THE FINALIST: A Graphical Look Back At Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso and Soca Monarch Finals
New York— Author, John Barry is set to launch The Finalists: A Graphical Look Back At Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso and Soca Monarch Finals in New York after it’s successful debut launch in his homeland, Trinidad and Tobago during the past Carnival season. The book is now being described by many as the new soca/calypso bible.
The Finalists’ launch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, 2007, at the Trinidad and Tobago Consulate at 475 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY, 10017.
This groundbreaking research traces the history of the two competitions in their final round. For the first time in the history of the competitions — researchers, students and lovers of these art forms can find in one place a complete listing of the finalists, their songs, the places they secured in the finals, and in the case of the calypso finalists, the tents to which each calypsonian was affiliated through the years.
To date, the preoccupation has been with the winner, casting away the others who have also made worthy contributions; “The Finalists” corrects that. The data is presented in a comprehensive manner and can neither be found in the files of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organization nor those of Caribbean Prestige Foundation for the Arts (organizers of the Calypso Monarch and the International Soca Monarch Competitions); respectively.
John Barry is no new comer to the New York art scene. A past student of New York Institute of Technology, Barry completed his highly acclaimed documentary film, Dance De Calypso in 1996. The entertaining and informative Dance De Calypso has enjoyed extensive airplay both in Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
After more than a decade of study and employment in the U.S he returned home to T&T in 2000. Barry set out to continue his work, documenting the Caribbean island’s culture. He hit an early snag researching material for a new film that would focus on the calypsonian who, in recent history, has most consistently made it to the final round of the National Calypso Monarch Competition. “I couldn’t find the information”, said Barry, “everywhere I went, every source I checked, I could only find the winner or the first three places.” Barry then detailed his findings in a book after realizing how voluminous the research data had become.
The Finalists: A Graphical Look Back At Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso and Soca Monarch Finals
