Holly's Parang

Meh mudder side have some Spanish in she


Parang music may be best described as the sound of scrawling chalk off a blackboard and a dialect too muddled to decipher. Is it Spanish or Trianglish? But at Christmas time the music is contagious and people get into the spirit by swaying to a popular tune and singing a few lines of the broken Spanish, Parang, Parang, Parang, Parang in Trinidad.

It is a tradition for Parang groups to come to your home with a complete orchestra of players. This is a festive time for Trinidadians and Tobagonians to celebrate a sense of community and to take in some festive grog with heavy soaked Black cake after hours of singing.

The video clip is from a secondary school Parang group aired on television in 1998. This gives you a clear example of the tone and pitch of the Trinidadian voice. The whistling and whooping are an attribute to our Spanish heritage, but really is a mocking because the majority of times the singers do not understand what they are singing. Parang is loved by the young and old and by this young shack shack player who shows his enthusiasm as a key player and lady's man.


What a Parang group looks like. From left to right, a box base, shack shack and cuatro player.