The Beauty of
Trinidad and Tobago
Eric Mannweiler reports on his 2011 steelband panorama
experiences
Posted by
Eric Mannweiler
on March 14, 2011 at 4:00 a.m.
My
last day in Trinidad, I met up with Salah
Wilson in the afternoon and we decided to
check out Fort George, which neither of us
had visited yet. The fort, for those who
don't know, was an old defense outpost built
high on a hill above St. James. People told
me that you can see everything from up
there, but yet again I was not prepared for
just what that meant...
The
hill was so high and steep, the vegetation
hid any signs its slopes below - as far as I
could tell it was a straight drop. But that
seemed to work like a picture frame for the
gorgeous panoramic masterpiece in front of
me... The golden afternoon sun poured down
sweeping green slopes of the surrounding
hills and spread over the roof tops of the
metropolis nestled below. Beyond that was
the full shoreline of the Gulf of Paria, the
Bocas to the right, the ships disappearing
into the horizon in front, and to the left
it seemed like you could see almost the
whole rest of the country... This view was a
visual summary of my two months in Trinidad.
There was the Northern Range, whose Santa
Cruz valley was my home for the majority of
my stay, and whose peaks seemed to
constantly watch over me. I found Starlift's
yard in Murcurapo, Playboyz yard off
Tragarete Road (ok it was an
approximation...), the Savannah, NAPA, Park
Street (which was my route between Woodbrook
and downtown), Frederick Street,
Independence Square, City Gate, the boat I
took to San Fernando, the boat I took to
Tobago, Laventille (Express 21's yard is in
there somewhere), San Juan, the Caroni
Swamp, the Caroni Plains, St. Joseph and
Curepe.
Up on top of that hill, the
only sounds we heard were the parrots flying
below and the families sharing the view with
us. This unbelievably refreshing wind swept
in from the sea, and with the quiet, created
a really peaceful atmosphere. As I ran
through the memories of each place in front
of me, I eventually began to piece it all
together and appreciate everything as a
whole... Trinidad- what a beautiful country!
What beautiful people!! What a beautiful
culture, with the most beautiful instrument,
the steel pan!!! Though of course you have
to be careful and know who to trust, the
hospitality and kindness of most Trinis is
something that is not talked about enough!
So many people have been unbelievably nice
to me, despite me being a total stranger!
I've met people at maxi stands that not only
had great conversations with me, but paid my
fare and, in one case, set up a meeting with
a early steelband leader and tuner! My
friend's mother, whom I stayed with in Santa
Cruz, not only didn't charge me rent, but
refused to let me do any serious work around
the house, AND cooked me meals almost every
day! Carnival Tuesday night, I was talking
with my friend's sister (whose Belmont house
we stayed in during Carnival) about how I
had wanted to get the ingredients and
instructions to make Trini food for my
family back home. That night she gave me two
bags of curry, a bag of geera, a bag of
cloves, a bag of sorrel, and a container of
pepper sauce. She also told me her husband
would carry me to get a cookbook in the
morning, which was already waiting for me
when I woke up... That family only knew me
through my friend in Starlift, but they gave
me a place to stay, food, and then all of
that! I could go on and on about how kind
Trini people have been to me...
My thoughts then turned to
pan, and the view turned to a historical
road map... Seeing the areas where the
innovations and inventions took place, where
the historic panyards were/are, where the
historic bands used to parade, where the big
riots happened... The roads and avenues
became like historical trails, cleared and
set down by pan's pioneers and left to us to
maintain and extend... Then I thought about
Carnival and the energy that I felt through
it all: the buzz of building anticipation
leading up to Carnival week, the
spring-board of adrenaline and excitement of
Panorama finals, and then the energy and
positive vibes that pulsed through the
streets from J'Ouvert to Carnival Tuesday. I
remembered all the love and respect people
showed for pan in the streets, I remembered
all of the passion that I saw during
Panorama, and suddenly I came to realize
some of the significance and meaning of the
term "Mecca of Pan". In my eyes, it was PAN,
the national instrument of this country,
that was the heartbeat pumping Carnival's
energy through the streets. It was the flow
of blood, sweat and tears flowing from
generation to generation of pan players that
fired the flames of passion during Panorama.
Pan has been taken all over the world, and
is flourishing everywhere it has been
planted. But only in Trinidad is pan alive
like I saw it during Carnival! People of all
ages, classes, skin colors, nationalities,
people that don't even speak the same
languages, all of them play side by side in
Trinidad's steelbands. The exchange of
skills, ideas, perspectives and stories that
occurs in the panyards of Trinidad is
incredible. Also, nowhere else is pan as big
a part of the culture than in Trinidad
(think of the Spree Simon billboard on the
East Side, the Woodbrook graffiti sign, the
use of pan in advertising, etc...)
While we took in the view,
Salah and I talked about the various things
we've been trying to do in our respective
pan communities, we talked pan history, pan
future, and some of the issues facing the
steelband movement in Trinidad and
elsewhere. Although pan in Trinidad is on a
whole different level than it is back home,
the movement should always be about
progress. I hope that this year's theme of
"Do Something For Pan" will result in some
serious and realistic goals being set, a
clear direction established and actions
taken to create progress. Because Trinidad
is the Mecca, pan should never be taken for
granted there (though pan should never be
taken for granted anywhere!) Who knows, with
enough work and support, we might be able to
have a second "Golden Era of Pan" during my
lifetime! (A guy can dream...)
Later that night, the
members of Starlift threw the foreigners a
going-away party in the yard. We all took
pictures, reminisced about our time
together, talked about our hopes for the
future, ate, drank and had a wonderful time.
They told us the night was to show us
appreciation for coming down and working
hard for the group, but it really was about
solidifying our bonds and making it official
that we were part of the Starlift family.
The feeling of being adopted into that kind
of community, THAT is the greatest
experience I've had in Trinidad! Before we
left, my friend Marshal gave each of us a
necklace which on one side had a pan, and on
the other were the words "The beauty of
Trinidad and Tobago" written above an
outline of the country. Though Trinidad is
full of beauty, the most beautiful thing is
pan and the people involved in it...
I have had a truly
life-changing experience on this trip to
Trinidad. I had studied the history and
culture of this place for years before
making this pilgrimage, but just like
people's descriptions didn't prepare me for
Fort George, I was not at all prepared for
the sights, the sounds, the food, the vibes,
and the people of Trinidad and Tobago. With
everything that I got to see and experience
in this first trip, I still left with such a
hunger to experience more! The longer I
stayed in Trinidad, the more I loved it and
appreciated it, and it was extremely
difficult to leave such an awesome place. I
hope this discussion has proved helpful for
those planning to come for the first time. I
am THRILLED, humbled and completely blown
away, however, to know that these posts have
appealed to people emotionally and
sentimentally. I was afraid people would
think these posts were a waste of time, but
I can't tell you how rewarding it has been
to hear that people were actually touched
and entertained by them! For all of you who
have been reading my updates, THANK YOU SO
MUCH!
I really have appreciated the comments
and feedback many of you have left, and I
will be responding to many of them soon! I
have to thank When Steel Talks for giving me
this opportunity to share with everyone, and
especially for the incredible service they
do for the steelband movement and pan across
the globe! I am going to attempt to pass on
the things I have learned in pan's homeland,
and hopefully the educational and musical
tools I brought home with me will help me
take the Indiana Steel Pan Association to
the next level! I wrote earlier that I've
never missed a place so much before I even
left it, now imagine what it's like being
back home! Thanks for reading, thank you to
those who have helped me out on this trip,
and I hope to see you all in Trinidad next
year!
Until then,
Life for Pan
Eric
Mannweiler
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