When it comes to Carnival I have always been an eternal optimist especially when challenged with criticism that the celebration has become too commercialized and nothing resembling the grass roots celebration borne from slavery. In the face of protests against rising costume prices, allegations of classism, racism and elitism in Carnival I have defended the concept of a place and space for everyone arguing that you can still enjoy mas in a band that meets your budget or choose not to support expensive all inclusive fetes over the non inclusive. However today I am eating my words with a second helping of resignation that Carnival today is no longer everyone's Carnival but the rich man's Carnival after reading on the Trinidad Express that not only have prices for Panorama increased again for another year, but that even the man who is going on the "drag" (track area by the stage) will be charged a fee! The last bastion of freeness, a man being able to actually enjoy our national instrument supporting his band of choice and participating in Carnival is over.
I may be dating myself here by telling you that I remember the days when Panorama Preliminaries was free, that's right, the North Stand was a place where you went for the lime with the people and the Grand Stand was where they charged you to hang out with the bourgeoisie and officials. The year they started charging $20.00TT to enter the North Stand my friends and I developed a strategy to storm (get in for free) and storm we did for the following years until the fence got higher and the price reached $100.00TT; I guess when the President of the country no longer wanted to hang out in the Grand Stand and chose the North Stand instead it became "grand" and we got charged "grand" prices. In the last few years I have watched Panorama prices steadily increase for the preliminaries and semi finals , leading to a whopping $300.00TT entrance fee in 2010 if you choose the North Greens. The paddock stands are $260.00TT and the track will be between $60.00 to $80.00TT. Apparently the track will now boast stands and washrooms so I guess the public has to be charged for these amenities that should have been in place all along.
Going to Panorama Preliminaries will now cost you the price of an all inclusive fete if you choose to patronize one of the popular social outfit's "pan limes" that can run you an extra $250.00 to $400.00TT (excluding the cost of your ticket) to party with the likes of Red Ants, Cesar's Army or Insomniacs. This gets you a t shirt or tank top, drinks, food, snacks, a goody bag and your own rhythm section, depending on the lime, making what was once a bring your cooler and pot of pelau type of event into an all day all inclusive party affair. I have never subscribed to the philosophy of paying for a pan lime because I was never inclined to pay extra for food and drinks at Panorama when my friends and I could walk with our own for MUCH less. I am very much old school in that respect as Panorama for me was more about the pan and the people than about the party, because frankly the true pan lovers are not found in the North Stand.
It makes me feel very jaded that I have to admit the critics were right, it is all about money. I held no illusions on that fact but I still had hope that even the poorest lover of Carnival could still find something to enjoy that did not cost a cent or a television. Carnival 2010 we see no free concerts held in Woodford Square, the end of getting into Panorama free;what will 2011 and 2012 bring? Will they make Jouvert an affair for the Stadium and charge you to enter?And when the Carnival Centre gets built will you have to pay to view mas as well? No more spectator stands on the street? Sounds insane to think this way but never would I have I believed that the man who sweats over pushing the pan would be standing outside the tracks for Panorama, while the rhythm section drowned out the sounds of steel in the exclusive all inclusive stands, and he will not be allowed in without a dollar in his pocket. 13 years ago I would never have thought it and look where we are today... a sobering preview of the future of Carnival in the 21st century and beyond. Carnival has become once again, the rich man's Carnival.
15 comments:
Well since TnT is not in a recession, then heck! Why not raise the prices of everything? Steups. Ridiculous indeed!
Private organisations, such as Red Ants, etc, should NOT be allowed to profit from a government competition such as Panorama. I just don't understand how that is allowed to happen!
I've said it before and I'll say it again- this wealth that was created by the price of oil, was the worst thing that could have happened to Trinidad. The aspirational classes have just taken over, to the detriment of those who are not able to participate. The disparities are even more evident now, and will only get worse...for the time being.
My only consolation is that things always come full circle. So some day, things will get back to basics. I may not be alive to see it, but it will happen. At some point, people will rise up and revolt, and we will see a return to what Carnival used to be about.
Sigh!
Great write up Saucy!! Sadly, but true, the cost of carnival all around is becoming toooo much. To think that a regular citizen who wants to enjoy a quality fete has to pay the exorbitant price of $700TT and more is absolutely ridiculous. To think that panorama is now been affected. Ridiculous!! Good question though...what will 2011 and years to come have in store for us and for how much longer will we encourage it???
I agree... as a foreigner who comes home every year for carnival I feel the pinch a month later when my bills come.... I think between fetes and playing mas people have to make a choice of what best meets their financial needs..
Saucy this is a good assessment of the situation and one which I think you should send to the Express and the Guardian for publishing. And if possible also put it in letter form and send it to the Ministry of Culture, the various carnival associations and the Prime Minister's office. Because I agree with everything you said in this post and it makes me sad to think of what we're doing to our culture :-(
Great post Sauce. This development in Panorama now reeks of 'foreign', i.e charge an entrance fee for EVERYTHING, from kiddies carnival, King and Queen to Panorama. The only thing that's free is the parade of bands on the street.
The openess of Panorama and Trinidad carnival as a whole is the main charm of the festival. I say this from my perspective gained from living abroad and from the perspective of non-Trinis I know who experienced other carnivals and loved Trinidad's the most because the public was not excluded entirely. Take that openess away and we lose what is Trinidad -- "all ah we is one".
