bottle ah johnnie on the fridge if yuh run out ah STAG an CARIB..

108
Football / Cost of supporting the Warriors
« on: April 01, 2009, 08:44:42 PM »
 How much would it cost the average TNT national to fly out of the homeland to the states to take in this game? Considering meals, accommodation, drinks and  vex money?

Ah mean I was looking at flying down from here and ah say tuh mehself, yuh know I eh see any strong evidence that this team playing with any kinda ah conviction.... is like in all three games men going through the motions... whey the hunger , passion and desperation gone?

Serious heart /gut check time?????? Right now Hondorus  fighting for that spot we thought that was our own.... ding dong the clock done time fuh some serious moves... we have players  available for us to call in. KJ did not strike any fear in any of the opposing teams.... that man get SHUT DOWN!!!!! Carlos SHUT down..... Stern SHUT down!!!!  Scotland SHUT down!!!!!

If the big guns eh  firing time for some BOLD moves!!!!

109
Football / Impact of the 13th factor on our game?
« on: March 29, 2009, 09:39:21 AM »
 From growing up and attending football games especially Intercol games in the sixties. I have always yearned for the  atmosphere created by the rhythm sections, and the encouraging songs to spark our teams on. Last  July watching the CONCACAF playoffs for the  U17 games were no difference. This tradition has long been part of our football atmosphere.
Question: Do you think the players are impacted by this support to the point where it cauld inspire and raise their play? Or is all the hype and rhythms a distraction and basically  a 'good times' vibes for the fans?

110
General Discussion / Fed up with living in TNT under USA economics...
« on: March 22, 2009, 04:48:37 PM »
Let me establish the fact that I am not an economist nor do I proport to understand the intricacies of trade, embargo and import taxes. What I do understand that with the importation of so much foreign goods, mercahnds and business owners are paying for that  in a foreign currency therefore I could understand why the price borne by the local person is set so as to have a profit margin compared to if one was living abroad.

I do find it very distressful that given the fact that the working man wages in TNT may not always compare to that of the working man in North America, yet when in TNT one is subjected to the kind of prices that even a working  person in North America may not have to  deal with.

I am disgusted when one enters some stores in TNT and they quoting you TNT price and U.SA. price for an item. I would have no problem with this if the earning capacity was equal or on par but when a man working and earning TNT $$$ tell me how the fack he could afford to even rent a  mini van for $$770 TT a day?

Are there any standardized government regulations on food products? I have noticed that I could walk into one parlor and check out  a price and right across the street at the other parlor, I could get the item cheaper? This is a fact of shopping just about everywhere but I do find that in TNT there seems to be little or no regulation on goods.

As retirement draws nearer and the possibility of returning home looms larger, how the fack does one really make it on earning a TNT wage yet trying to live on a U.S.A economy in TNT?

111
Football / Inspiration from the most unlikely source....
« on: March 13, 2009, 11:06:24 PM »
 How much influence and how much do you think that the u-20 's qualifying for the World Cup will inspire our senior team?

A. Very much
B.  Not much
C. Some what?
D. Your thoughts

Lessons learned: What are some lessons learned from this team's success?

A. you could take a core group of locally based players and  keep them as a team...enter them in a league... and over time, you will get a cohesive team playing a system of play that all understand.

B.The element of time and players' familiarity with each other is critical to success.

C. A reliant on foreign based players  could be a thing of the past?
D. Success is imminent is how you play the game
E. No coaching controversy with this team???


112
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Today's Guardian re today's soca
« on: February 16, 2009, 11:03:01 AM »
Bananas, bumpers stifling calypso
Edison Boodoosingh | 8:44 pm
Published: February 15th, 2009
Edison Boodoosingh | 8:44 pm

The passing of the Mighty Duke pounds another nail into the proverbial calypso coffin. Calypso is now the remnants of a great art form, suffocated and replaced by the lyrical insipidness masking as art and creativity, under the label of soca.

Calypso has seen its best days, and though some struggle to keep this dying art form alive, it’s like swimming against a big wave in Maracas. For those like myself, who grew up, in the 70s to early 80s, listening to Duke, Sparrow, Maestro, Merchant, Kitchener, Nelson, Chalkdust, Shadow, Shorty and Blue Boy, etc, it is hard to accept the foolishness that passes for music today. Even if their songs were not too great lyrically, either the brass arrangement, or the fact that the artistes could actually sing, made the music memorable.

