THE LORD OF CALYPSO.

• Author: Holston, Mark
• Position: Musician Aldwyn Roberts AKA Lord Kitchener

In the patois indigenous to natives of Trinidad, the word kaiso refers to the town crier of old who roamed through village streets, interpreting the news of the day in syncopated rhythms and streetwise poetry. Had a kaiso been on his rounds on February 11 of this year, the customary satirical tone of his verse would have been muted, replaced by a reverent demeanor. His solemnity that day would have informed local residents that the daffy recitation of political scandal, crime, and community gossip would take a back seat to news of a more profound nature. Indeed, the sad news of that day cut straight to the core of the Trinidad psyche, for the man who had come to symbolize the calypso tradition of Trinidad and Tobago had passed away. Aldwyn Roberts, idolized around the globe as Lord Kitchener, king of calypso, would no longer reign over the Caribbean island nation's annual Carnival and set the standard of regal excellence for which he had been known for over half a century.

Kitch, as the native of the small town of Arima came to be affectionately known, had become Trinidad and Tobago's dominant cultural figure, an ingenious composer and singer who helped make calypso an internationally recognized art form that had relevance to people of many lands and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian newspaper of Trinidad and Tobago, in a review of one of his late 1990s performances in Port of Spain, characterized him as a man "who has mesmerized the world with an array of beautiful melodies that have left other musicians in awe."

Kitch was among the select few Trinidad natives whose appeal spread beyond the Caribbean to enthralled audiences in Europe, North America, and elsewhere around the globe. The calypsonian, as a practitioner of the style is called, counted among his most fervent fans such high-profile figures as England's Princess Margaret and U.S. president Harry S. Truman. Kitch also won the respect of the most critical audience of all, his peers, who, despite the fierce level of competition for annual Carnival honors, were quick to praise his genius.

Dr. Hollis Liverpool, known as Calypsonian Chalkdust, has pointed out that "one of Kitchener's many strengths is his ability to present clean smut in a way that even a priest would want to listen." And informal Kitchener biographer G. Godwin Oyewole saw in the musician a figure who transcended the provincial boundaries of Trinidad and Tobago-grounded calypso. "He was a Caribbean institution who used...