The value of calypso continues to be highlighted as the DCA observes another Calypso Day

Popular calypsonian, Sour Sour, entertains audience at 2020 calypso finals

The Dominica Calypso Association (DCA) today observed Calypso Day for the second consecutive year and the association’s secretary, Daryl Bobb took the opportunity to once again highlight the value of the artform to Dominicans.

Calypso Day was observed for the first time last year in an effort to promote that music genre which typically enjoys its highest level of popularity during the carnival season.

Radio stations were encouraged to promote the art form by playing only calypso music, while online news outlets and the public were encouraged to post as much as possible on social media about the genre.

“Calypso day is basically a day about making people aware of the importance of calypso to us, what value is the genre to us basically and I believe that the genre is very important to us, because we are a calypso people,” Secretary of the DCA, Daryl Bobb, said during a live interview on State-owned DBS Radio.

“Whether we are against a certain type of worldly music but the culture of calypso is in us,” Bob remarked. “Calypso is so far more than just the music, to me, it’s really just the culture in us to fight, the culture within us to develop ourselves, the culture of defiance and that to me is what calypso really means, it’s more than just the music.”

According to the DCA official, the association is more interested in sensitizing people, reminding them of the significance of the day and encouraging them to create their own programs.

He believes the association has to preserve the genre as much as it can.

“We have to keep developing programs and ideas that would help the genre to its longevity, to continue,” Bobb stated. “And while some folks have been saying in the region that calypso has been losing its audience, its trust and presence in the region and Dominica has been doing the best.”

He pointed out that despite the Covid pandemic, shows organized by the association have been attracting larger crowds than most of the Caribbean islands.

 “It means that we are doing a good job at preserving the genre here in Dominica,” he noted.

Bobb said the Dominica Calypso Association hopes that a message can be sent to the rest of the region that, “these are the things that you can do to keep calypso present in the people’s minds.”

“Calypso must not just be an expression that exists just around Carnival time,” Bobb said.

Meanwhile, he announced that Showdown Mas Camp will host a special event on Friday night in recognition of Calypso Day.

“I am really happy that we are able to give calypso a stage beyond the competition level,” he said.

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

2 Comments

  1. If we knew better
    May 31, 2022

    I suspect thats why the country cannot go nowhere. We too involved in the calypso mentality of maypwi, coded talk, minding people business, gossip painted as social commentary etc.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available