9) This is a view of only a portion of Queen's Park Savannah. I thought the Northern Range in the background made a nice picture. The grandstand, which you'll learn more about below, is on the far right, and a kids' cricket team congregates on the left. Just above the grandstand are some houses on a hillside in the distance; this is the northwestern edge of Laventille, the birthplace of pan (and still home to the Witco Desperadoes, one of the most famous steel bands in the world). Laventille remains as rough today as it was when pan was born there more than half a century ago. Narrow, winding, steep streets cut through impoverished residential areas, where many "homes" are mere hovels constructed from scrap wood and metal. The crime rate is very high there. I'd like to go see some places of historical importance up in there, but have been advised against it.
The Savannah is a very large green space just north of downtown Port of Spain, and is the hub of Carnival (although parading is done through the streets of downtown Port of Spain as well). Locals proudly proclaim it to be "the world's largest roundabout," as all traffic around its 3.7 kilometer circumference moves clockwise.
10) The kids' cricket match heats up. The boy immediately to the left of the adult in the yellow shirt has just hurled the ball to the batsman, on the right of the picture.
11) These are vendor's huts at Queen's Park Savannah. There are hundreds of them either already erected, or under construction in preparation for Carnival. Presumably, they will be selling everything from rum punch to tourist mechandise. The grounds have the look and feel of county fairgrounds currently, with lots of temporary structures going up in grassy areas. Something tells me, though, that it won't look like a county fair once the people show up!
12) This area is the staging area for the bands as they enter the grandstand to compete in Panorama. On this stretch of concrete, bands wait their turn to wheel their racks into the area between the two grandstands to perform. Many people flock to this area to get up close to the bands and talk with the players.
13) And, believe it or not, this unassuming concrete ramp is why I'm here. When it's Exodus's turn to compete, we will roll our racks up this slight incline, get ourselves centered and pumped up, wait for the light to turn from red to green, and create eight minutes of sheer PANdemonium in front of 35,000+ listeners (and a panel of judges).
14) Some people visit Graceland. Some people visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Well, this is where I came to pay my respects. This is the Lord Kitchener Monument. Kitchener (actual name Aldwyn Roberts) was the most prolific and influential calypsonian of Trinidad. He died about four years ago. Not only were his tunes good, his lyrics were full of double meaning and innuendo. He became a composer of great pan tunes, and the lyrics from one of them is on the plaque, which reads:
In Tribute to the
Grand Master Lord Kitchener
From the Hi-Lo Food Stores and the Poeple of Trinidad and Tobago
An extract from "Pan in A Minor," by Lord Kitchener:
"They say to me they want a musical change in pan.
Well I didn't tell them yes, but ah didn't tell them no.
Ah say 'Well, gentlemen ah go do the best I can. As long as yuh
challenge me, well, ah going to have a go.'"
15) A pick-up football match behind Queen's Royal College. Barefoot, of course.
16) And, finally, on the way back to the heart of Port of Spain, down on Charlotte Street, is the panyard of the Amoco Renegades. Jit Samaroo is the arranger for the band, and they've had great success and many titles over the years. Amoco's sponsorship of the band has resulted in the panyard looking very much like an Amoco station (note the green facades of the structures). To make room for a rack-welding project, all of the the loaded racks have been pushed back temporarily. The pans on the left side of the picture that look like they are hanging straight up and down are quadraphonic pans, or"quads": each set has a pair of pans in front of the player, and another pair up in the air, suspended over the lower two. Again, notice the proximity to apartment buildings, and remember that they rehearse until 1:00 a.m. some nights. Trinidad is a noisy place!
If you'd like to help support my efforts here and hear some of my music, I encourage you to pick up either (or both) of my CDs. Info for acquiring them is here.