A member of the Bacchanal Women expressed her disappointment at the lack of Calypso being played on the parades that she has been a part of so far. She said that the bands have not been playing calypsoes and she sees this as an issue. She said, “Carnival without Calypso is not carnival. We need Calypso on the road”. In her opinion, the bands have been catering to the youth and not to older patrons like herself.
Shelly Alfred of Signal Band which has been the main act at 3 of the opening parades said that although they didn’t perform any calypsoes in their fullest sense, they did chant quite a few on Bouyon rhythms. He said that they will be playing more during the rest of the season. According to Alfred, Signal took the opportunity to prioritize their new material.
Events Assistant at the Discover Dominica Authority(DDA), Kerwin Jno. Baptiste said that the DDA ensured that the Dj’s played Calypso music at the opening parade in Roseau and had an hour dedicated to Calypso at the stadium, with Dj Slim, before the opening ceremony took place. As it relates to the other parades, the DDA was not the organizers of the events.
Meanwhile, Chief Cultural Officer, Earlson Matthew for said that in his opinion, the bands use this time to promote their own material and that is understandable. He said that the DJ’s on the other hand should understand their responsibility to promote all aspects of carnival culture to include playing calypso music on the road, at events and at every opportunity.
He added that as a cultural division, they do not have the opportunity to promote Calypso music because of the events that they do around this time. He said, Ole Mas doesn’t incorporate hi-fi and so on. He also mentioned that they have experienced the competition to promote their products as persons generally gravitate towards the big electronic bands and events. This issue is one that has been around for some time now and probably one that will always surface during carnival time.
