Remove Calypso Monarch from Dimanche Gras

THE EDITOR: I am no marketing expert, but common sense tells me that the Calypso Monarch finals is now out of place at Dimanche Gras on Carnival Sunday night.

The Calypso Monarch semifinals is a well-attended event and has been so for many decades since it moved to Skinner Park from its previous venue at the Naparima Bowl after the fire that destroyed the Bowl. The forced relocation was a blessing in disguise for the semifinals.

There is something about the picnic-style atmosphere of the Skinner Park event that resonates with the calypso aficionados and others who attend that show. That is not replicated at the Dimanche Gras show which is poorly attended.

I know there are many other reasons for the poor attendance, including the many other competing activities on Carnival Sunday night, or due to take place early on Carnival Monday. Also, many of the attendees or would-be attendees are only interesting in one aspect of the show and are bored to death by everything else since it is a variety show.

Another factor is that many visitors who attend the show and who do not have any Trinidadian/Tobagonian roots find the Calypso Monarch aspect of the show very boring as they do not understand the local dialect and are not acquainted with the many local issues addressed by the calypsonians.

I would like to suggest that the Calypso Monarch semifinals be held three Saturdays before Carnival Monday. The finals can then be held picnic-style at the same or a similar venue two Saturdays before Carnival Monday. At that event, apart from the Calypso Monarch competition, via guest appearances, the focus ought to be on calypso and its derivatives, such as soca, which can serve to enliven the event and create a truly party atmosphere that would be appealing to the attendees.

The Calypso Monarch could then make a guest appearance at Dimanche Gras.

LOUIS W WILLIAMS

St Augustine