2012 Calypso Season Stuck in Neutral

Details

Carnival

Wednesday, 13 June 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John’s - With the Calypso Monarch Quarterfinals set for July 6 and 7, veteran calypsonians such as Yvonne "YB" Benjamin and Trevor “King Zacari” King are concerned about the apparent slow start to opening the stage-setting calypso tents.

Many contenders for the Calypso Monarch crown look forward to singing in the tents as a warm up for the competition.

Benjamin said she has heard of ongoing judging workshops for the competition’s adjudicators but nothing is being said about the actual competition.

“I don’t know what is happening. There is no tent operational and I don’t know what is happening. We are in the middle of June and not one night of tent you've heard,” she said.

The calypsonian said tent life is where the “fight starts” and where the tone is set for the competition ahead.

"Something is wrong,” Benjamin said. “I don’t know where to turn or who to ask. My life is tent life. I love a good tent, because you know with a good tent you will have a good calypso competition."

Caribarena contacted the Antigua & Barbuda Calypso Association’s President Adelza “Lypstick” Sheridan, who said she, too, had little information about when the first tent would be staged.

She said, however, that she did get wind of some media advertisement of one to be held soon but she had little details about it.

“We don't manage the tents,” she said. “I don't know much about what is happening with that.”

She said information on this is expected to be at her fingertips later this week.

In the meantime Caribarena.com has learnt from King Zacari that, come this weekend, GoldenEye would open the first tent under the management of “Banana Joe” and “Blondel”.

He too had little information about the tent delays and could only say that he had intentions of participating in this weekend’s opening.

Further, there has been no word on the status of Çalypso Pepperpot, one of the season’s most popular tents. Attempts to reach Rupert “King Swallow'' Philo, who operates The University of Soca and Calypso Tent, have been unsuccessful.

Carnival Development Committee (CDC) Chairman Kayode O’Marde said he, too, had little information on the subject and would rather not comment at this time.

According to a source in the CDC, while a calypso tent is a private organisation, it does receive CDC funding and the late start to this year’s event could have been the result of the delayed disbursement thus far.

The source said, however, that steps are expected to be taken to rectify that situation during the course of this week.

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