What is parang?

What is the Christmas Season in Trinidad and Tobago without parang music? But have you ever stopped to think about what parang means, where it comes from and what makes it so special?

The term ‘parang’ comes from the Caribbean Spanish word ‘parranda’ which means ‘merrymaking’. Interestingly, parranda wasn’t originally Christmas music, but it was music for any time and any place where merriment was expected. Over time, the term came to refer to a specific musical genre, sung in Spanish with lyrics that could be religious or secular.

The history of parang in Trinidad

Some say that parang came to Trinidad with the Spanish colonists who ruled from 1498 to 1797. Others believe that the music came to the island during the nineteenth century with the indigenous peons of Oriente, Venezuela, who came to work on cocoa plantations. Both theories for the origin of parang may hold some truth since it is possible that Trinidad’s native Hispanic population mixed with those peons, or cocoa paynols, from Venezuela. Whatever the truth may be, what arose was simple folk music, comprising the aguinaldos and secular songs. Aguinaldos were ‘Christmas gifts’ in song, dealing with topics such as la Anunciación (Annunciation), el Nacimiento (Birth of Christ) and the Despedida (Farewell). Non-religious parang songs include the velorio de cruz, the jota, the waltz and variations of the joropo oriental, the national dance of Venezuela. So even if some people say that parang sounds the same, the truth is there’s a lot of variety in parang in terms of styles, subjects and occasions where it can be sung.

The tradition and evolution of parang music

Traditionally, parang was a year-round activity that was always celebratory. Religious festivals, such as Christmas and Easter, were always special parang times but parang would also be a part of birthdays, weddings and christenings, all marked by spontaneous music, songs and dances of the ‘cocoa panyols’.

Religious parang is deeply rooted in Catholicism. It is therefore not surprising that it was the Christmas parang that made its strongest imprint on Trinidad. Tenaciously holding on to their Hispanic customs, the parranderos, as the parang singers were called, would go house-to-house singing their songs from the eighth day of October, which is the Catholic Feast of the Lady of the Rosary, until the sixth day of January, known as Feast of the Three Kings. For those early cocoa panyol singers, the religious text was more important than the music so the use of traditional use of instruments was minimal. The only instruments were cuatro and a pair of maracas. By 1940, however, the number of musical instruments had increased to include the guitar, bandol, mandolin, violin orflute, box bass, scratcher and toc toc.

Also, since parranderos were expected to go house to house, it was a male-dominated art form. Men could leave the home for days at a time, while women had to stay at home tending to domestic duties like rearing children. From the late 1920s however, female singers became increasingly more integrated into the art form. As the equality of the sexes became more widely accepted and physical transport became easier – meaning that parranderos could leave home to sing and return home earlier – women too could participate and still have enough time left over to tend to the home. Women soon became an integral part of parang.

Over time, parang became more accepted and appreciated by non-Spanish-speakers too; communities therefore began to make a place for parang music and performances where presented on community stages instead of as a roving, house-to-house activities. From 1962 onwards, parang ascended the public platform. But for parang to really become popular, it needed ambassadors. Two women would become the heroines of parang music in Trinidad.

Two heroes of parang

The dynamic Gloria Alcazar appeared on the parang platform in 1967 as cuatroist and lead vocalist of the group, ‘San José Serenaders’. In the role of lead singer, flanked by her female chorus, she heralded the picturesque front line that has become an integral part of modern parang performances. In addition, because she was Venezuelan by birth, Alcazar introduced popular Latin American melodies (many from Venezuela) into the San José group. She had spent her early years in Maracaibo, the home of gaita, so she introduced the gaita drum and gaita music to her group. It was upbeat and fast-paced and infectious and it soon began to change the style and form of the parang. Parang would never be the same after Gloria.

Selections like Viva, Cantemos Pastores, La Pascualidad, Gavilán, and Sabaneando took Trinidad by storm and Gloria Alcazar was catapulted into fame. Her impact was undeniable. A large number of groups made her repertory their own, and a number of female protagonists imitated her accent, her intonation and her style. Both Sharlene Flores (lead singer of ‘Flores de San José’) and Claire Piper (lead singer of ‘Carib Santa Rosa Serenaders’) are followers of the Gloria Alcazar tradition. Gloria Alzazar died in 1979, leaving behind a treasure trove of songs that are still very popular in Trinidad today. Alcazar’s death left an opening in the parang arena; that void was ably filled by another heroine of parang, the amazing Trinidadian singer from Siparia: Daisy Voisin. Daisy’s songs and style are a reflection of the reinterpretation of the traditional style and form of parang. Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that a Venezuelan and a Trinidadian were the greatest heroines of parang of the modern era. Gloria Alcazar and Daisy Voisin.

Shared musical heritage

Parang has certainly had a very long and eventful journey in Trinidad. All the way from the Spanish colonial world, it persisted throughout the British colonial period and now survives into our independence, republic era. Parang, once music of the local Hispanic community and migrants, became a music of the masses. Once nomadic, house-to-house music, it now has a place on the stage. Once music for men, it now widely accepted women! What a journey! What an evolution.

As the world around us changes, it’s easy to wonder how much parang music has changed from its original form. Well, as late as 1995, Los Dinámicos, a Trinidadian parang group was part of a cultural exchange in Güiria, Venezuela. The Trinidad group fit right in alongside Venezuelan groups hailing from El Moro and Carriaco. Evidently, despite the passage of time Trinidadian parang remains almost identical to its Latin American counterpart – sharing instruments, lyrics, structure and energy. Though much has changed, parang is a permanent part of Trinidad and Tobago’s Hispanic legacy, shared with our South American neighbours.

That, dear friends, is a bit of the lesser known history of parang in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Blog post written by Dr. Francisca C. Allard & edited by A. Cooper of the Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival Association.  Dr. Allard is a former lecturer in music and education at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and Catholic Religious Education Institute (CREDI). She hails from the south of Trinidad and is a vibrant member of an established and popular “parang family”.  Her doctoral thesis focused on the history, contribution and future of parang in Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Allard is also a well-known parang singer and songwriter among whose accolades is the award for Best Parang Song of 2006.