美国国家公共电台 NPR Trinidad And Tobago Remixes Caribbean Christmas Traditions

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is famous for calypso and soca, the infectious music that takes center stage during Carnival¹. But during the Christmas season, another type of music dominates. John Otis is going to tell us about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE²: I'm at a sound check for a band that plays old-time instruments. What you're hearing is the cuatro, a small, four-stringed acoustic³ guitar. There are also mandolins, maracas and a box bass⁴, Trinidad's version of the washtub bass.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

OTIS: These are the key instruments for the making of a kind of religious folk music called parang.

(SOUNDBITE OF PARANG MUSIC)

OTIS: During the months leading up to Christmas, parang can be heard just about everywhere in Trinidad. Most of the songs are about the birth of Christ. However, not everyone understands them. It turns out that parang was brought to Trinidad by migrant farm workers from nearby Venezuela. It's sung in Spanish even though the mother tongue here is English.

LOS ALUMNOS DE SAN JUAN: (Singing in Spanish).

OTIS: This parang group pantomimes to help audiences grasp the Spanish lyrics⁵ to songs, like this one about the Annunciation when the Virgin⁶ Mary learns she will become the mother of Jesus. The band is called Los Alumnos de San Juan. Its leader is Alicia Jaggasar, who also heads The National Parang Association.

ALICIA JAGGASAR: Parang music is our way at Christmastime to tell the story but in a different language and in a different musical style. So you wouldn't hear it as the normal (singing) hark, the herald⁷ angels sing, glory to the newborn king.

You will hear (singing in Spanish).

OTIS: Now, here's how it sounds in concert.

LOS ALUMNOS DE SAN JUAN: (Singing in Spanish).

OTIS: On Christmas Eve, parang bands go house to house until the wee hours in an exuberant⁸ form of Christmas caroling. But they must adhere to some elaborate musical etiquette⁹ to gain entry.

JAGGASAR: You have to do a serenado from outside, and in that song, you have to actually say who you are and what you come to do. And it's only when the host hears who you are, then the door is opened. They don't just open it just like that.

OTIS: But once inside, the party revs¹⁰ up, says Michele Reis, a Trinidadian academic and a big fan of parang.

MICHELE REIS: That's what I would wake up to. Christmas morning, I would hear the cuatros, the mandolins as the groups went from house to house.

OTIS: And what do they give you in the house for singing?

REIS: Oh, there's lots of rum flowing. There's food that comes out. There's a lot of alcohol. There's a lot of drinks. And it's just a really festive¹¹ time, you know?

OTIS: To keep this tradition alive, high schools and colleges in Trinidad hold parang contests, like this one in a Port of Spain park.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Unintelligible).

OTIS: Still, musicians are always tinkering with parang in an effort to reach a wider audience.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing, unintelligible).

OTIS: This is one result, so-called soca-parang. It's sung in English so more people will understand and is fused with the frenetic rhythms of soca. Purists complain that the lyrics often glorify¹² girls rather than the gospel, but Jaggasar endorses¹³ the hybrid¹⁴.

JAGGASAR: Because we are the land of calypso and soca and steel band. We like to mix things. That's just our culture.

OTIS: Indeed, her own group likes to stretch musical boundaries.

JAGGASAR: It's Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).

JAGGASAR: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: In fact, one of their most recent recordings¹⁵ is a Christmas-themed version of the global hit "Despacito." For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DESPACITO")

LOS ALUMNOS DE SAN JUAN: (Singing) Ah, si, days are shorter, nights longer, the atmosphere filled with love and laughter, joy and care. Here's what - look; we getting ready to head up to Lopinot, the traffic man, we pull up and we ready for the the show. We going and we don't want to miss Los Alumnos (ph).

1 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

4 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

5 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

7 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

8 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

9 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

10 revs   

abbr.revolutions （复数）旋转，回转，转数n.发动机的旋转( rev的名词复数 )v.（使）加速( rev的第三人称单数 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The engine was doing 6000 revs. 引擎转速为6000。 来自互联网
• Shared primary objectives included the highest possible torque and fast response from low revs. 共同的主要目标包括尽可能高转矩和响应速度快的低转速。 来自互联网

11 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

12 glorify   

vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化

参考例句：

• Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
• We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝，竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。

13 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

14 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

15 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