A 900-foot mural depicting the entire history of calypso will be started this Calypso History Month in Cemetery Street in Covigne, Diego Martin, as part of the historic Diego Martin – Home of Calypso Project launched in 2023.
The Upper Cemetery Street Residents Association (USCRA), the estates of a number of calypso legends and other Diego Martin stakeholders are collaborating with the Artists’ Coalition of TT (ACTT) in this groundbreaking project.
The project comes out of historical research showing Diego Martin’s bonafides as the birthplace of calypso along with a series of startling intersections between the new borough and calypso history, a media release said.
The first phase will be the start of the mural, which is to be completed by March/Carnival 2025.
The release said it will just be the first of many initiatives unveiled in the coming months and years to transform Diego Martin into an international calypso heritage destination.
The intention is for the first stage of painting (200 feet) to begin during Calypso History Month (October) to get student participation.
[caption id="attachment_1116801" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Home of Calypso Logo -[/caption]
However, for the next phase, about 400 feet of wall must be prepared by being plastered and reinforced, alongside certain roadworks the Diego Martin Regional Corporation will need to do, the release said. This work should be started and completed by year-end so that the entire 900-foot wall can be completed on time.
The mural is intended to be a national and international tourist destination and will depict the entire history of the calypso tradition – from its roots in the Diego Martin plantations of the 1700s through its rise and evolution into a world music in the 20th century.
The mural will depict hundreds of TT’s greatest musical talents, among them Sparrow, Kitchener, David Rudder, Rose, SuperBlue, Shadow, Stalin, Machel, Spoiler, Attila, Tiger and more, in a timeline pageant of portraits in colour.
[caption id="attachment_1116802" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Part of the desolate Cemetery Street wall that will be transformed by the mural -[/caption]
It will be painted by some of TT’s greatest painters and muralists, and will include schoolchildren, youth groups, elders and others. The entire community will be encouraged to “put a hand” in the process.
The mural also aims to transform the community of Covigne – particularly Cemetery Street –which has become desolate because of the dilapidated look of the unpainted wall which runs along almost its entire length. All residents of the neighbourhood have already given their permission for the historic mural to happen on their walls, the release said.
It said meetings with UN organisations have also been held to discuss the larger heritage implications of the project. It has been endorsed by past calypso monarch David Rudder, as well as the estates of both the Mighty Sparrow and the Lord Kitchener.
ACTT president Rubadiri Victor said in the release, “The aim of the