Duke’s Thunder had two catch lines—“ah givin you thunder” and “whole night”—but because of the musical arrangement, his voice, and the way he sang it, the song was good enough to become a calypso classic for all time. La la, by Nelson, was just that; “la la” was the entire chorus, but the sweetness in Nelson’s voice and the arrangement, I mean that song must have come out in 1973 if I remember right, but to be able to remember a song after some 35 years tells you something about the quality of the song. Now, we are left to hear the word “wine,” 100 times, ad nauseum.

Even the mas’ itself has degenerated into a 2,000-plus, all-inclusive, beads and bikini fest, complete with security dressed as if they are going to fight a war in Iraq. The geriatrics are now left to play fancy sailor, while the poor risk a “buss head” on J’Ouvert morning. In saying farewell to Duke, we say a slow goodbye to the art form that he presented with such flair in his tailor-made suits on the Savannah stage, a venue which was unceremoniously discarded, despite its historic value. Finally, I would like to believe that calypso remains our heritage and not soca, at least not the soca of the present; banana and bumpers included.

113
As per usual, TNT will get into a panic situation because we still experimenting with some inexperience players and B4 the hex concludes we will most likely see a call to duty of a few of the following......

Julius James
Avery John
Randi Patterson
Daryl Roberts
Osie Telesford
KHALEEM HYLAND
jamal Gay

Who else would you add?

114
General Discussion / D Art of Tiefing Ah Wine
« on: February 05, 2009, 08:04:10 PM »
D Art of Tiefing Ah Wine
For centuries men have been getting mixed signals from women which causes great discomfort when yuh see ah bumsee yuh wah jam. Meh fren does call dat part of it “gender politricks”. But fellas have no fear cuz Carnival is here. Come Carnival time yuh odds are increased 1000 fold and yuh could probably have
a 95% success rate………but we must stress dat if ah woman give yuh a wine, it does not mean dat she wah hold on to yuh fuh d duration of d day or nite (unless she verbally expresss dis to yuh)…..it only means dat she in a good mood and giving yuh a lil play so yuh could be on yuh way. Our goal here is to give allyuh some
proven tactics and strategies in order to succeed in dat bumsee jungle come Carnival time.

1) Bumsee on bumsee attack is wey ah nice groovey tune playing yuh strategically position
yuhself back to back wit yuh target. Yuh will den give she a lil waist to see how she
reacts………u may den peep over yuh shoulder. If she gives yuh a scowl of disgust we suggest
yuh put yuh shame face on and disappear. If she give yuh a lil smile or cock back dat buttom on
yuh….den its on like boil corn.

2) D By D Bar Attack
is wey yuh b d bar waiting fuh ah drink…….dis could be on d road or at
ah fete……..women are often very charitable wit d bumsee at those locations………on d road
yuh could be a gentleman and give dem a squeeze in so dey could get dey drink or even get dey
drink fuh dem…..do dat and yuh in like Flynn (I eh kno who Flynn is so doh ask).

3) D Meh Fren from Puerto Rico Attack is wey yuh tell a gal yuh partner is a foreigner and is
he first time in Trinidad ad if she could go put a good Trini wine on him……….dis works
everytime but yuh have to make sure yuh pardna talk in some broke English, Patois or Pig Latin.

4) D Big Tune Attack is wey yuh hear ah big tune come on…….dat mean is time to position
yuhself fuh ah guaranteed wine. It have certain tunes dat does make dem woman go insane. Dey
would wine on a gremlin when 1 ah dem tune start playing. Since we looking out fuh allyuh
fellas we go give allyuh a HOT tip on 1 particular artist who go help allyuh cause. Any ah dem
Patrice Robberts “wukking up” tunes WILL get allyuh a wine.

5) Stick and Move Attack…yuh make yuh way through a crowded fete in an attempt to get to
the front. There is no better way than that to tief multiple wines from plenty women as you creep
forward. But the objective is not to give them long wines fuh the rest of the evening unless of
course you found a prize. But give 10 short sweet wines to random women, usually for 1 tune
only. They will come lookin fuh more later. They might have you surrounded at the front of the
stage when you finally reach.

