Sparrow's Legacy Disrespected with Humourous Brand

OCPA Judges Disrespect Mighty Sparrow

By William Doyle-Marshall

Slinger Francisco (The Mighty Sparrow) is a leader in the world of music. He is known as the Calypso King of the World but for the record, he took a serious stand against the French Creole businessmen back in the early days of modern calypso and refused to compete in the Calypso King contest in Port of Spain. In so doing he recorded in song a powerful statement that informed the world, he was not participating in the competition. His advice to the organizers of the contest was to run their show with the (Carnival) queen and her radio (one of the main prizes of the day). “Who want to go, could go up dey but me eh goin’ no way’. Later in the 1980s he was in the forefront when the Trinidad and Tobago Government and others were not paying calypsonians royalties for using their work. Francisco and others authorized Eddie Grant, famed music producer and publisher to be their representative to challenge them in court. Some of us would recall that year television stations could not broadcast certain shows as they did not have the right to use calypsoes of that year.

Fast forward to 2014 here in Toronto, Eulith Tara Woods (Macomere Fifi) pays tribute to Francisco’s work in Saturday night’s Canadian Calypso Monarch Competition which earned her the distinction of capturing the Calypso Monarch title for the sixth time. This is remarkable! Can anybody explain to calypso lovers how can a panel of sensible judges describe “Before You Gone” – the song – a humourous act? The Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes seems to have a special dictionary of thesaurus that offers a different meaning to the word humourous. I am forced to conclude this eminent panel of judges reside in a frivolous world that deprives them from determining what is humour and what is not. To relieve me from my humble state of ignorance, please courier me a copy of that book so I can peruse it at my own convenience. After that exercise I will certainly share its contents with the rest of annoyed calypso lovers. In the absence of this new meaning for the word humourous, I am recommending that Ms. Woods humbly refuse to accept this prize. Her presentation and the composers of her calypso have been disrespected by this honourable panel of judges. Well now, it is certainly time for them to be removed from this important job – whether for the love or otherwise.

What a night! This was the 34^th staging of the Canadian Calypso Monarch contest in this city since the formation in 1981 of the Canadian Calypso Association by a group of anxious calypsonians and calypso lovers. One major question hanging in the minds of many is: why is the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes headed by Colin Benjamin unable to pack the theatre with a capacity crowd? As patrons witness strange and unacceptable judging/rulings at these competitions, people have been threatening not to return to the event which had grown into the ‘must attend’ calypso event of the city. But we are beginning to wonder whether there is need for a change in leadership or perhaps change of organization with new and creative energy that will propel calypso forward.

There are so many templates for success yet the OCPA leadership continues to function in a Toronto shoe box and ignore the 500,000 people of Caribbean heritage who reside in Vaughan, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa and elsewhere in the Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe areas. 'Nothing venture, nothing gain'. Perhaps Benjamin and his cronies never heard this saying. Afropan can attract thousands to their street event annually I wonder whether these calypso big shots ever stopped by a mas camp blocko like last Sunday at the Revellers affair in Scarborough. Almost everybody was there. The rain did not stop those who were dying to have their party desire quenched. The spirits are always high when a partying crowd assembles. These numb skulls are ignoring that it is time to step down and utilize the fresh knowledge and skills of the young people who are certainly showing them up as being incapable of carrying the baton any further. Sorry but it is soon going to fall into Lake Ontario.

                           Macomere Fifi, center at Calypso Monarch final with T&T

                                  Consul General Dr. Vidhya Tota-Maharaj and

                                      felllow calypsonian Joel (Connector) Davis.

Guney Cedeno (Guney) gets a higher spot on the totem pole for his candid exposure of what is considered inequality in the way OCPA is handling calypsonians’ affairs. “Kaiso Come Back Again” was Guney’s launching pad “Tonight in this competition right here in Toronto,” he warned there are a few things going on and he wanted the public to know. “Finalists in this competition getting $200 appearance fee but the stage manager, they (OCPA) giving $1,000. We calypsonians spend all we money on clothes and recording but the stage manager don’t even have to sing; $1,200 goes to the emcee; $6,000 goes to the band; the pennies remain in the kitty they give it to calypsonians,” he crooned. Something is really wrong. The 1981 Calypso Monarch prize was $1,200. That went to $2,000 the next year.  Thirty two years later and the prize is only $5,000. Guney and other calypsonians are justified in complaining about injustice from their organization. In his refrain ‘calypso come back again’, Guney disclosed “Carlyle say not a song for Fifi again; all the lyrics he wrote, she never pay him; and anytime he call is voice mail he getting.” Naturally those biting comments amused the gathering of calypso lovers. If it was a regular tent night they would have shouted out “kaiso” and pressed for an encore but that is not allowed in competitions. Now Guney has lit the torch. I hope the others are bold enough to light some more torches and take them to the right place for much needed action.

July 28, 2014