Calypso music lost one of its most emblematic voices Sunday with the death of Slinger Francisco, who was known on stage as the Mighty Sparrow and dubbed the “Calypso King of the World.” He was 91. https://t.co/xKFW2poRlr
The sweet sound of steelpan rang through the heart of NYC yesterday! 🇹🇹🥁 Pan in Times Square brought the culture, rhythm and sounds of Trinidad & Tobago to the Crossroads of the World, just in time for World Steelpan Day.
Happy World Steelpan Day to the instrument born in Trinidad & Tobago and the culture that continues to carry its sound around the world! 🖤🌎 #BET #PanInTimeSquare #IslandCoded
📸: IG | denzilbk
As President, I would read 10 letters a day sent to me by ordinary Americans. At the Obama Presidential Center, we’ll have some of the letters I read — and responded to — every night. I still get emotional reading them, and it’s one of my favorite exhibits.
I’m an elder millennial. I’m never letting go of my emotional support denim jacket, gold hoop earrings, boomerang drink videos, 90s R&B, side parts, and peace signs in my pics. Fight me.
Bad Bunny walked out in a #64 jersey with “OCASIO” on the back.
Not Bad Bunny.
Not Benito.
His real name.
His family name.
Then he grabbed the mic and said:
“My name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. And if today I’m here at the Super Bowl, it’s because I never, never stopped believing in myself.”
In Spanish.
No translation.
Even the jumbotron was in Spanish.
And I watched the whole thing with a translator on.
Because the message was that important to me.
They said he was “un-American.”
They said nobody would understand him.
They said having him perform was “ridiculous.”
And he SHOWED OUT!
He brought out Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
He staged a wedding on the field.
He recreated a bodega.
He gave us a whole scene of family and love.
He humanized an entire culture on the world’s biggest stage.
All in his native language.
And he didn’t flinch.
His lyrics were clear messages:
“They want to take the river from me, and the beach too. They want my neighborhood and for my grandma to leave.”
“I should have taken more photos when I had you. Hopefully my loved ones will never move.”
And that last line:
“Ojalá que los míos nunca se muden.”
Hopefully my loved ones will never move.
That’s about families being separated.
Forced to leave.
Displacement.
Yeah, he didn’t chase the mainstream.
He made the mainstream come to him.
He put his family name on his back and told 120 million people exactly who he is.
And I’m here for ALL of it!👏🏽
T&T’s Jolene Mendes wins Grammy 🇹🇹🏆
Mendes was the producer of the music video for Anxiety by Doechii, which just won Best Music Video at the Grammy Awards.
The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.