Music

In the 1880's the ruling British establishment banned the African drum from Trinidad's African masses. As a result revelers used first bamboo stems beaten on the ground or bashed together, then by the 1930's the Gonzales Palace Banc started using gas tanks and cutting them to make a variety of notes out of one instrument. The names of the older bands, Invaders, Desperadoes reflect a time when steel bands did consist of renegades and meant fierce gang loyalty. Today the steel pan is played by middle class whites, Chinese, Indian and women and reflects how carnival arts transform and embrace new cultures and sections of society.