Dear Editor,

SENIOR and junior calypsonians, musicians, and prospective sponsors and representatives of the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport are invited to attend a very important meeting of the Guyana Calypso Association on Thursday, September 15, 2016 commencing 5:00 pm at the National Cultural Centre.This meeting is expected to discuss arrangements for the staging of the Mashramani Calypso Competition for 2017, and those arrangements include corporate sponsorship, recording and media airtime, calypso caravan, calypso jamboree, and a four-year development plan.

According to the President of the association — Ras Aaron Blackman, ‘aka De Liberator’ — it is time for calypsonians to be allowed to run the business of calypso to ensure sustainability, and not the one-off staging carried out by the Department of Culture for Mash celebrations.

The business of calypso must be year-round, with calypsonians being able to earn a living from their works. Calypso must be a medium through which social cohesion and education are promoted for the national good. This can happen only when the media and calypsonians work collaboratively to contribute significantly to the development of sports and cultural tourism.

The time has come for calypsonians to take their work to the stages live in sister Caricom countries, promoting regional integration; so we must be mindful of what we are promoting internationally through our lyrical content. Our songs must not appeal only to the Guyanese public, but to all those calypso fans of the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. This is what we must aim for if we are going to rise above our present state as calypsonians.

We must be widely read, and be prepared to do research to come up with sound educational and entertaining lyrics. We must let our creativity rise above political commentary; there must be more thought given to our social commentary if we are going to be marketable all year round at home and abroad.

Our seniors must take a cue from our junior calypsonians, whose lyrics are often written by teachers for the junior calypso segment of Mash competitions. These do not focus only on political commentary, but those that also promote Guyana socially, economically, culturally and spiritually.

Calypsonians must rise to the occasion, as Guyana and the Caribbean are on the move towards a unified Caribbean community.

RAS AARON,
President
Guyana Calypso Association