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Trinidad & Tobago

Whooahooooohhhhhh ooohhhhhh ohhh

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I am a Soca Warrior

I say win or loose I am a fighter!

I am a Soca Warrior

I come tuh shine meh nationality brighter.

Maximus Dan – Soca Warrior
Up until this point. Up until we football make ah move, we had only one true national philosophy. This self-same ‘Carnival mentality’ we had nurtured for years, we exported and proudly touted it as Trinidad.We also bragged and limed and dined it, sayin’ “Iz Chinidad.”

What has that done? What has the use of mediocrity done to us when used as a tool to forge culture from love and liberty? How will the fires of hope and prayer treat us when we disown self-responsibility? If a Trinidadian refuse tuh claim dey space, what kinna mas it go make? And I use mas tuh describe the procession of people that call this island home. All of us, from now to eternity, chippin’ together in a beat, but on we own chip each.

And look how when we reach Germany, a simple man, a simple artist use words and music to pen a new national philosophy, if we would have it. We could be fighters! Not violent, bloodthirsty people, but fighters. A people who take responsibility for theyself and they actions. A people who, no matter where they go or what they do, they put out their best. It could be on a football field or in the boardroom of Google, anywhere a Trini reach, they will fight. And not fight to disrupt, but fight to organize and arrange. Not senseless fighters, but fighters with a purpose and passion. Fighters who aspire and achieve together.

We will attack

We will defend!

Trinidad & Tobago

Bottom In De Road

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Bottom in de Road: Gender and Sexuality in Calypso

It is also extremely important to note that Denise [Belfon] differentiates between offering herself to her male audience as a sexual object, and celebrating her own sexual power. “I might call a male audience member up on stage to dance with me,” she says. “What I ensure though is that he wines with me – not on me.”[20] The distinction Belfon draws between “with” and “on” reflects the complex rules, customs, and traffic regulations that surround social “wining” in Trinidad. In a party, for instance, a woman may rotate her bumsie all alone, for the sheer pleasure of doing so, or she may back up against a partner’s front (or rear) to wine together. If a man (or another woman) approaches her from behind and presses against her gyrating posterior, he or she is wining on her. This approach may or may not be welcome – and the woman may request that her suitor back off. However, he may or may not do so. Many calypsos (written and sung by men and women) address the intricate verbal and non-verbal negotiations surrounding this common situation. Belfon’s comment makes it clear that she will be the one to control the wining encounter. As Twiggy (Anne Marie Parks) explicitly states, “Doh Put Your Hands on My Property.” In other words, you can’t touch this!

Long, but a fascinating read.