6) The Bumb Rush.
This is a high risk maneuver usually done for fun b/c it involves mampees.
Its like Cow tipping…white farm boys do it for no reason. Like a pride of lions attacking an
elephant, you and 4 of yuh bravest breddrins, stalk a free roaming Mampee on the road. The
best lookin fella in the group is the decoy and he must approach her from dey front so she get
distracted. As soon as she stop, the others pounce, one jump high on she back and hold on (use
your harness and rope). 2 on each thigh, the biggest fella go low on she bamcee and the pretty
boy jump on the front. This can only last for 30 seconds before she start pelting waist and throw
your carcasses all ova de road. But the thrill of the near death experience will get yuh heart
racing like a rollercoaster ride. One important point,yuh don’t want to be the last man left cause
she might grab onto yuh and not let you go. That’s what make it high risk but hopefully all 5 will
get away and live fuh anodda bumb rush.
Well Fellas and Ladies….Happy Bamsee Hauling (I eh sure wat women call it)….This is Wining
Season and Arrive Alive………By next week the Kriminals should be on T&T soil so this is our
see yuh later post………..We gonna drop a POWERFUL tune fuh allyuh to listen to in a few
days………if dat tune doh raise allyuh pores and allyuh doh feel d Spirit of Carnival….den
allyuh should refund dat plane ticket and sell dat costume………….Its going to be a GREAT
Carnival season, trust me.
Thank you: http://carnivalmanlaws.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/d-art-of-tiefing-ah-wine/

115
 I am at a lost  as to why a player like Julius James is overlooked for  national selection at this time? What is it that he lacks or what  are the intangibles that  a local player  has over Julius in the defensive position?

Why is Avery John not a part of the national team at this time?

Why couldn't Scott Sealy warrant a try out once more?

Is Cyd Gray out of sorts?

What ever happened to Randi Patterson?
Peltier? Hyland? Samuel? Gay?
Austin, Kevin            
Boucaud, A      
Johnson, Josh         
Roberts, Darryl      
Shakes, Ricky         

116
General Discussion / Sex in recession: wha gawan in Jamaica
« on: January 26, 2009, 07:42:33 PM »
Tings real rough in Jamaica wid dis recession:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090119/lead/lead1.html


Sex in recession - Prostitutes slash prices - Parlours see 50% decline - Layoffs hurt businesses

Published: Monday | January 19, 2009

Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

The economic meltdown that has triggered massive layoffs and production cutbacks in the formal business sector has spread to the illegal sex industry as prostitutes and sensual massage parlours have reported at least a 50 per cent decline in profits and clientele.

The manager of a well-established Kingston massage parlour, which offers sexual services, said she may be forced to close doors soon. While accustomed to making $8,000-$10,000 on weekdays and up to $15,000 on weekends, the operator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the economic crunch has depressed revenues to roughly $15,000 weekly, an 80 per cent hit to the till.

Staff reduced

Erosion of the bottom line has sparked job cuts too, as she has had to reduce her women-only staff from six to two.

Contingencies to cushion the fallout include a 33 per cent reduction in hourly rates from $1,500 to $1,000, the manager said. The clamour for discounts has risen in recent months, but she said further price reductions were impractical in an industry which has already become uneconomic. Staff cuts have also driven away business.

"The clients are suffering from a limited choice. Once they could pick, choose and refuse who they want to perform the service, but now they have limited choice," said the operator.

Another parlour manager who declined to disclose her identity because of risk of prosecution stated that the economic downturn is stifling her business.

"Men who used to take on three girls have to limit to one, as well as men who used to take a double round have to limit to strictly one time and so I am losing big time," she lamented.

Only $10,000 a week

Before the crisis, she said she earned up to $30,000 per week; now she barely makes $10,000. The manager said she had explored price adjustments and other strategies to accommodate more clients.

"A package of one hour that normally costs $1,500 will be reduced to $1,000, as well as persons who are regular customers will have to be considered for discounts," she told The Gleaner.

While most parlours contacted reported a drastic decrease in business, one operator who employs six women said there was only a slight decline in her clientele.

"Things could be worse, considering the problem we are facing, so I can't complain. All I can do is thank the Lord for providing," she said.

Motels which double as sex shops are feeling the pinch too. According to a manager of a motel in Kingston, revenues of approximately $15,000 per day have virtually dried up, cutting his take by more than 50 per cent.

However, he said he would not decrease charges - $1,200 per hour or $5,500 a night - as reductions would lead to closure.

Prostitutes in New Kingston, a long-time hunting ground, said they have been forced to offer discounts and deals to retain dwindling clientele.

A sex worker who goes by the name 'Lushus' said patronage had declined significantly, explaining that men have been reporting increased financial challenges. Earnings of up to $7,000 per night have largely evaporated - to a low of $2,000 - and sometimes no clients turn up, said Lushus, whose base rate is $1,000.

