The rise and fall of the ‘Catholic Carnival band’

In a recent interview on The Catholic News’ show Altos on Trinity TV, Deacon Derek Walcott spoke about the short-lived Catholic Carnival band that was active from 2011 to 2016 in Trinidad and Tobago.

When asked about the history of the band, Deacon Walcott traced its origins back to a conversation with then Fr Joseph Harris CSSp, who was the parish priest of St Anthony’s RC Church, Petit Valley: “In one of our Carnival Friday jump-ups, he said, ‘Derek, let me bring out a Carnival Band’. And that’s where it started.”

This idea resonated with Rev Walcott, who spoke to experienced Carnival band organisers in his community like Jack Williams to understand what it would take to make it a reality.

However, the planning was temporarily put on hold when ‘Father Joe’ went abroad to study and Rev Walcott began his training to become a deacon. When both returned, they decided the time was right to move forward. As Rev Walcott put it, “We just said, it’s the right time. And so it began.”

The band was named The Word and Associates and had a biblical theme, featuring a different book of the Bible each year in its costumes and presentations. It was dubbed ‘The Catholic Band’ by media and this name stuck. In its first year they presented Genesis (2011), followed by Exodus, Leviticus and so on until Deuteronomy in 2016. The band attracted international participants from places like Canada, the US and Venezuela. There were even religious sisters and priests playing with them some years.

Financially unsustainable

It gained recognition in its second year. As Rev Walcott described, “We won band of the year in the second year, you know, when we came out with the ‘Book of Exodus’. We partnered with Exodus Steel Orchestra. So here you had a Carnival band, full costume, not a sailor band, but a full costume band with steelband. You know, so that was so attractive.”

So why did this innovative Catholic contribution to Carnival stop after just five years? As Rev Walcott explained, it required massive amounts of time, effort, and money to organise and keep going each year. The tough economic climate in Trinidad during some of those years also meant they had to fund it substantially from their own pockets. Ultimately, it became financially unsustainable.

Rev Walcott believes the Catholic Carnival band will rise again, comparing it to the death and rebirth narrative in Peter Minshall’s classic 1983 portrayal of Mancrab and Washerwoman.

As Rev Walcott describes, “Minshall’s 1983 portrayal was a trilogy. And at the end of the trilogy, Mancrab kills Washerwoman but Washerwoman will reincarnate.” Washerwoman represents a traditional Carnival character – a working class Afro-Trinidadian woman doing her washing by the river. Mancrab symbolises elite political and corporate interests trying to gain control. While Washerwoman dies, the story implies the people’s traditions (which gave birth to Carnival) can never be fully destroyed.

Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon also hinted at the cyclic nature of Carnival in his 2023 article ‘Carnival, evolution or cycle?’ This gives Rev Walcott confidence that some reincarnation of the Catholic band will emerge, likely with adjustments to the growing commercialisation and loss of faith elements seen in modern Carnival.

As inspiration, he pointed to a Catholic Carnival band started by then Archbishop Donald Reece in Antigua that successfully ran for 17 straight years.