BARBUDA'S FIRST CARIBANA - Antigua & Barbuda

48
Calypso is defined as a
popular musical art form,
which is fundamentally a song
of a people. It is also a medium
of cultural expression and
social entertainment. Topical
and critical, it comments
on life locally, within the
wider Caribbean as well as
happenings in the international
world. Its beginnings go all the
way back to Africa. Back then,
calysonians were recorders of
tribal history and customs, they
were commentators,
celebrators and satirists.
But calypso has also persisted
as a medium of expression
for the many ethnic groups
who, thrown together in a
new land, have struggled and
fought for political liberty in the
face of oppressive conditions
in a colonial society, and
being drawn together into an
integrated community of many
racial groupings.
A calypso must have a
message. The composer
must make a plan for writing a
calypso in as much the same
way as a student does an
Mas
Music
F a n t a s y
English composition.
After deciding on the topic,
he/she begins with an
introduction, a body, which
carries the message, and a
conclusion. A well structured
calypso is no different. Calypso
pundits and students of the art
form have always stated that
Calypsonians are singers who
write their own songs.
The basic ingredients of
a good calypso are lyrics,
melody, rhythm, tempo,
diction and clarity, drama,
and wit. Each song tells a
story that is a commentary on
an aspect of life or event(s) in
a humorous, smutty, witty or
serious form.
Richard Apparicio
The greatest exponents of the
art form deliver songs with
captivating melodies, slow or
up tempo, laced with double
entendre, innuendo, satire,
sarcasm and irony.
Prior to 1950, a man by the
name of John Quarkoo was the
only known name associated
with Calypso in Antigua and
Barbuda which was called
‘benna.’ This is a term that
was used to differentiate
secular music from other
forms of music.
Quarkoo was humorous,
fearless and outspoken and
would make-up calypsos on