Parang, Parang!!!!

(destinationtnt.com)

         

Season's Greetings everyone!  Five more days til Christmas.  Hopefully, you all are finished with Christmas shopping and relaxing.  I have to admit, I do get homesick this time of year,  I thought I would enjoy a white Christmas since moving to Brooklyn but sadly, that was not the case anymore.  Still, it doesn't hurt to reminisce about a warm, Trini Christmas.  And speaking of Trini Christmas, there is one musical tradition that occurs every Christmas and that's parang.  Parang usually played around Christmas time, is a musical genre with Spanish influence.  Parang comes from the Spanish word, parranda, meaning "spree" or "fete."  Depending on the sources, the origins of the genre occurred when the Spanish colonists brought their music to Trinidad while ruling the island from 1498-1797 when it became a British colony.  In another theory, the cocoapanyols, a people of Spanish, Amerindian and African origin, brought parang to Trinidad in the 19th century from Venezuela while working on the cocoa plantations.  Nonetheless, parang became an important part of Trinbago's culture.  Normally, the parang season starts in October to early January but sometimes it can start as early as September these days.

Traditionally, musicians called "parranderos," go to various houses, entertaining, dancing and food is shared.  There is even a parang competition which is held in Lopinot, located in East Trinidad.  However, if you want the real deal, go to Paramin, located in the valleys of north Trinidad if you want to hear some authentic parang (destinationtnt.com).  

Paramin, Trinidad (pinterest)

Lopinot, Trinidad (destinationtnt.com)

Now parang would not be complete without the Parang Queen, Daisy Voisin.  Ms. Voisin was born in Erin, Trinidad in 1927 and began her career in parang in 1973.  With her band, La Divina Pastora Serenaders, Voisin took parang to new heights.  Unfortunately, she died in 1991 but her music still lives on.  You can still listen to her famous songs today, including, "Alegria, Alegria," and "Hooray, Hoorah," (wikipedia.com).  

 

Normally, parang is sung in Spanish but nowadays some parang songs are sung in English much to the chagrin of die-hards who believed that Parang should only be sung in Spanish.  Well, we Trinis love calypso and soca so we decided to add these elements to parang and soca parang was born.  Scrunter, Baron and Crazy among others, are calypsonians in their own right but they added their own spin to parang which became classic till this day.  No Trini Christmas would be complete without Scrunter's "I want a piece ah pork," Crazy's, "Yvonne," The late Lord Kitchener's "Drink ah Rum," and Machel Montano's, "Soca Santa." Parang is definitely unique to Trinidad and Tobago but thanks to the diaspora and technology, parang can be heard everywhere.  Hopefully next year, I can visit Trinidad to experience Trini Christmas and experience parang again.  You can't beat a warm Trini Christmas!  Merry Christmas everyone!!!