"Business rough, and that's why mi glad it never work out fi wi pay tax, 'cause nutten nah gwaan," she said, referring to calls last year by a government functionary who lobbied for the incorporation of sex workers into the tax net.

Opinion is divided on decriminalising prostitution. Some health experts and liberal advocacy groups have said decriminalisation and regulation would reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections, as well as diminish personal safety dangers.

However, political administrations have shied away from legal reform. Decriminalisation would be an unpopular move in some quarters, particularly with religious conservatives.

Police crackdowns on prostitution have been sporadic, sex workers re-emerging after a lull in prosecutions.

"It nuh pretty on the street again but I just want fi make a smalls 'cause mi nuh have no money," said a sex worker in another section of New Kingston, a business district with many residential communities on its outskirts.

"Sometimes we make a price for $2,000 depending on the person and it drop to $1,000 and less," she added.

Although there are no official figures on the underground sex industry, it is believed to generate several millions of dollars annually.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com

# Do you believe prostitution should be decriminalised in Ja? Email feedback to letters@gleanerjm.com



 

117
General Discussion / The price to believe
« on: January 08, 2009, 07:16:37 PM »

 --A Birth Certificate shows that we were born


A Death Certificate shows that we died

Pictures show that we lived!

Have a seat . . . Relax . . . And read this slowly.



I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if
we understand that friends change.

I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt
you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow, even over
the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...
That it' s taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with
loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...
That we are responsible for what
we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
That my best friend and I can do anything, or nothing, and have the best time.

I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you
when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them and less to do
with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find
out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same
thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give, when
a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.


'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything.'

118
General Discussion / New Years' wishes to all
« on: December 31, 2008, 06:48:44 PM »
After serious & cautious consideration . . .

Ah hope all the best for each and every forumnite for the New Year 2009!


My Wish for You all in 2009: May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address!

In simple words . . . May 2009 be the best year of your life!!!

119
Who do you think reigns as the most  engaging or most effective calypsonian of political and social satire?

I vividly remember the first time I heard Chalkdust hit the scene in 1968. For me, this is an entertainer with  political social messages that makes you think.  Watchman, Gypsy, Trinidad Rio,  and Cro Cro are also masters to listen too.

Which calypso do you think ranks as the best for biting social and political satire?

p.s just came across this article: soca and moral decadence

http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=477

120

Ah boy ah pick up  ah reading from the NEWSDAY and discovered  mentioned of my late father's  cousin. I remember as a youth  my dad's cousin 'Cosang's' group coming and playing at our house.


Harmony of parang keeps Moruga parandero going

Saturday, December 27 2008


PARANDERO George Malchan has spent more than three decades serenading friends and family with his cuatro and mandolin, and he is not about to change that anytime soon.

With no signs of slowing down, the 72-year-old parandero was all geared up and ready for Christmas Day.

In an interview at his Tompiere Trace, Basseterre, Moruga, home on Wednesday, the retired Petrotrin security officer was busy fine-tuning the strings of his instruments as he geared up for what was expected to be a hectic Christmas day.

“Family and friends are coming over and from here we leave and go house to house and parang,” the grandfather of 24 told Newsday.

“Paranging is something I just love to do. Every year I say is my last but when this time comes around I just can’t help it. I have to pull out the cuatro, the mandolin and the guitar.”

Malchan has been playing the cuatro and entertaining others since the age of ten, when he would tag along with his siblings as they went from house to house.

This was a mainstay of the Christmas season for the family, who said it “wouldn’t be Christmas without it.”

“When I think of it, playing the cuatro kept me out of trouble and I wish the young people now could learn to play a cuatro as it could do for them what it did for me,” he said. As he delved into his rich history as a parandero, Malchan said it was his late brother, Cosang, who taught him all that he knows now. “He was the best there was in the country and just watching him play you wanted to learn it,” Malchan said, with a glint of admiration for his late brother in his eyes.

And he bemoaned the lack of interest in the art form.

He said it is slowly dying as the young people in the rural village are not showing an interest in keeping the tradition alive.

“I’m trying to teach my own grandchildren who are not really keen on learning,” he said. But, since the fruit does not fall far from the tree, his heart is lifted since his granddaughter Latoya Guerrero, a student of Barrackpore Secondary School, has taken a keen interest in the cuatro.

“I told her how much it could help her development as a person,” he said of the 13-year-old.

His nephew Peter Gonzales is also learning how to play the cuatro.

“It is very important that the art form lives on because there is nothing sweeter than parang music. It is the reason I am still playing today,” he said.

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