NEW YORK, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago is observing World Steelpan Day with a concert at Woodford Square in Port of Spain and a presentation, “Pan in Times Square,” here on Friday, as the country celebrates the United Nations declaration of August 11 as World Steelpan Day.
“World Steelpan Day will celebrate the musical instrument, which originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1930s and is the only new instrument invented in the 20th century,” a Trinidad and Tobago government statement said.
Pan Trinbago’s president Beverley Ramsey-Moore, said, “Our main focus at this time is the development of the industry. When we talk about the industry, it is not only about the manufacturing of the instrument, but the heavy focus on our export markets, getting into continents.
“Pan Trinbago is extremely grateful to all the pioneers, those who would have labored, those who were branded rogue and vagabonds, those who gave of their time and talent to ensure that the instrument’s evolution is today a world success,” she added.
In a statement, the Trinidad and Tobago Consulate General in New York said, “Times Square is the most visited spot on earth and perfect for letting the world know what steelpan means to Trinidad and Tobago and the world community of pannists.”
It said the event will feature a performance by a nine-by-a-nine-piece ensemble and will include “some of the most skilled and infectious steelpan players to be found anywhere in the world.”
The Trinidad and Tobago Consulate General also said that “some of the Caribbean’s greatest friends in Office in the State of New York will be on hand to witness the historic event,” adding that the World Steelpan Day declaration comes after “years of strenuous diplomatic efforts by Trinidad and Tobago.
“This official confirmation of the global embrace of the steelpan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, is a colossal victory for our country,” it said, adding that the twin-island republic is “the birthplace and cradle of the steelpan, an instrument birthed in struggle and determination for self-expression.”
and then 