Calypso!

On Wednesday night I went to a concert in Nunemaker hall put on by Loyola’s Latin American Studies program. At first I was not too excited for it but once I arrived and began to learn and listen to the wonderful upbeat Calypso music, I was more than excited. The concert was especially interesting for me because I am thinking about going into a Spanish major or Latin American and Caribbean studies program. The concert “Calypso” was very exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The main musician was Manuel Monestel from Costa Rica. Two other men from Mr. Monestel’s band in Costa Rica played with him. Also, students from Loyola’s music program played. The main instruments used were the guitar, a “washtube bass”, banjos, ukuleles, trombones, saxophones, tambourines and flutes. One girl who was from Loyola played the trombone like a professional, she was fantastic. I have never learned much about this tropical music called Calypso. It originated in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad. It has managed to make its way to New Orleans and intertwine with the jazz culture here. This music was just plain happy and made me want to dance. My favorite song was written by Walter Ferguson who is evidently the most famous person in this style of Music. This song was about a man who wanted to be a dog instead of a person. Other songs were about a green called Callalou, about conserving water, and about a boy who smoked marijuana and needed his mother to help bring him back to reality. Mr. Monestel explained that many Calypso songs are written about the problems of society. If anyone ever has a chance I highly recommend attending any live Calypso music concerts available. It is more than interesting to see how the Caribbean and Creole cultures are intertwined.