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Reading Time 1 minsHappy Carnival Tuesday (Aruba/Carriacou/Dominica/Haiti/T&T… Style)!!! The videos are stunning especially in this time of Covid-19. One highlights masqueraders welcoming Jouvert in Miami. Another captures a parade of moko-jumbie-mobilized poui trees moving like ants through the streets of, what looks like, Woodbrock, T&T. And, there are others of revellers immersing self in the Carnival Trinity of Pan, Kaiso, and Mas, in villages and cities where Caribbean massives reside. Expressing amazement at revelers’ ingenuity and audacity in celebrating in the face of Carnival’s absence, the sender thundered, perhaps more as question than assertion: ”Trinis can’t do without mas!” Only the “Eh”… Read More »BDN Introduction — Covid-No-Carnival Tabanca Issue*

Reading Time 7 minsMy J’ouvert Vibes/STEVE CLARKE Upon realizing that I would be unable to travel to T&T for the expressed purposes of ‘Carnivalia’ 2021 due to the COVID-19 lock-down, I chose to reflect on the salve of a memorable carnival encounter of years gone by, in an effort to soothe the pain of my gut-wrenching cultural tabanca. Have you ever heard a tune and you took to it from its first note of music? And, as its lyrics progressed, they seemed to be telling your story, word-for-word? Well folks, that 2012 Farmer Nappy [FN] groovy soca masterpiece “Chippin”, succinctly captured one of my… Read More »A Carnival Occurrence (Part II of IV)-Steve Clarke

Reading Time 4 minsFebruary 16, 2021 In the thought-provoking chapbook, “Corona Poems,” Mervyn Taylor ponders the emotional conditions of Covid-19 in Trinidad; New York; Louisiana; Arizona; Cape Town, South Africa; and even Napoli, Italy, where impromptu celebrations of health care workers took flight.  The collection addresses the adversities faced by all during the ever-changing effects of Covid-19. Even though the collection’s tone is somewhat melancholic, the poet, in the end, opts for hope and resilience amid overwhelming grief and sadness. Within the last twelve months, we dealt with; a war scare, a global pandemic, a stock market crash, racial injustice, and an attack on the… Read More »A Meditation During These Unprecedented Times-Malik Brizan-Reed

Reading Time 11 minsOn hearing of the transitioning of Uncle Winston last December, I began reflecting on the great fortune I had of meeting him in Carriacou and playing parang in his band for four seasons. His presence factored in my celebrating him in “The Parang Diaries” within these pages in “Deep Connection Between People, Land, and Sea”(BDN, December, 2019). Now, I situate him in a wider context with this tribute which jumps off from some tangential Caribbean sightings that have been in my field of vision lately. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ When I stumbled… Read More »Reflections on Uncle Winston: Parang Band Leader, Mas and Carnival Man–Jeff Mc Nish

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Reading Time 2 mins  “Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole.” –Derek Walcott, Nobel Lecture, 1992 “Inspired by our gods… We will survive to see a brighter day… Nothing conquers the will of [wo]man.” –“Survival”, Mighty Sparrow  It is customary for people around the world to wish each other ‘Happy New Year’ at the turn of the calendar. Sometimes, we even make resolutions. But, why does the notion of happiness appeal to our humanity? Writing, in The Art of Happiness, 22 years ago, when… Read More »BDN Editorial — Broken Vase: Reassembling in 2021… 

Reading Time 2 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 October was officially declared “Calypso History Month” by TUCO (Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organization) in 2002. And in 2008, the Government of Jamaica announced that the month of February would be officially declared “Reggae Month”. Institutionalized recognition of these two major genres that straddle the extremities of the Caribbean archipelago, both having roots traced to Africa, are acknowledgements of what the people of the region have long known – the peoples’ music runs through the veins of the region. Harry Belafonte, a figure that exemplified the cross pollination of both streams of these primary… Read More »Celebrating our Noble Institutions…

Reading Time 6 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 Big Dum Nation’s Introduction Calypso has long been associated with carnival for well over 175 years but perhaps it was not until 1933 we saw the introduction of Calypso Drama in the Calypso Tent. One may ask what would have been the cause of such a delay. This may have to do with the individualistic approach to the art form. A calypso is sung by a single singer who is not necessarily willing to give up his personal style and idiosyncrasies in performance for the teamwork effort that is required for a dramatic… Read More »Calypso as Drama and Its Theatricality
 — Rhoma Spencer

Reading Time 12 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 Big Dum Nation’s Introduction Let me please begin by thanking the Executive of the BACA [Barbados Association of Calypsonians and Artistes] for their kind invitation to give this address.  I congratulate you on this historic initiative in establishing your Association.  At a time when the government has promised to give emphasis and prominence to the cultural industries, you have made a very strategic decision informing the Association. I wish you every success.  When I accepted the invitation, little did I know that you wished me to speak about “the importance of the calypso to the… Read More »THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CALYPSO TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CARIBBEAN -Sir David Simmons*

Reading Time 14 mins(II of V) Big Dum Nation’s Introduction   “I was kidnapped by strong Imagination… I tumble down and wind up in a dungeon.” Shadow, “Animal Kingdom” “Boy ah glad Shadow didn’t go He woulda break from dey waist right down to dey toe You know why — dey call him a Comedian.” Julien (The Mighty Unknown) Pierre, ‘Prick For Judges’ quoted in Short Pants,’ Things Going Thru Mih Mind, 1984. “It is therefore important that in the Caribbean we, who are deluged by Euro-centric history and literature, document our true history…” Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool, From The Horse’s… Read More »Dr. Winston ‘Shadow’ Bailey’s ‘Evolution’: ‘Write That Down In History’!* — Winthrop R. Holder