Now one of our last elements of grassroots carnival is pricing out those who support it the most, i.e the masses.
Damned shame.
Preach, Saucy, preach.
This has been my observation and concern from since 8 years ago (which I have written about in comments here a few times.) I have said, if Trinidad's Carnival is to remain relevant and vibrant, the average citizens will have to create a current MAS expression that's affordable (for average folks, LOCAL), great quality with current asthetics, and ATTRACTIVE, out of a necessary need to mock the decadence of high runaway costs and "exclusiveness" Carnival has come, full circle.
I appreciate there are material cost for high quality, and I have seen mas designs and productions step up to a higher standard. However, there is a limit and a line we have crossed to being a bourgeoise of "mas" players with our rolling hotel ammenities on the road, disconected from the lives of Trinbagonians within just a few feet on the sidewalks.
The thing about pan is we take it for granted as just there to say it was invented in Trinidad, but we are not so prideful to really appreciate the genius of it's musical form (which is certainly not aspirational anymore, it simply IS genius.) That's why the support for pan is always scrunting for financial support.
From an economic perspective what this says is that carnival (and the many aspects of it, not just playing mas and fetes) is now viewed as a luxury item. It is no longer a necessity for building or maintaining cultural appreciation but is now classified as an event to be enjoyed by only those who can afford it and choose to participate and provides hefty profits for those who can afford to invest in it. The government recognizes that carnival has been a lucrative investment for the private enterprise and they too want a piece of the pie. What I struggle to understand is the role the government wants to assume. It will be truly disheartening if the trend continues and the government now starts to behave like a private enterprise and operate under a profit motive rather than providing a service to the general community. Unfortunately this may already be a foregone conclusion.
I concur with everyone's comments, having commented on this a couple of times.Saucy I think you should take Brownskingurl's advice.
Great well written post.
hi Saucy, happy new year! this is utterly ridiculous and is indeed a reflection of how we as a society...locally and globally have attached a cost to EVERYTHING!!! from Christmas to Carnival...it's all been commercialized. Sadly, even love is that way as getting married has become extremely commercialized, you pay from the onset with securing a date in the church and to the extent that can we really blame a man or woman for choosing a partner who can add some economic value on the relationship...stupes! i too have pushed pan back in the days when i was a teenager, with either Fonclaire or Skiffle Bunch...being originally a Sando girl..as if its not hard enough coming from distant places to "back your band"...now you have to pay just to stand up and hear your band blow away the judges..even if that your solo opinion...lol...and then we like to talk about culture..HA..Trinidad and Tobago..what IS our culture? maybe you should take a poll saucy...just for the heck of it 1 day and see what people associate with the culture of our nation, because it has come down to..unless you have a high rise tower somewhere.. your're not supposed to enjoy anything,and if you aspire to that, somebody will rob you, beat you, kidnap you or even kill you for it!! i cannot believe that our "greatest show on earth" is no longer accessible and enjoyable unless you prepared to pay for it! cause save the few who take a stand and boycott...the masses will still come out and justify the thirst for profit in everything, and its sad, because at the end of the day, we not supposed to be even discussing this, because its just not supposed to happen!! but then...i have learnt to accept, just like you saucy i guess, that maybe these ideals have no place in the modern world! :( sigh!
Trinis love to complain, but take no action. A party/event/fete can't happen without patrons.
If we all reclaimed that power it would remind the promoters etc that they actually need us more than we need them.
I for one refuse. Maybe we should start a fb group!! lol
I going pan. Na na boo boo!!
RWB, that is EXACTLY it. People will whinge and moan and bitch with they mouth, while they hand handin' over ticket money.
We as patrons need to realise that WE are the ones who hold the power. And I am exercising my power yes.
Hey Saucy, Happy New Year to you and your family. *shuddering* Sad to say, I am that poor man you are speaking about. I took great pride and pleasure of standing at the side of the stage for free, enjoying the sweet sounds of pan and feeling the energy created by the vibrations of a pan side rolling on stage.
With the prices ever increasing each year, my only resolve for enjoying sweet pan is sitting infront of the TV with my own drinks and forming a lime at de house. This year, if panorama is back on the airwaves, it's back to the house lime for 2k10.
But we knew that 2010 would be the question mark year that would show Carnival's survival in these so called "hard times". To say that Trinidad is not in a recession, is again, questionable. If we weren't in one, then prices across the board would not affect us.
But the fact that we have to pay so much just to stand, not even sit, to hear Pan - makes one wonder, if we not a recession, what are we in? A recess?
Carnival still has its die hards, Trini to the bone creators of mas, where beads and theater still command the Carnival roads. The question that keeps my spirit a little more sober is - Can we enjoy this Carnival fully to its fullest like how we used to do long ago?
To put it sadly - I have no tickets for any All-Inclusive Fete nor is my calendar filled like it used to back in the day. No, Pan will not be seeing me again this year. I will stick to me House Lime yes! Call dat Carnival!!
This is MJ and Ya Don Know.
Carnival Tip 2010 - Start breaking in your Carnival shoes and boots. Your feet will thank you for it!
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