By Michael D. Wamble
STAFF WRITER

It’s Christmastime but there are no signs of bundled, rosy-cheeked carolers trudging through the snow in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Musical creations like parang are nothing new in Trinidad. The country is responsible for this year’s ubiquitous sports refrain and Nickelodeon favorite, “Who Let the Dogs Out?” The song performed by a Trinidad artist—not The Baha Men—served as the anthem for the nation’s Carnival 2000.

Instead, walking down Frederick Street or any boulevard, one can’t avoid the ping-ping of the pan played in steel band yards knocking out traditional (European and American) songs.

And, even more difficult to ignore would be the unique sounds of parang.

What is parang?

Parang is music, but in a sense its story serves as a microcosm of how differing cultures and ethnic experiences take new forms throughout the nation of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the eastern region of the Caribbean. These new creations range from foods to the festive melodies sung prior to and on Dec. 25, when Christ’s birth is celebrated worldwide.

Parang shares its origin with that of the island’s early encounter with the Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus, who named the land in honor of the Trinity.

Sung in “broken Spanish,” the music championed a distinctively religious perspective of Christmas. As the music has developed, many contemporary songs have been penned in English.

While exclusively a form of Christmas music, parang is enjoyed by peoples of varying religions and theological traditions. Some of the brightest lights and largest Nativity scenes displayed along the major highways are found in Hindu neighborhoods.

Like Chicago, Trinidad prides itself on the success Catholic representatives have made in terms of inter-religious dialogue.

Port-of-Spain Diocesan Administrator Father Christian Pereira has worked to keep lines of communication open between the archdiocese and members of Hindu, Muslim and Orisha traditions, as well as those of other Christian faiths. To further these efforts, Pereira has spoken in numerous places of worship about the Catholic faith. Representatives of other traditions attend Catholic churches to explain their religions.

But at this time of year, what can be heard in churches like St. Patrick in Port-of-Spain, are the sounds of Christmas familiar even to a U.S. ear, with one notable exception: the steel pan.

The pan, a steel drum manipulated to produce musical notes, was born in Trinidad and accompanies many choirs, including the Saturday evening children’s choir at St. Patrick.

Whether the sound is authentic parang or a steel pan reworking of “The Little Drummer Boy,” Trinidad and Tobago have embraced Christmas by creating music in the key of Caribbean life.