1 week Ago By [email protected] (Martin Daly)
As I close off three weeks of analysis of pan manufacturing, I will refer to the inspiration to be taken from the riveting speech of former US first lady Michelle Obama at the recently concluded Democratic National Convention in Chicago. First, however, I am happy to acknowledge that the quotation with which I opened last Sunday’s column were the insightful words of Edward (Ed) Peters, posted on the Steelpan Manufacturers chat page. I took heart because several of the comments of the pan practitioners/experts on that page were forwarded to me, and validated my analyses of the state of pan manufacturing.
Ed Peters is typical of one of those practitioners and I was pleased when he posted for my attention, “I do read your offerings wherever and whenever I come upon them. I reside in Canada and have been involved in the research of the science related to the Steelpan for over 40 years. Recently (2021) I completed a MA on the Organology of the Steelpan family of Musical Instruments.
” Meanwhile, on the occasion of my fourth visit to Brooklyn for Panorama there were the usual warm greetings. I cannot describe the performances any better than the report in When Steel Talks (WST). As many readers will know, WST (panonthenet.
com) is the leading website for steelband information and activities worldwide. Occasionally, I have had the privilege of WST seeking me out and publishing columns of mine. Even as I and others worry greatly about some unhelpful omissions and phenomena in the maintenance and development of pan music, which have caused us not sufficiently to pursue the development of pan manufacturing and to fall behind others, I nevertheless adopt WST’s accolade given to this year’s Brooklyn Panorama that “the music still won out, with the players performing exuberantly on stage”.
Pan month in Trinidad and Tobago, August 2024, is reportedly deserving of the same accolade, but there is still much work to be done. There is one immediate item. As previously asserted in this column, the steelband movement must be treasured.
Its scientific and musical patrimony and role in social development cannot be overestimated. We must ensure it is not blitzed out of Carnival by the monster trucks of the conglomerate takeover of the Carnival routes. The current president of Pan Trinbago was receptive to the separation of the medium band and large band Panorama finals.
I am hoping that as Pan Trinbago plans ahead for Carnival 2025, she will also be receptive to repeated pleas for a rejuvenation of the Jouvert Bomb competition. Sadly, within its home base, pan now exists against a background of unprecedented murder and violence. Neither of the main political parties has a coherent policy proposal to tackle the wanton violence, and the potential of the panyard for peacemaking has not properly been appreciated.
In addition, the politicians in both main political parties do their worst to fertilise division between their respective bases and to maintain polarisation. The potential backlash from this is horrible to contemplate, but it will draw nearer if the ability of our governments to maintain a spendthrift, highly subsidised economy together with the well-known “dependency syndrome” is severely curtailed. I did express the concern some weeks ago that we might run out of money.
Last week the Minister of Education pleaded that her ministry’s severe cash flow impeded the repair of schools. This is another ministerial admission that money is a problem. Referring to the politicians and their responsibility for the present polarisation of the USA, as she saw it, Mrs Obama said emphatically that “this is not just on them”.
She continued “No, uh-uh. This is up to us, all of us, to be the solution that we seek. It’s up to all of us to be the antidote to the darkness and division.
Look, I don’t care how you identify politically—whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above. This is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.” Will our validating elites think outside of their bubbles, show some leadership, and stand up against polarisation in Trinidad and Tobago? Note: Last Sunday I inadvertently referred to pan as an invention of the 21st century instead of the 20th.
The error is regretted. —Martin Daly.
