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Los Tocadores In London December 2004

Parang music made a giant leap on the international scene with Los Tocadores’ historic visit to England.

The T&T parang group are the guests of High Commissioner to London Glenda Morean Phillip from December 9-18.

Playing before audiences at Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, students and a mixture of nationals and foreigners, Los Tocadores were well-received as they rendered traditional parang songs.

At Royal Garden Hotel the reception was subdued; it was the first time the guests from England, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and Russia had heard parang music.

However, at the Mission’s office at Belgrave Square and Moca Restaurant, Brixton it was parang true Trini style. They belted out all their hits.

Former Calypso Monarch Tobago Crusoe, in an impromptu performance, sang Kitchener’s calypso Drink a Rum and a Puncha Crema with the large crowd, including Phillip and Public Utilities Minister Pennelope Beckles, singing along.

Los Tocadores grew out of the spirit of the 1970s, one of change, freedom of expression, romanticism, peace and love. In 1971 when nine teenagers ventured out after Christmas Eve Mass to entertain their families and friends, it was a fulfilment of that inward hunger. Notwithstanding their limited knowledge of Spanish and even of the instruments they played—cuatro, guitar, maracas, box bass, toc toc, paleto, mandolin—these youths repeated their visits year after year as the community of Sangre Grande rallied around them.

Not only have Los Tocadores remained together throughout the years, but they have built a large repertoire of parang classics while developing a unique sound played with the true flavour of traditional parang. Interestingly, the name Estrada is synonymous with Los Tocadores since four of its founding members belong to this musical Sangre Grande family.

Peter Estrada, the recognised leader, continues not only to promote parang music among the local community but also to introduce this musical art form to other countries.

The group’s first recording, Parang Por Favor, was done live at the John F Kennedy lecture theatre of the University of the West Indies on October 17, 1987. The group have since produced three other CDs: Parang La Paranda (1994), Women in Parang (1998) and Los Tocadores Featuring Jennifer McPherson (2000).

Los Tocadores have thrilled audiences for the past 18 years in North America, performing at the Jarvis Centre, Manhattan; the Brooklyn College; the New York Botanical Gardens and Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, just to name a few venues.

In 2000 the group was recognised by the Massachusetts House of Representatives for its dedication and outstanding contribution towards promoting the culture of parang in the US.

Now with this current trip the band will reach even higher levels in the entertainment world and parang will have joined the steelpan, calypso, soca and limbo as aspects T&T culture on the international scene.

The band is scheduled to perform for nationals at the Mission’s office and an open show is planned for the night of December 16 at the Yaa Asanteewa Arts Centre, Paddington, London.