Remembering Singing Sandra

Singing Sandra, the reigning Calypso Monarch of Trinidad and Tobago, is a glorious set of contradictions. She’s top calypsonian in Trinidad and Tobago, the country that invented the art form, and she’s a hugely popular monarch. But no mansion in the suburbs for her: she’s still living in the ghetto — and proud of it.

Sandra Des Vignes lives “behind the bridge” in a cramped, cluttered apartment in Morvant, up and over Lady Young Road, and down a dirt path through a set of badly dilapidated buildings. Her apartment, which she shares with her mom and her husband, plus (at the moment) a crowd of Carnival visitors, is clean, comfortable and warm, and much of the clutter is due to her extensive collection of performance trophies. (She won the 1987 National Calypso Queen competition, the 1992 Carifesta Monarch contest, the 1992 Calypso Queen of the World competition in St Maarten, and scads of local awards.) Pictures of Egyptian queens hang on the walls, and a stunning view looks out on a green, tropical hillside covered with small shacks and huts. But there’s little doubt that when Sandra took the 1999 crown with Voices From The Ghetto she was singing from experience.

Sandra was born in the East Dry River area, grew up in Morvant, and went to school in Laventille — all low-income, high-creativity communities. “That real ghetto,” she says proudly. “No regrets. Growing up in the ghetto teaches you something of value. Having to struggle . . . I had to leave school at the age of 15 to help my mother. I worked as a waitress, a bakery attendant, grocery attendant, the road [maintenance] programmes, I’ve been there. You find more love in these areas than you find in the sophisticated areas. You may send your child by me — go and ask Miss Sandra if she has some butter she could give me a piece, some salt, some whatever. And we would share that. We share a kind of love that people who are not from the ghetto would not understand. People have to take care of each other here.”

Sandra’s musical talent exploded early. She started singing in Sunday School, and played King Kong in a Best Village tribute to the Mighty Sparrow. Best Village competitions supplied her first professional opportunities: she won Best Actress three years in a row, as well as Best Female Chantuelle and Best Calypsonian. At the time she thought of herself primarily as an actress; she loved drama with a passion. But when calypsonian Dr Zhivago came to her in 1984 with two songs that he wanted to be sung by a woman (Pan For Independence and The Raper Man Comin’), Sandra decided to give it a try. Not long after that she was selected for the cast of Sparrow’s Young Brigade tent, and the rest, as they say, is kaiso history.

© MEP Publishers | Singing Sandra: One Voice from the Ghetto | Caribbean Beat Magazinehttps://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-41/one-voice-from-the-ghetto#ixzz6kqSS2uii

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