Mayor rescues Old Tech steelband

Two months after Old Tech Steel Orchestra was kicked out of its base at the San Fernando West Secondary school, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello has come to its rescue.

Regrello announced at the San Fernando City Corporation statutory meeting on Tuesday that he has been able to identify a space for Old Tech to set up a base in Pleasantville.

The property, which belongs to the city corporation, is an open space near the Pleasantville Plaza and Regrello said the corporation would clear the property so the band which has been squatting at Hatters Steel Orchestra since it was ejected in April, can have a home.

“As you all know, art and culture hold a special place with me, and I continue to champion the cause for the growth and development of art and culture towards the protection of our cultural heritage,” Regrello said at the meeting.

“This is not something the corporation normally does. There is no provision in our system to provide shelter for an unsponsored steelband. “But Old Tech has nurtured a lot of young players and made a remarkable contribution to the steelband landscape in San Fernando. It is a nursery for pan: a lot of bands depend on them for players,”

Regrello said after the band was evicted from the school on Farah Street, San Fernando, because the school said it needed space for a new intake of Form One students in September, he took the matter to the council and received unanimous support.

He said there are a number of steelbands without homes but the city cannot assist them all. This particular band was in a desperate situation, and as a steelbandsman himself, reached out to help the young people who are benefiting from the experience of Old Tech’s leader and arranger, Sean Ramsey.

Ramsey gave praise and thanks to God when he later visited the site with the mayor, chairman of Pan Trinbago’s South/Central Region David Balbosa and Pleasantville councillor Robert Parris.