March 1, 2026
VOLUME 64 / ISSUE 5
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LE JOURNAL ÉTUDIANT DE GLENDON / GLENDON’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
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Ode to Those Who Don’t Stop Drumming
By Gabriella Maitland, English Journalist
photo: Wikipedia Commons
Music will always be part of life. From powerful movie soundtracks to the soft hum of wind through seashells, it is everywhere if you are paying attention. Yet we often listen to and even play musical instruments without ever stopping to think about where they come from. I want to change that. Used in movies like “The Little Mermaid” and “Star Wars”, the steelpan is an instrument born out of the most southerly islands in the Caribbean, known as Trinidad and Tobago. For all intents and purposes, the twin islands will be referred to as T&T in this piece. In the 18th Century, the instrument was conceived in T&T as a tribute to the enslaved people’s African Shango roots, where the beating of drums was used to “tolerate the harsh and inhumane practices of slavery” (Caribbeanz Southern Stars Steelband, 2010). However, when Spain surrendered to the British, the practice was banned out of fear that the drumming would unite the hearts of the slaves and cause them to rebel. And yet, those hearts did not stop drumming. Unwilling to bend to the will of their slavers, the enslaved ‘peoples’ began cutting bamboo at different lengths to produce different sounds. However, as bands known as “tamboo bamboo” began to form and clash with one another, this practice was eventually also banned. And yet, music remained in the hearts of the enslaved. In VIE ÉTUDIANTE Trouver Ma Place....................5
HEALTH & WELLNESS Debunking Psychological.......8 SANTÉ & BIEN-ÊTRE Rouleaux de cannelle farcis.......7 Bocal de gâteau au fromage.......7
an attempt to preserve their Shango religion, drums continued to beat in the hills of a region known as “Laventille’. However, owing to high rates of poverty, the people were driven to “trial a number of metal objects such as milk cans, garbage can covers and pots to produce musical sounds” (Caribbeanz Southern Stars Steelband, 2010)1. And, soon enough, biscuit tins were the new musical instrument. Back then, players would use their hands to produce sound as the tins hung around their necks. Still, this is not the Steelpan we know today. Inspired by early pioneers, people alive in the 1940s—when American bases occupied T&T—began using discarded oil drums to produce sound. ISSUES & IDEAS “When They Go Low,..............8 Héros oubliés de.....................9 Crossing Off Days....................10 Le Black History Month.........11
EXPRESSION The Brief in Between..................6 Chère Abuela...............................6 There’s A Loud Bark...................6 Tracing You in My Hands............6
It is important to recognize that the steelpan was not created by any one individual. Its story begins as an expression of resilience and creativity within communities, later shaped by innovators like Androe Beddoe, who sparked the “biscuit pan” movement, and Winston “Spree” Simon, whose vision helped develop the steelpan into the instrument we know today. The steelpan is widely regarded as a true labour of love. On August 11, World Steelpan Day, Trinbagonians formally shared their national instrument with the world, celebrating a cultural gift from Trinidad and Tobago to the global community. ¹ https://www.caribbeanz.org/history-of-the-steelpan
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
MÉTROPOLE
Ode to Those Who Don’t Stop.....1 Le LRT Eglinton..................12 7 Black History...............................3 Métropole en mouvement...12 One Game, One Story...................4